The purpose of life is to be happy, and one’s own mental attitude is the most influential factor in working toward that goal. In order to change conditions outside ourselves, whether they concern the environment or relations with others, we must first change within ourselves. Inner peace is the key. The Buddhist teachings of love, kindness, and tolerance, the conduct of nonviolence, and the theory that all things are relative, as well as a variety of techniques for calming the mind, are sources of that inner peace. Recently, psychotherapists have begun to explore the possibilities of employing Buddhist techniques in a therapeutic context. On its own, no amount of technological development can lead to lasting happiness. What is almost always missing is a corresponding inner development. This is an area in which there is increasing evidence that Buddhist assertions and modern findings have the potential to be valuable to one another. As patients and therapists find themselves reaching for new solutions to their problems, the traditional distinctions between matters of the mind and matters of the spirit are increasingly being questioned. This program is a major contribution to the explosion of discussion about how Eastern spirituality can enhance Western psychology.
