The goal of Buddhism is to gain enlightenment through the realization of the psychological basis of human suffering. Like other religions Buddhists undertake this goal together in a community known as the Sangha, which, includes lay practitioners, clergy, and various symbolic figures. While, the ostensible goal of the Sangha is to help Buddhists reach a state of religious epiphany, it also functions in a psychological fashion to moderate the regressive effects of group membership. This moderation allows the Sangha to facilitate individuation for its members while they maintain their group membership. In this way the Sangha provides a practical method for applying spiritual principals to relationships with others in the group and later, to the world at large. This paper will review classical and object relations views of group psychology and then apply these perspectives to the understanding of the Sangha.
目次
1.INTRODUCTION 47 2.FREUDIAN GROUP PSYCHOLOGY 47 3.OBJECT RELATIONS AND GROUP PSYCHOLOGY 48 4.SANGHA 50 5.SANGHA LEADERSHIP 50 6.SANGHA AND FREUDIAN GROUP PSYCHOLOGY - IDENTIFICATION AND OBJECT CHOICE 51 7.OBJECT RELATIONS AND TIBETAN BUDDHISM 51 8.THE RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE AND THE UNCONSCIOUS IN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND BUDDHISM 52 9.CONCLUSION 53 10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 53 11. REFERENCES 53
