Buddhism and the Heart Sutra: Emptiness, Wisdom & Psychotherapy

The Craziness of the Heart Sutra

Before specifically discussing Chapter 1, one should note that the difficulty a Western mind has in readily understanding the tenets and nuances of Buddhist thought is made abundantly clear in reading Brunnholzl's book. Epstein points out just such a problem when he explores the difficulty of translating Buddhist philosophy into workable 21st-century psychotherapy, for several reasons: differences in languages and thought processes (Epstein, 2007, p. 178), and modern psychotherapy's orientation as an active seeker of remedies, while Buddhist philosophy tends toward a gentler approach that may be too temperate and passive to treat tough modern problems such as narcissism (Epstein, 2007, p. 178).

As for Chapter 1 in particular, Brunnholzl addresses the apparent absurdity of the Heart Sutra in that it appears to negate all principles on which Buddhism is based, including conceptual frameworks, belief systems, and reference points of the spiritual path (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 7). In fact, the Heart Sutra is the essence of Prajnaparamita — "the perfection of wisdom or insight" — and a shortcut manual to emptiness and compassion (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 8). The vital emptiness to which Brunnholzl refers, a concept repeated throughout his book, is also highly prized by Epstein. Epstein speaks of the importance of emptiness in modern psychotherapy because it goes hand-in-glove with the patient's achievement of an objective perspective on his or her thoughts and thought processes (Epstein, 2007, p. 77). Here, the emptiness achieved through Buddhist meditation allows the individual to experience a sublime state that differs from his or her usual experience of self (Epstein, 2007, p. 77).

A basic tenet of Buddhism is being "grounded in groundlessness": whatever we say, do, or feel, we need not believe, because there is really nothing to hold onto. Furthermore, even that teaching cannot necessarily be believed — that is how illusory our experience is (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 11–12). Emptiness is such a personal experience that Buddhism can only roughly point the way; we are free to explore the essence of our personal emptiness, importantly by being "in the now" within all phenomena (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 12). This coincides with Epstein's belief that it is through the patient's unique experience of everyday traumas and emotions that the source of the patient's internal journey is found (Epstein, 2007, p. 200).

Emptiness Means Letting Go

Brunnholzl also links Dependent Origination, the "infinite web of causes and conditions" explained by the Buddha (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 14), to quantum physics' reference to a kind of dependent origination — the idea that a change in a particle on one end of the universe causes a change in a particle on the other end (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 14). However, the more deeply one looks into Buddhism's "causes and conditions" and quantum physics' interdependently changing particles, the fuzzier it becomes and the more difficult it is to describe the experience to others (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 15). Epstein similarly speaks of the subjective nature and difficulty of conveying individual experiences of certain problems in modern therapy, which requires a personal journey of internal discovery (Epstein, 2007, p. 200).

The Buddha taught indirect instructions concerning the true nature of the mind — which is inexpressible and inconceivable — because he knew that it was nevertheless accessible (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 16). The Buddha's teachings were scriptures in that they form part of the twofold aspect of the "dharma wheel," or teaching cycle: they were written instructional materials used alongside oral traditions and other methods of pointing the way (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 18–19). The other aspect of the teaching cycle is realization, which occurs when our mind becomes the mind of a Buddha (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 18–19). Epstein's writing agrees with this approach to psychotherapy, in that it uses various methods — including but not limited to meditation — as ways of pointing the way for patients on their personal journeys (Epstein, 2007, pp. 14, 41).

Chapter 4 extensively deals with Prajnaparamita aspects. Prajna is our inquisitiveness and curiosity of mind, which leads us honestly to find out about ourselves. It is symbolized by a double-edged flaming sword because it is playful and compassionate but also cuts through the games we use to fool ourselves. As we travel on the path, Prajna becomes increasingly important because our self-delusional games grow more sophisticated (Brunnholzl, 2012, p. 23). Brunnholzl's description of the double-edged flaming sword's effectiveness in recognizing and cutting through self-illusion dovetails with Epstein's appeal to the use of meditation for exploring and ultimately weakening the imaginary ego, thereby transforming the experience of "I" (Epstein, 2007, p. 44).

The Buddha's Three Cycles of Teaching

Lady Prajnaparamita is the icon: a yellow, four-armed female goddess who holds a text in one hand and the flaming sword in another, with her lower two arms held in a meditation pose. Her arms represent the three types of prajna knowledge — knowledge gained through study, knowledge gained by cutting through delusion, and insight into the true nature of all phenomena (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 23–24). This icon coincides with Epstein's appeal to study, assisting patients in overcoming delusion, facing reality, and gaining insight into their true nature (Epstein, 2007, p. 48).

Prajnaparamita is also the ground of perfect wisdom — for we must have ground to have a working basis for enlightenment — the path to perfect wisdom, because we must follow a path to reach it, and the fruition of perfect wisdom, because it is perfect wisdom itself. It is simultaneously the basis, the path, and the actuality of perfect wisdom (Brunnholzl, 2012, pp. 31–32).