불교의 무아사상의 정신치료적 의의

Psychotherapeutic Significance of the Buddhist Thought of ‘Not-self’(Anatta)

This article was conducted to understand the Buddhist doctrine of ‘not-self’ (無我；anattaˉ) in respect of psychotherapy. The author reviewed the earliest Buddhist canons (Nikaˉyas) and extracted the thoughts of ‘not-self’. The Buddhist self (or ego) is not equal to the recent psycological self (or ego). It is rather the systemic being than the single one, which is composed of 5 aggregates (五蘊). ‘Anattaˉ’ does not mean ‘no self’ but ‘not-self’. Buddha regards that self or ego is not real but conceptual. The Buddhist doctrine of ‘anattaˉ’ is based upon the theory of the dependent origination (緣起；paticcasamuppaˉda). Buddhism and psychotherapy consent that one could be emancipated from sufferings not by belief, but by introspection. Just as the emotional insight may lead to the change of behavior and personality in psychotherapy, so the true insight to Enlightenment in Buddhism. The psychotherapeutic significance of ‘not-self’ implies both the recognition and extinction of the conscious and the unconscious adherence. Therefore psychotherapeutic analysis can be introduced into Buddhism and the meditative contemplation of ‘paticcasamuppaˉda’ can be adopted by psychotherapy