The oldest Pali writings are of great interest to the psychologist, not only because their analysis of mind is in many ways comparable to his own, but because their teaching has been used for practical purposes with enviable success. One of the most important of the Buddhist concepts is that of Nirvana, or nibbana, whose modern usage has caused discomfort to many Buddhists, especially those of the Western world. Originally the name for a certain state of mind, and of personality, it has now acquired a multitude of definitions so heterogeneous and contradictory that few people know what to make of it.
Originally published in 1969, The Psychology of Nirvana was the first attempt to fit all the diffuse explanations and pronouncements of the oldest scriptures together into a consistent picture, and to relate this picture to modern Western psychology at the time. Just as Nirvana is a psychological state and the natural goal of Buddhism, mental health is the ideal of psychology. A comparative study of the two provides a book truly fascinating to scholars of psychology and Buddhism.
Originally published in 1969, this book was the first attempt to fit all the diffuse explanations and pronouncements of the oldest scriptures together into a consistent picture, and to relate this to modern Western psychology. Just as Nirvana is a psychological state and the natural goal of Buddhism, mental health is the ideal of psychology.
1. Introduction
2. Method
3. The General Background
4. Some Preliminary
Observations
5. Cognitive Functions in Nibbna
6. Emotion and Feeling in
Nibbna
7. The Dynamics of Nibbna
8. Nibbna as State of Personality
9.
Nibbna as Emptiness
10. Nibbna as Cessation of Rebirth
11. The Criteria of
Transcendence
12. A Discussion of U 80
13. Nibbna and Death
14. The
Personality Factors and Nibbna
15. Ways to Nibbna
16. Nibbna and
Consciousness
17. The Personality of the Arahant
18. Summary and Conclusions.
References. Index.
Rune E. A. Johansson (19181981) was born in Sweden. At the University of Lund he studied psychology and languages, among them Sanskrit and Pali, obtained his Licentiate Degree in 1954, and lectured there in psychology for some years. He travelled and studied extensively in the Orient, studying Sanskrit at the University of Calcutta and Pali at the University of Ceylon. During 19667 he was visiting Professor at the University of Tel Aviv, and at the time of original publication was head of the Biotechnical Section of the Research Institute of the Swedish National Defence.
