Anxiety, Depression & Addiction: Buddhist Psychological Insights for Mental & Spiritual Health in the Modern World Opening Talk with Mark Epstein, M.D. and Robert A.F. Thurman
This video is an excerpt from the archive recording of the Tibet House US retreat “Addiction, Depression & Recovery: Buddhist Psychological Insights for Mental & Spiritual Health in the Modern World” with Robert AF Thurman & Mark Epstein M.D., recorded at Menla Retreat + Dewa Spa’s Nalanda Conference Center in Phoenicia, New York, August 2017.
To listen to audio excerpts presented as free hour long podcasts please visit: www.bobthurman.com.
“In his earliest teachings, the Buddha put forth an Eight Fold Prescription for mental and spiritual health. The most spiritual of the world’s psychologies and the most psychological of the world’s religions, Buddhism can best be approached as a set of treatments for mental and emotional dis-ease.
At the heart of the Buddha’s method lies a strategy of changing one’s relationship with one’s inner voice. In anxiety, depression and addiction, the inner voice is accustomed to being in charge. Buddhism seeks to undermine the control habit of the inner voice by creating critical distance from its dictates through mindfulness and critical inquiry (vipassana). This critical distance, when learned, can be a powerful complement to other forms of therapy and can sometimes be a treatment in its own right.
Throughout the weekend we will teach, discuss, question and practice elements of the Buddhist approach.
Comparisons will be proposed to contemporary trends in Western psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Meditation instruction and time for silent reflection will be offered and relevant teachings from Buddhist philosophy will be described.”
From Menla Retreat + Dewa Spa
Additional previews are available on the Tibet House US YouTube Channel + Full Archive Recordings in the THUS Member Archives.
Access starts at $2 a Month.
? Music by Tenzin Choegyal, Used with Permission www.tenzinchoegyal.com
To learn more about upcoming programs in the heart of the Catskills with Bob Thurman & Mark Epstein M.D. please visit: www.menla.us.
About Mark Epstein, M.D
Mark Epstein, M.D. is a psychiatrist in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism & psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire, Psychotherapy without the Self & The Trauma of Everyday Life. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University.
Connect with Mark Epstein M.D.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
About Robert AF Thurman
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University as well as co-founder and President of Tibet House US and it’s Menla Retreat & Dewa Spa in service of HH Dalai Lama & the people of Tibet. To listen to his free weekly podcasts please visit: www.bobthurman.com.
Suggested Books & Audio by Robert AF Thurman:
Man of Peace: Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama (Book), Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within (Book), Anger: The Seven Deadly Sins (Book), Inner Revolution (Book), Circling the Sacred Mountain : A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas (Book), Essential Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between (Book) The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Central Philosophy of Tibet (Book), The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture (Book), Life & Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Book), Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Book) & Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between: Living with the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Audio).