KILL THE BUDDHA---AND LIVE!

I have read some great spiritual books, and met some great spiritual teachers, in my lifetime but I must and will say this---only you can save yourself. Only you can relieve the misery of your broken life. Only you can wake up and be born anew. No one---not Jesus, not Buddha, not Muhammad, nor anyone else for that matter---can wake you up or otherwise effect this radical change in you.

Now, what I’ve just said is rank heresy to many religious people who think that salvation or enlightenment---call it what you will---comes from accepting this person or that person into one’s life or from following a certain prescribed path or set of teachings. Well, I am a heretic, and I’m proud to be one. A heretic is one who chooses, and who chooses to think differently and be different. We need more heretics in the world---more people who are prepared to think and live differently. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that only a heretic can change our damaged, troubled and threatened world. I go further and say that only a heretic, who is prepared to surrender and throw out of the window all their past thinking and conditioning on matters religious and non-religious, can wake up and change the world for the better. So, get real. Stop worshipping others. Look within. The truth is within you.

One of the great books of the past 40-odd years is If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! by the American psychotherapist Sheldon B Kopp [pictured left]. Now, that is a great title for a book. The idea of killing the Buddha---or Jesus or any other holy person---is quite horrible, and the idea of the taking of life in Buddhism is especially revolting (in theory, at least). The point of the book’s title is fairly obvious --- no meaning that comes from outside of ourselves is real. Any Buddha you meet ‘on the road’, that is, outside of yourself, is not the real Buddha. It is a counterfeit---an imposter! The real Buddha (or Christ for that matter) is within you. Got that? Within you. Inside.

Jesus understood that point perfectly. That is why he is quoted as having said that ‘the kingdom of God is within you’ (Lk 17:21 [KJV]). He never asked people to worship him or offer him sacrifices. He said, ‘Follow me’ (Mk 2:14 [KJV]), that is, live the way Jesus do, and ‘Feed my sheep’ (Jn 21:17 [KJV]), that is, attend to the needs of others, especially the marginalized and the disadvantaged. He also said, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice' (Mt 9:13 [NIV]). And while I’m on the subject---well, sort of---do you want to know what makes a true ‘Christian nation’? I will tell you. A Christian nation---irrespective of the religious affiliation(s) (if any) of its many inhabitants---is one which feeds the poor, houses the homeless, provides universal health care, livable wages and other benefits to its people, protects, restores and enhances the environment, and works with other nations for world peace. That is what Jesus would have wanted. That is what Buddha would have wanted as well. Ditto Muhammad.

Back to the theme of this post. Others can point the way but each of us must be our own teacher, master and savior---and disciple. Buddhism is very strong on this. Listen to these words from what is known as ‘The Buddha’s Farewell Address’:

Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. 
Rely on yourselves, and do not rely on external help. [13]

Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. 
Seek salvation alone in the truth. 
Look not for assistance to any one besides yourselves. [14]

Here’s a Zen exchange that I like. It illustrates the futility of seeking truth in the form of someone else’s conceptual, conditioned teachings. It also illustrates that each one of us is in exactly the same position as respects both our ignorance of the real and our innate ability to have direct and immediate access to and understanding of the real:

A monk asked ‘What is the meaning of the First Patriarch's coming from the West?’

Master: ‘Ask the post over there.’

Monk: ‘I do not understand.’

Master: ‘I do not either, any more than you.’

So many of our emotional and psychological problems arise from our bondage to self. We need to be set free from that bondage, but only we---that is, the person each one of us is---can do that. The so-called ‘higher power’ is to be found inside each one of us despite the fact that many people see it otherwise. The power is a power-not-oneself that is capable of freeing us from the bondage of self and to self. The power is the primal, ontological power of being itself that expresses itself in us and as us.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I endorse psychiatry. I work with psychiatrists and lecture at an educational institution---the NSW Institute of Psychiatry---the objects of which, among others, are to assist and foster research and investigation into the causation, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses and disorders, to assist and foster post-graduate education and training in psychiatry, and to prescribe programs of training in psychiatry and mental health for both medical practitioners and for other persons including non-medical groups. Psychiatry helped me to overcome clinical depression and one or two other mental health issues as well. However, a psychiatrist, psychologist or counsellor can but help to facilitate recovery. They treat but do not heal. Deep down, all healing is self-healing.

The real Buddha or Christ is within you. It is an innate potentiality. It is both a presence and a power that is waiting for you to unleash it. I love these words of Dr Norman Vincent Peale: ‘There is a spiritual giant within us, which is always struggling to burst its way out of the prison we have made for it.’ This spiritual giant is unleashed when, firstly, you really want it to be unleashed and, secondly, when you remove the obstacles to its activation. Want-power is especially important, and you must surrender, that is, let go.

So, if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. (Metaphorically, that is.)

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THE NSW INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please read the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on or linked to this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blog or elsewhere. For immediate mental health advice or support call (in Australia) Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; in any country call the relevant mental health care emergency hotline (if there is one) or simply dial your emergency assistance telephone number and ask for help. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact (in Australia) the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or go online via sane.org.

DEPRESSION, THE WANDERING MIND AND MINDFULNESS

 

This much is true: you can get the monkey off your back. Please read on.

The most satisfying work I’ve done in my long career as a lawyer, educator, therapist, and minister of religion is my ongoing lectureship at the NSW Institute of Psychiatry. It’s like this. Whenever I go there to lecture---and I've been doing that for some 12 years now---I hear real-life stories from mental health workers of various kinds about the stark reality of mental illness (or mental illnesses and mental disorders, I should say). Besides that, I have my own very real and at times very ugly story of mental illness---years of clinical depression and active alcoholism. 

Yes, I'm lucky to be here today to write this post. I kid you not. Only my wife and a few others know just how close I was to throwing in the towel. I even tried to do that on one occasion. As I say, it was an ugly story---and I've only told you a small part of it.

Auditorium/lecture room at the NSW Institute of Psychiaty

North Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

Fortunately, those things are for me now well in the past, but many people still suffer from those and other mental illnesses---not only the actual sufferers themselves but also those with whom they’re closely associated. The untimely death of the actor and comedian Robin Williams reminds us all, if we needed any further reminder, that mental illness of all kinds is no respecter of persons. The main reason I write this blog is the hope that something I say may from time to time be of some help to someone else. That may sound a bit patronizing but it’s the goddamn truth.

Now, there have been many studies, and now even some meta-analytic reviews of studies, on the efficacy of mindfulness in treating depression. For example, one  such meta-analysis, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in April 2010, which was based on 39 studies totaling 1,140 participants receiving mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other psychiatric or medical conditions, concluded that mindfulness-based therapy was a useful intervention for treating anxiety and mood problems (including depression) in clinical populations.

I will in this post discuss yet another study---and, I think, a most interesting one---but first let me tell you about the phenomenon known as the ‘wandering mind’ (also known as the ‘monkey mind’). You will know that of which I speak, irrespective of whether or not you suffer from depression or certain other mental illnesses. Please note that we all have within us the wandering or monkey mind. In and of itself it is not a sign of mental illness or mental disorder. Got that? Our task is to quieten down the machinations and noise generated by this 'monkey' inside of our minds. MIndfulness is particularly useful for calming and slowing down the monkey mind. Of that there is no doubt.

Now, one of the very real problems associated with depression---and not just depression---is that the wandering mind chatters and chatters and wanders off and ruminates, often obsessively, on thoughts and situations that are ‘sad’ or ‘depressing' resulting in a plethora of related health problems both in the mind and in the body. 

Albert Einstein once said, 'I accept that thoughts influence the body.' That's so true. A depressed and ruminating wandering mind results in the immune system being lowered, which makes us more susceptible to illnesses of various kinds. Also, a depressed state of mind tends to breed further depression as well as stress resulting in a decrease in neurotransmitter levels. (Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that communicate information throughout the brain and the body. Adverse symptoms appear throughout the body when these levels are 'out-of-balance.') 

The effect of depression on neurotransmitters also impacts on our mental health. This is because a state of depression in the mind tends to result in the depletion of feel-good chemicals such as serontonin and endorphins---a state of affairs which results in a further lowering of one's neurotransmitter levels. This only adds more fuel to the already smouldering fires of depression. (Note. When we are 'happy,' the brain releases other chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and oyytocin.)

In short, when the wandering mind ruminates on negative thoughts and situations anxiety and stress levels are heightened. Further biochemical changes occur in the mind and the body through the release of certain chemicals including cortisol, which results in a lowering of the immune system. This predisposes us to illnesses of various kinds including heart disease, stroke, and possibly also certain cancers. Worse still, a cycle of negativity tends to set in, leading to a further lowering of neurotransmitter levels, and on it goes. The good news is that the vicious cycle can be broken.

As I've said, even if we aren’t suffering from major depression we all know the presence and effects of the wandering mind. At times this ‘monkey’ can be almost a cute little thing but for some people this ‘monkey’ is nothing short of a ferocious King Kong. Its presence and effects destroy their peace of mind and have even been known to drive some to the brink of despair and even suicide. 

But what can be done about this state of affairs? Well, I am not one who believes that there is ever one single ‘magic bullet’ cure for any mental illness or mental disorder, and certainly not major depression. A combination of therapies, including drug therapy, is usually required. I got a lot of help for my depression from insight-oriented psychotheraypy and antidepressants. As regards alcoholism the only thing that saved me was AA---and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has a problem with drinking and has a desire to stop drinking. (Note. A desire to stop drinking, which is essential to giving up alcholol, is the only requirement for AA membership. Belief in a traditional God is not required. You simply need to be willing to accept the fact that alcoholism is an illness where 'self' is powerless to change 'self.')

More than one study has examined the relationship between wandering mind, depression and mindfulness. Here's one that I found especially interesting. The researchers used the Sustained Attention to Response Task to assess the wandering mind, while the online thought probes were employed as the subjective marker for mind-wandering. The Beck Depression Inventory and Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale were used to assess depression and dispositional mindfulness respectively. The results revealed that the wandering mind, even without awareness, was not only positively associated with depression, but also negatively related to dispositional mindfulness. Depression was negatively related to dispositional mindfulness.

In other words, depression and the wandering mind tend to cohabit, and it would seem the greater the activity and intensity of the wandering mind, the worse is the depression. (Note: The researchers are not actually saying that wandering mind is the cause, or even one of the possible causes, of a person’s depression.) So-called dispositional mindfulness---that is, a mindset, regularly held, practised and sustained, of mindful awareness of what is, including an awareness of awareness itself---reduces the activity and intensity of the wandering mind. Finally, depression and dispositional mindfulness do not ordinarily cohabit.

The researchers conclude that the results of the study might provide evidence that a wandering mind is positively associated with depression and mindfulness.

Now, although I am ‘sold’ on the efficacy of mindfulness I never advise anyone to give up their present treatment(s), and rely entirely upon mindfulness, for the treatment of mental illness until after discussing the matter with their health care professionals. There is also an important notice at the foot of this post.

Study: Deng Y, Li S, and Yang Y. ‘The Relationship Between Wandering Mind, Depression and Mindfulness,’ Mindfulness, April 2014, Vol 5, Issue 2, pp 124-128. Date: 13 Oct 2012.

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THE NSW INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY

IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blog.
For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

THE NSW INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY

I am proud to have been associated with the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry (“the Institute”), as both a lawyer and an educator, since 2002.

The Institute, which was established by the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry Act 1964 (NSW) under which it is constituted, and which governs its operations, is a major provider of continuing professional education in mental health in Australia.

Although the Institute is a statutory body independent of any individual university or teaching institution, it has university-equivalent status, having been granted approval to offer a number of courses up to Masters level, with agreements of affiliation with several Australian universities. The Institute is also a member of the World Health Organization Collaborative Centre in Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Australia.

Through its Board the Institute is directly responsible to the NSW Minister for Health. The Institute provides training for health care professionals, psychiatrists-in-training, consumers and staff of non-government organisations, general practitioners and the public ... and, yes, the Institute even runs courses and workshops on mindfulness, which the Institute endorses.

The Accredited Persons Training Program was conceived in 2002 and introduced in 2003, after amendments had been effected to the then Mental Health Act 1990 (NSW), in response to concerns that a scarcity of medical practitioners in some areas were hampering or delaying the initiation of treatment for people with mental health problems and associated risk factors. 

Senior mental health clinicians who have at least 5 years experience of working with patients are able to be nominated by the local Director of the Area Mental Health Service for training as Accredited Persons. 

These clinicians undergo a 2-day training workshop carried out by NSWIOP where they get specialised training (including legal training) in the Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW) and related rules of law as well as in the assessment of those suffering from psychosis. Once qualified they are then registered as Accredited Persons for a period of 3 years. 

At the end of that 3 year period they are required to undergo a refresher course in order to become qualified again for another 3 years. Accredited Persons are able to write Schedule 1 Certificates in order to transport patients to hospital as an involuntary patient where they are assessed again by a qualified psychiatrist.

I have been continuously involved in the Accredited Persons Training Program as a lecturer (and at times also as an examiner) right from its beginnings---program development began in 2002, with the first training sessions commencing in 2003---to the present day, both as a lecturer and at times as an examiner as well. Although I have taught for long periods at other tertiary educational institutions (most notably, the University of Technology, Sydney), my association with the New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry has been the highlight and most satisfying part of my teaching career. At the risk of sounding immodest---yes, I still have an ego which needs pruning, lopping or even topping---I regularly receive solid, positive feedback from those who attend my lectures and workshops at the Institute. Feedback on my performance from course participants includes the following:

We all agree that Dr Ian Ellis-Jones is a legal legend and machine who invokes robust debate, participation and expression of opinion in the most passive of people.

 

(Source: Email communication dated 6 January 2012 from Peter Bazzana, Mental Health Educator at the Institute, and member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal, to myself.)

Another more recent program offered by the Institute with which I am involved as program co-developer and lecturer is a special training program on the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Act 2007 (NSW). Under this Act an accredited medical practitioner can issue a dependency certificate that means the person can be detained for up to 28 days in the first instance.

A dependency certificate may be issued in relation to the person only if the accredited medical practitioner is satisfied that (i) the person has a severe substance dependence, (ii) care, treatment or control of the person is necessary to protect the person from serious harm, (iii) the person is likely to benefit from treatment for his or her substance dependence but has refused treatment, and (iv) no other appropriate and less restrictive means for dealing with the person are reasonably available. The accredited medical practitioner can also take into account any serious harm that may occur to children in the care of the person, or other dependants.

Attendees at the 2-day D&A training workshop are highly experienced D&A treatment and rehabilitation health care professionals, being either medical practitioners or what are known as "involuntary treatment liasion officers" (registered psychiatric nurses and other mental health workers) who provide assistance to accredited medical practitioners as respects the performance of their duties under the Act.

In addition to my lecturing duties and responsibilities at the Institute, I also provide a range of legal services to the Institute including but not limited to ongoing advice on the meaning, interpretation and practical application of the various pieces of NSW and other legislation pertaining to mental health.

Mr Peter Bazzana has kindly written these words:

Dr Ian Ellis-Jones is a highly valued consultant to a number of programs at the NSW Institute of Psychiatry. He has consistently demonstrated his excellent skills as both a writer and a presenter. His workshops are consistently highly evaluated by the mental health professionals who attend.

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