Author Archives: vinaire

I am originally from India. I am settled in United States since 1969. I love mathematics, philosophy and clarity in thinking.

Psychology Timeline East (Ancient history – BCE)

January 20, 2026 – 11:55 AM

Reference: SC: Psychology

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Ancient history – BCE

  • c. 2600–1900 BCE – Indus Valley Civilization
    Iconography suggests early yogic/meditative postures and concern with inner states, though not yet systematized as explicit psychology.
  • c. 1500–1200 BCE – Early Vedic Period (Ṛgveda)
    Vedic hymns introduce early notions of manas (mind), sattva–rajas–tamas as qualitative traits, and distinguish mental from physical affliction in ritual-healing contexts.
  • c. 1000–600 BCE – Later Vedic / Upaniṣadic Emergence
    Principal Upaniṣads begin to take shape; they analyze states of consciousness (waking, dream, deep sleep, and samādhi), the relation of ātman and mind, and introduce explicit practices of self‑inquiry (ātma‑vicāra).
  • c. 600–400 BCE – Early Upaniṣads and Vedānta
    The major classical Upaniṣads (Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya, etc.) are composed, offering detailed accounts of cognition, memory, desire, and the psychosomatic linkage of thought, breath, and health.
  • c. 6th century BCE – Historical Buddha and Early Buddhism
    Gautama Buddha formulates the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path as a diagnostic–therapeutic model of suffering, with a phenomenological account of craving, perception, and the no‑self (anātman) doctrine.
  • c. 6th–5th century BCE – Jaina and early Buddhist psychological doctrines
    Early Jaina and Buddhist texts analyze karmic conditioning of mind, types of cognition, and structured paths of purifying attention and emotion (e.g., mindfulness of body, feeling, mind, dhammas).
  • c. 5th–4th century BCE – Classical Upaniṣads complete
    Upaniṣadic corpus largely stabilized; Vedāntic analyses of self, mind, and liberation become the primary “high theory” of Indian psychological thought.
  • c. 4th–3rd century BCE – Abhidharma beginnings
    The earliest Abhidharma texts appear, initiating the systematic taxonomic analysis of mental factors (cetasikas), momentary dharmas, and cognitive processes in Theravāda and other schools.
  • c. 3rd–2nd century BCE – Aśokan and early scholastic period
    Growth of Buddhist monastic centers supports more technical Abhidharma work and debate; mental phenomena are classified with increasing precision for contemplative training.
  • c. 2nd–1st century BCE – Bhagavad Gītā
    The Gītā (often dated roughly between 200 BCE and 200 CE) presents a psychologically rich dialogue: Arjuna’s crisis, analysis of anxiety and despondency, typology of guṇa‑based personalities, and four yogas as integrated methods of cognitive–emotional transformation.

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Psychology (1-1000 CE): Comparative Analysis

January 19, 2026 – 4:46 PM

Reference: SC: Psychology

NOTE: Text in color contains Vinaire’s comments.

Divergent Paths and Shared Insights

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Epistemological Frameworks

The first millennium of the Christian Era witnessed fundamentally different trajectories in Eastern and Western approaches to mental illness, yet certain themes emerged across cultures that suggest universal aspects of human psychological understanding.

Western approaches oscillated between naturalistic and supernatural explanations. The Greco-Roman medical tradition established by Hippocrates, systematized by Celsus, and elaborated by Galen provided a coherent naturalistic framework based on humoral imbalance and brain pathology. However, the rise of Christianity introduced competing supernatural explanations centered on sin, demonic possession, and divine punishment. Byzantine medicine preserved the Greco-Roman naturalistic tradition while existing within a Christian cultural matrix, creating a complex synthesis. The Desert Fathers developed a third approach—neither purely naturalistic nor crudely supernatural—that understood mental afflictions as spiritual-psychological states requiring disciplined cognitive and contemplative interventions.

Eastern approaches generally maintained more consistent naturalistic frameworks while integrating spiritual dimensions without contradiction. Indian Ayurvedic medicine understood mental illness through the lens of dosha imbalance while accommodating supernatural etiologies (the agantuja category of unmada) without allowing them to dominate the medical framework. Buddhist psychology grounded mental suffering in the universal mechanisms of attachment, aversion, and ignorance, locating the problem and the solution entirely within the structure of consciousness itself. Chinese medicine integrated emotional and physiological dimensions seamlessly, viewing mental disorders as disruptions in the flow of qi and imbalances among organ systems. Islamic medicine synthesized Greek, Persian, and Indian knowledge while firmly rejecting supernatural explanations, insisting that mental illness was a medical condition requiring rational treatment.

Western approaches to mental illness oscillated between naturalistic and supernatural explanations; whereas, Eastern approaches generally maintained more consistent naturalistic frameworks while integrating spiritual dimensions without contradiction.

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Therapeutic Modalities

Despite diverse theoretical frameworks, practical therapeutic interventions showed remarkable convergence across cultures. Pharmacological treatments were universal: Western physicians prescribed various herbal compounds, purgatives, and dietary modifications; Ayurvedic medicine employed extensive materia medica tailored to dosha imbalances; Chinese medicine developed complex herbal formulas; Islamic physicians like Alexander of Tralles and Al-Razi utilized hundreds of pharmaceutical preparations.

Psychotherapeutic interventions emerged independently across traditions. Roman physicians like Asclepiades advocated humane treatment including “light, music, and hydrotherapy”. Galen emphasized “counsel and education”. Ayurvedic texts prescribed treatments through “knowledge, specific knowledge, restraint, memory, and concentration”, using “exposure of the patient to mutually contradictory psychic factors” for emotional disturbances. Buddhist psychology developed systematic cognitive techniques for removing intrusive thoughts that closely parallel modern CBT. The Desert Fathers created contemplative practices for “guarding the heart” and managing the “demon of acedia”. Islamic physicians like Al-Razi pioneered psychotherapy, emphasizing positive therapeutic relationships and using sudden emotional reactions to catalyze healing.

Environmental and occupational therapies appeared across cultures. Greek and Roman physicians recommended travel, exercise, and pleasant environments. Byzantine hospitals provided comprehensive care. Islamic bimaristans employed “occupational therapy, aromatherapy, baths, and music therapy”. Chinese medicine emphasized appropriate environmental conditions for emotional balance. The convergence suggests these approaches addressed genuine therapeutic needs recognized across diverse cultural contexts.

Despite diverse theoretical frameworks, practical therapeutic interventions showed remarkable convergence across cultures. The convergence suggests these approaches addressed genuine therapeutic needs recognized across diverse cultural contexts.

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The Role of Spirituality and Religion

The relationship between religious/spiritual frameworks and mental health treatment varied significantly. In the Christian West, increasing religious dominance often displaced medical frameworks, though this was neither universal nor uncontested. Byzantine physicians maintained professional medical approaches while practicing Christianity. Monastic psychology, rather than rejecting naturalistic understanding, developed sophisticated introspective techniques grounded in systematic observation of mental states.

In the East, spiritual and medical frameworks achieved greater integration. Ayurvedic medicine embedded treatment within a comprehensive philosophical worldview without the spiritual dimension overwhelming medical observation. Buddhism developed psychological systems that were simultaneously therapeutic practices and paths to enlightenment—the distinction between treating mental illness and achieving awakening was one of degree rather than kind. Chinese medicine integrated spiritual concepts like Shen with physiological observation seamlessly. Islamic medicine, while deeply embedded in Islamic civilization, insisted on the medical nature of mental illness and rational treatment, achieving a synthesis where faith informed ethics without dictating medical theory.

The relationship between religious/spiritual frameworks and mental health treatment varied significantly. In the Christian West, increasing religious dominance often displaced medical frameworks. In the East, spiritual and medical frameworks achieved greater integration.

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Institutional Developments

The development of specialized institutions for mental health care emerged most dramatically in the Islamic world with Al-Razi’s psychiatric ward and the bimaristan system. While Byzantine hospitals included medical care and Western monasteries provided refuge for the mentally distressed, these institutions did not develop the specialized, systematic approach to psychiatric treatment seen in Islamic medicine. The bimaristans represented “centers of healing, where monks utilized a combination of herbal remedies, dietary regulations, and spiritual rituals to address physical and mental health issues”, but with explicit medical organization and trained physician staff.

Chinese and Indian contexts developed different institutional patterns. While hospitals existed in ancient India and China, the available evidence from this period does not document specialized psychiatric facilities comparable to the Islamic bimaristans. However, monastic communities in both Buddhist and Hindu contexts provided structured environments for mental cultivation and healing, functioning as therapeutic communities even if not formally organized as medical institutions.

The development of specialized institutions for mental health care emerged most dramatically in the Islamic world. While other places provided refuge for the mentally distressed and medical care, these institutions did not develop the specialized, systematic approach to psychiatric treatment seen in Islamic medicine.

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Psychology (1-1000 CE): The Islamic Revolution

January 19, 2026 – 12:46 PM

Reference: SC: Psychology

NOTE: Text in color contains Vinaire’s comments.


The Birth of Psychiatric Medicine (9th-11th Centuries CE)

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The Founding of Psychiatric Institutions

The Islamic Golden Age (roughly 8th-13th centuries CE) witnessed the most revolutionary advances in the treatment of mental illness during the first millennium. Islamic physicians synthesized Greek, Persian, and Indian medical knowledge while making groundbreaking innovations that would not be matched in the West until the modern era.

Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (Rhazes, 865-925 CE) achieved a milestone in psychiatric history by establishing the first dedicated psychiatric ward in Baghdad. This represented a paradigmatic shift in how mental illness was conceptualized and treated. Al-Razi “viewed mental illnesses as conditions that required medical intervention, challenging the prevalent notions that attributed such ailments to supernatural causes or moral failings”. His approach was “revolutionary for his time”—he insisted that “mental disorders should be recognized and treated as medical conditions”.

In these psychiatric wards, Al-Razi “conducted thorough clinical observations of patients with psychiatric conditions and implemented treatment strategies involving diet, medication, occupational therapy, aromatherapy, baths, and music therapy”. The comprehensiveness of treatment reflected a holistic understanding that mental illness affected the whole person. Al-Razi “gave priority to the doctor-patient relationship” and “advised physicians on how to keep the respect and confidence of their patients”, recognizing that the therapeutic relationship itself was curative.

Al-Razi developed innovative psychotherapeutic approaches that anticipated modern psychotherapy by a millennium. He “advocated for psychotherapy,” emphasizing that “positive remarks from doctors could uplift patients, enhance their well-being, and facilitate a faster recovery”. He believed that “a sudden, intense emotional reaction could rapidly improve psychological, psychosomatic, and organic disorders”, employing what he called “a simple but dynamic approach” to psychotherapy. In one famous case, Al-Razi treated Prince Mansur of Ray for severe joint pain through an elaborate psychological intervention—staging an emotionally shocking confrontation in a bathhouse that successfully mobilized the prince to move when conventional treatments had failed.

Al-Razi made crucial diagnostic distinctions. He clarified that “a Majnun (insane) is not epileptic, as an epileptic person is otherwise healthy except during seizures”. He distinguished different types of melancholia, noting that “the reason is merely misdirected” rather than destroyed. Remarkably, he “asserted that religious compulsions could be overcome by reason to achieve better mental health,” accomplishing “a primary form of cognitive therapy for obsessive behavior”. He also advocated that “mental health and self-esteem are crucial factors influencing a person’s overall health”, anticipating modern biopsychosocial models.

The Islamic revolution was the insistence that mental disorders should be recognized and treated as medical conditions. The establishment of the first dedicated psychiatric ward in Baghdad represented a paradigmatic shift in how mental illness was conceptualized and treated. The therapeutic relationship was an important part of the treatment.

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Comprehensive Biopsychosocial Systems

Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (9th century CE) was “the first to discuss the interconnectivity between physical and mental well-being by linking illness with the nafs (self/soul) to the development of physical ailments”. In his treatise Masalih al-Abdan wa al-Anfus (“Sustenance of the Body and Soul”), he “developed approaches that we would now view as cognitive and talking therapy”. Al-Balkhi’s interventions included instructing individuals “to keep helpful cognitions at hand during times of distress,” employing “persuasive talking, preaching, and advising,” differentiating “between normal and extreme emotional responses to situations,” and studying “the development of coping mechanisms for anger, fear, sadness, and obsessions”. This framework, connecting cognitions and pathological behaviors, bears striking resemblance to modern cognitive behavioral therapy.

Al-Balkhi was also notable for “distinguishing between neuroses and psychosis, classifying neuroses into four categories: fear and anxiety (al-khawf wa al-faza’), anger and aggression (al-ghadab wa al-haraq), sadness and depression (al-huzn wa al-inhizam), and obsessions (al-waswas)”. This categorical system demonstrated sophisticated clinical observation and represented an early psychiatric nosology.

Al-Akhawayni Bukhari (?-983 CE) gained such renown for his treatment of mentally ill patients that he became known as “Bejeshk-e Divanehgan” (The Doctor of the Insane). His work Hidayat contained detailed chapters on various mental conditions: “Mania,” “Malikhulia” (Melancholia), “Kabus” (Nightmare), “Ghotrab” (Dementia), and “Khonagh-o-Rahem” (Conversion Disorder). Al-Akhawayni made the crucial observation that melancholia “results from the impact of black bile on the brain”, explicitly localizing mental illness in neurological substrates.

He classified patients with melancholia into distinct subtypes based on clinical presentation. The first group exhibited “fear with no definite etiology, self-laughing, self-crying, and speaking meaninglessly”—symptoms we would now associate with major depressive disorder with psychotic features. A second group claimed to possess stunning abilities, “introduced themselves as a prophet or king,” or believed they had “turned into other beings, like hens and roosters, and mimicked their behaviors”—presentations consistent with grandiose delusions seen in bipolar disorder with psychotic features or schizophrenia. Al-Akhawayni emphasized nutritional interventions, believing that “some foods, such as wholemeal bread, beef, and salted fish, can be beneficial to the melancholics’ condition”.

The interconnectivity between physical and mental well-being was emphasized by linking illness with the inner self, that has desires, emotions, and free will, to the development of physical ailments. Clear distinction was made between neuroses and psychosis.

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The Synthesis of Avicenna

Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037 CE) produced The Canon of Medicine, which “was the basis for studying medicine in the East and the West for multiple centuries”. The Canon “discusses, among other things, the structure of psychological apparatus of human being and the connection of psychological functions with the brain as well as the role of psyche in etiology of somatic diseases”. Avicenna’s work represented the pinnacle of medieval understanding of mental illness, integrating philosophical psychology with clinical observation.

Avicenna provided detailed phenomenological descriptions of mental disorders. He distinguished between early and chronic phases of melancholia: the early phase involved “suspicions of evil, fear without cause, quick anger, involuntary muscle movements, dizziness, and tinnitus,” while the chronic phase showed “moaning, deep suspicion, profound sadness, restlessness, and delusions” including fears “that the sky may fall on one’s head” or of “being swallowed by the earth”. Avicenna was “among the first physicians to document that anger often serves as a transitional state between melancholic depression and mania—what psychiatry now calls the ‘switch’ phenomenon”.

Remarkably, Avicenna recognized what “wouldn’t be formally recognized by modern psychiatry for nearly a millennium: what we now call ‘mixed states,’ where features of depression and mania occur together”. He noted that some melancholic patients would show “increased libido, involuntary laughter, and even grandiose thoughts like imagining ‘that one is king’”.

Avicenna explored the psychology of death anxiety, identifying it as “a universal fear” with three cognitive causes: “(a) ignorance as to what death is, (b) uncertainty of what is to follow after death and (c) supposing that after death, the soul may cease to exist”. This analysis demonstrated sophisticated understanding of how cognitive interpretations generate emotional states.

Avicenna’s understanding of psychosomatic medicine was centuries ahead of his time. “He recognized the influence of emotional and mental states on physical health, suggesting that pain perception could be shaped by factors such as stress, anxiety, and sadness,” while “positive emotions and mental tranquility could reduce it”. This dual focus on psychological and physical conditions made it “critical for physicians to address both” aspects of patient care.

There was better understanding of the structure of psychological apparatus of human being, the connection of psychological functions with the brain, the role of psyche in the causation of somatic diseases, and of psychosomatic medicine.

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Institutional Care and Cultural Context

The Islamic world developed sophisticated institutional care for mental illness through bimaristans (hospitals). These institutions had “separate wards for different illnesses, patients suffering from anxiety or showing signs of psychological distress were treated” with comprehensive modalities. The Mansuri Hospital in Cairo provided “medical treatment for Muslim patients, male and female, rich and poor, from Cairo and the countryside”, emphasizing accessibility regardless of social status. These hospitals included “lecture rooms, a library, as well as a chapel and a mosque”, integrating medical education with treatment.

The cultural context was crucial: “During the Islamic Golden Age, mental disorders were seen as phenomena that existed, requiring clinical assessment and treatment, and categorized and assessed systematically by employing rational judgements and observation rather than cultural beliefs based on supernatural causes”. While “the use of religious and medical forms of healing co-occurred—for instance, the use of prayer and ritual healing in addition to using treatments according to the medical model of the time”—the medical framework remained primary. This stood in stark contrast to medieval Christian Europe, where “discourse of mental illness as result of demons, spirits, spiritual distress, and sin dominated”.

The Islamic world developed sophisticated institutional care for mental illness through hospitals. These hospitals included lecture rooms, a library, as well as a chapel and a mosque, integrating medical education with treatment.

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Notes:

  1. Nafs (نَفْس) is an Arabic word meaning the self, soul, psyche, or ego, central to Islamic thought, representing the inner self with desires, emotions, and free will, having both negative (commanding evil) and positive (tranquil) states, requiring spiritual struggle to tame its lower instincts (like lust, anger) towards a higher, peaceful state, often described in stages (like the commanding self, reproaching self, tranquil self). It’s the aspect of the spirit interacting with the physical body, driving actions and choices, distinct from the pure spirit (ruh) but linked to it. 

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MN 107: Ganakamoggallana Sutta 

January 17, 2026 – 8:56 PM

Reference: Exploring the Words of the Buddha

NOTE: Text in color contains Vinaire’s comments.

This sutta talks about the beginning steps in Buddhism that a new Bhikkhu goes through.

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To Ganaka Moggallana

1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in the Eastern Park, in the Palace of Migara’s Mother. Then the brahmin Ganaka Moggallana went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he sat down at one side and said to the Blessed One: 

Buddha answered questions that were asked of him.

2. “Master Gotama, in this Palace of Migara’s Mother there can be seen gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progress, that is, down to the last step of the staircase. Among these brahmins too, there can be seen gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progress, that is, in study. Among archers too, there can be seen gradual training… that is, in archery. And also among accountants like us, who earn our living by accountancy, there can be seen gradual training… that is, in computation. For when we get an apprentice first we make him count: one one, two twos, three threes, four fours, five fives, six sixes, seven sevens, eight eights, nine nines, ten tens; and we make him count a hundred too. Now is it also possible, Master Gotama, to describe gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progress in this Dhamma and Discipline?” 

On one occasion, a Brahmin wanted to know about the beginning steps for acquiring Dhamma and Discipline.

3. “It is possible, brahmin, to describe gradual training, gradual practice, and gradual progress in this Dhamma and Discipline. Just as, brahmin, when a clever horse-trainer obtains a fine thoroughbred colt, he first makes him get used to wearing the bit, and afterwards trains him further, so when the Tathagata obtains a person to be tamed he first disciplines him thus: ‘Come, bhikkhu, be virtuous, restrained with the restraint of the Patimokkha, be perfect in conduct and resort, and seeing fear in the slightest fault, train by undertaking the training precepts.’

Buddha described how a new bhikkhu is introduced to Patimokkha, which is the foundational code of monastic discipline in Buddhism. This code governs the daily lives, conduct, and ethical responsibilities of a bhikkhu. The bhikkhu learns to be virtuous and be mindful of the slightest fault.

4. “When, brahmin, the bhikkhu is virtuous… and seeing fear in the slightest fault, trains by undertaking the training precepts, then the Tathagata disciplines him further: ‘Come, bhikkhu, guard the doors of your sense faculties. On seeing a form with the eye, do not grasp at its signs and features. Since, if you were to leave the eye faculty unguarded, evil unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade you, practise the way of its restraint, guard the eye faculty, undertake the restraint of the eye faculty. On hearing a sound with the ear… On smelling an odour with the nose… On tasting a flavour with the tongue… On touching a tangible with the body… On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, do not grasp at its signs and features. Since, if you were to leave the mind faculty unguarded, evil unwholesome states might invade you, practise the way of its restraint, guard the mind faculty, undertake the restraint of the mind faculty.’ 

Then he learns to guard the doors of his sense faculties and not to get fixated or attached to things.

5. “When, brahmin, the bhikkhu guards the doors of his sense faculties, then the Tathagata disciplines him further: ‘Come, bhikkhu, be moderate in eating. Reflecting wisely, you should take food neither for amusement nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the endurance and continuance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering: “Thus I shall terminate old feelings without arousing new feelings and I shall be healthy and blameless and shall live in comfort.'” 

Next, he learns to eat only for the endurance and continuance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life.

6. “When, brahmin, the bhikkhu is moderate in eating, then the Tathagata disciplines him further: ‘Come, bhikkhu, be devoted to wakefulness. During the day, while walking back and forth and sitting, purify your mind of obstructive states. In the first watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, purify your mind of obstructive states. In the middle watch of the night you should lie down on the right side in the lion’s pose with one foot overlapping the other, mindful and fully aware, after noting in your mind the time for rising. After rising, in the third watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, purify your mind of obstructive states.’ 

Next, he learns to be devoted to wakefulness and to purify his mind of obstructive states.

7. “When, brahmin, the bhikkhu is devoted to wakefulness, then the Tathagata disciplines him further: ‘Come, bhikkhu, be possessed of mindfulness and full awareness. Act in full awareness when going forward and returning; act in full awareness when looking ahead and looking away; act in full awareness when flexing and extending your limbs; act in full awareness when wearing your robes and carrying your outer robe and bowl; act in full awareness when eating, drinking, consuming food, and tasting; act in full awareness when defecating and urinating; act in full awareness when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent.’ 

Next, he learns to be possessed of mindfulness and full awareness.

8. “When, brahmin, the bhikkhu possesses mindfulness and full awareness, then the Tathagata disciplines him further: ‘Come, bhikkhu, resort to a secluded resting place: the forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, an open space, a heap of straw.’ 

Next, he resorts to a secluded resting place.

9. “He resorts to a secluded resting place: the forest… a heap of straw. On returning from his alms-round, after his meal he sits down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect, and establishing mindfulness before him. Abandoning covetousness for the world, he abides with a mind free from covetousness; he purifies his mind from covetousness. Abandoning ill will and hatred, he abides with a mind free from ill will, compassionate for the welfare of all living beings; he purifies his mind from ill will and hatred. Abandoning sloth and torpor, he abides free from sloth and torpor, percipient of light, mindful and fully aware; he purifies his mind from sloth and torpor. Abandoning restlessness and remorse, he abides unagitated with a mind inwardly peaceful; he purifies his mind from restlessness and remorse. Abandoning doubt, he abides having gone beyond doubt, unperplexed .about wholesome states; he purifies his mind from doubt.

Next, he meditates with mindfulness, abandoning covetousness for the world. Purifying his mind from ill will and hatred, he develops compassion for the welfare of all living beings. He abides with a mind free from sloth, torpor, restlessness, remorse and doubt. Thus, he attains inward peace.

10. “Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. With the fading away as well of rapture, he abides w equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhana, on account of which noble ones announce: ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.’ With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, he enters upon and abides in the fourth jh&na, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. 

He, then, naturally enters upon and abides in the first jhana. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhana. With the fading away as well of rapture, he enters upon and abides in the third jhana. He now has equanimity. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana. He now has purity of mindfulness.

11. “This is my instruction, brahmin, to those bhikkhus who are in the higher training, whose minds have not yet attained the goal, who abide aspiring to the supreme security from bondage. But these things conduce both to a pleasant abiding here and now and to mindfulness and full awareness for those bhikkhus who are arahants with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge.”

These are Buddha’s instructions for those who are in higher training. But even those who have attained the goal are supported by these instructions.

12. When this was said, the brahmin Ganaka Moggallana asked the Blessed One: “When Master Gotama’s disciples are thus advised and instructed by him, do they all attain Nibbana, the ultimate goal, or do some not attain it?” “When, brahmin, they are thus advised and instructed by me, some of my disciples attain Nibbana, the ultimate goal, and some do not attain it.” 

Some attain the ultimate goal of Nibbana, and some do not attain it.

13. “Master Gotama, since Nibbana exists and the path leading to Nibbana exists and Master Gotama is present as the guide, what is the cause and reason why, when Master Gotama’s disciples are thus advised and instructed by him, some of them attain Nibbana, the ultimate goal, and some do not attain it?” 

14. “As to that, brahmin, I will ask you a question in return. Answer it as you choose. What do you think, brahmin? Are you familiar with the road leading to Rajagaha?” 

“Yes, Master Gotama, I am familiar with the road leading ‘to Rajagaha.” 

“What do you think, brahmin? Suppose a man came who wanted to go to Rajagaha, and he approached you and said: ‘Venerable sir, I want to go to Rajagaha. Show me the road to Rajagaha.’ Then you told him: ‘Now, good man, this road goes to Rajagaha. Follow it for awhile and you will see a certain village, go a little further and you will see a certain town, go a little further and you will see Rajagaha with its lovely parks, groves, meadows, and ponds.’ Then, having been thus advised and instructed by you, he would take a wrong road and would go to the west. Then a second man came who wanted to go to Rajagaha, and he approached you and said: ‘Venerable sir, I want to go to Rajagaha.’ Then you told him: ‘Now, good man, this road goes to Rajagaha. Follow it for a while… and you will see Rajagaha with its lovely parks, groves, meadows, and ponds.’ Then, having been thus advised and instructed by you, he would arrive safely in Rajagaha. Now, brahmin, since Rajagaha exists and the path leading to Rajagaha exists and you are present as the guide, what is the cause and reason why, when those men have been thus advised and instructed by you, one man takes a wrong road and goes to the west and one arrives safely in Rajagaha?”

“What can I do about that, Master Gotama? I am one who shows the way.” 

“So too, brahmin, Nibbana exists and the path leading to Nibbana exists and I am present as the guide. Yet when my disciples have been thus advised and instructed by me, some of them attain Nibbana, the ultimate goal, and some do not attain it. What can I do about that, brahmin? The Tathagata is one who shows the way.”

Buddha can only show the way. It is up to a person to follow it to reach Nibbana.

15. When this was said, the brahmin Ganaka Moggallana said to the Blessed One: “There are persons who are faithless and have gone forth from the home life into homelessness not out of faith but seeking a livelihood, who are fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, loose-spoken, unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in eating, undevoted to wakefulness, unconcerned with recluseship, not greatly respectful of training, luxurious, careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion, lazy, wanting in energy, unmindful, not fully aware, unconcentrated, with straying minds, devoid of wisdom, drivellers. Master Gotama does not dwell together with these. 

“But there are clansmen who have gone forth out of faith from the home life into homelessness, who are not fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, and loose-spoken; who are guarded in their sense faculties, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, concerned with recluseship, greatly respectful of training, not luxurious or careless, who are keen to avoid backsliding, leaders in seclusion, energetic, resolute, established in mindfulness, fully aware, concentrated, with unified minds, possessing wisdom, not drivellers. Master Gotama dwells together with these. 

Here are the characteristics of those who stay on the path and those who don’t.

16 “Just as black orris root is reckoned as the best of root perfumes and red sandalwood is reckoned as the best of wood perfumes and jasmine is reckoned as the best of flower perfumes, so too, Master Gotama’s advice is supreme among the teachings of today.

17. “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overturned, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. Let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.”

For more details, please see
Grade Chart of Buddhism

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NOTES:

  1. The Pātimokkha (or Pratimoksha) is the foundational code of monastic discipline in Buddhism, a set of hundreds of rules (e.g., 227 for monks, 311 for nuns) governing the daily lives, conduct, and ethical responsibilities of fully ordained Buddhist monastics (bhikkhus and bhikkhunis). Recited regularly, it serves as a framework for spiritual growth, allowing monks and nuns to confess transgressions and maintain communal harmony, ultimately leading towards liberation (moksha) from cyclic existence. 
  2. The “lion’s pose” in lying down (sīhaseyya) refers to a specific Buddhist posture for rest and meditation, where you lie on your right side, right hand under the head, left arm along the left leg, legs straight (perhaps one foot over the other), symbolizing mindfulness and alertness, mirroring the Buddha’s final posture. It’s considered an optimal, alert resting position, distinct from a deep, unconscious sleep, helping maintain clarity and prepare for death or deep meditation. 

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Psychology (1-1000 CE): The Eastern Trajectory

January 15, 2026 – 2:42 PM

Reference: SC: Psychology

NOTE: Text in color contains Vinaire’s comments.

Holistic Systems and Cognitive Therapies

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Indian Medical Psychology (1st Century Onward):
The Ayurvedic Framework

Ancient Indian medicine developed sophisticated understandings of mental illness centuries before the Common Era, but the classical texts were composed and systematized during the early centuries CE. The Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita (composed in their current forms during the 1st-2nd centuries CE, though based on much earlier oral traditions) contain detailed expositions of mental disorders.

The primary Ayurvedic category for major mental disorders was unmada, literally meaning “frenzy, madness, or mental derangement”. The Charaka Samhita defined unmada as “the excessive wandering of the intellect, mind, and memory,” a condition that encompassed what modern psychiatry would classify across multiple diagnostic categories including various forms of psychosis, severe mood disorders, and organic mental syndromes. The text specified that unmada was “brought on by the consumption of impure food, blasphemy, and mental shock”, reflecting a biopsychosocial understanding that integrated dietary, spiritual, and traumatic etiologies.

Ayurvedic medicine classified unmada into five subtypes based on which of the three fundamental physiological principles (doshas) were vitiated. Vataja unmada resulted from vitiation of the vata humor (associated with movement and the nervous system), pittaja unmada from vitiation of pitta (associated with metabolism and transformation), kaphaja unmada from vitiation of kapha (associated with structure and lubrication), sannipataja unmada from simultaneous vitiation of all three doshas, and agantuja unmada from exogenous causes including possession by supernatural entities. This classification system demonstrated remarkable sophistication, recognizing that similar behavioral presentations could arise from fundamentally different pathophysiological processes.

The Ayurvedic understanding of mental illness was deeply integrated with its model of personality and consciousness. Mental health was understood to depend upon the balance of the trigunas—three fundamental qualities of mind: sattva (harmony, goodness, clarity), rajas (passion, activity, restlessness), and tamas (inertia, darkness, ignorance). “Improving Sattva and achieving a balance between Rajas and Tamas are necessary for mental well-being”. The hrdaya (emotional heart and seat of intellect) was identified as the origin point where aggravated doshas would travel into the mental channels, “subsequently causing an imbalance within the mind”.

Treatment approaches combined pharmacological, psychological, and spiritual interventions. The Charaka Samhita prescribed that “the mind should be treated with knowledge, specific knowledge, restraint, memory, and concentration”. Therapeutic methods included herbal medicines, dietary modifications, massage (abhyanga), fumigation (dhuma), music therapy, and psychotherapeutic interventions. For unmada caused by loss of something the patient loved, “he is made to regain a similar object. Simultaneously, he is consoled with pleasing assurances of friends as a result of which he becomes free from the ailment”. For unmada caused by emotions—“passion, grief, fear, anger, exhilaration, jealousy and greed”—physicians employed “exposure of the patient to mutually contradictory psychic factors” to restore equilibrium.

Indian texts written during the 1st-2nd centuries CE, define insanity as “the excessive wandering of the intellect, mind, and memory, brought on by the consumption of impure food, blasphemy, and mental shock.” Treatment approaches combined pharmacological, psychological, and spiritual interventions.

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Buddhist Psychology (1st-5th Centuries):
Cognitive Approaches to Mental Suffering

Buddhism developed a comprehensive psychological system that distinguished between general human suffering (dukkha) and specific mental illnesses. The Buddha himself “distinguished between two kinds of illness (rogo): physical illness (kāyiko rogo) and mental illness (cetasiko rogo)”. The Buddha attributed mental illness to “the arising of mental defilements (Kleshas) which are ultimately based on the unwholesome roots (three poisons) of greed, hatred, and confusion”.

From the Buddhist perspective, “everyone who is not an awakened being is in some sense mentally ill”—as the Buddha stated in the Pali canon, “those beings are hard to find in the world who can admit freedom from mental disease even for one moment, save only those in whom the asavas mental fermentations are destroyed”. This radical claim did not pathologize normal human experience but rather established enlightenment as the standard of perfect mental health. The Buddhist approach to mental suffering was fundamentally therapeutic and pragmatic—rather than metaphysical speculation, Buddhism offered “a method of cleansing the stream of consciousness from ‘contaminations’ and ‘defilements’”.

Buddhist texts identified five major hindrances (nivarana) that prevent mental cultivation and contribute to psychological distress: sense desire, hostility, sloth-torpor, restlessness-worry, and doubt. The therapeutic methodology for removing negative or intrusive thoughts, detailed in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta (MN 20, “The Removal of Distracting Thoughts”), prescribed five cognitive techniques that strikingly anticipate modern cognitive-behavioral therapy:

  1. Focus on an opposite or incompatible thought or object
  2. Ponder the perils and disadvantages of the thought and its harmful consequences
  3. Ignore the thought and distract oneself through another activity
  4. Reflect on the removal or stopping of the causes of the target thought
  5. Make a forceful mental effort to suppress the thought

Nagarjuna (c. 150-250 CE), founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism, revolutionized Buddhist philosophy and psychology through his concept of sunyata (emptiness). Nagarjuna’s philosophy functioned as “linguistic therapy: it uses language to reveal how language deceives us”. He argued that mental and emotional turmoil arises from clinging to conceptual elaborations (prapancha)—fixed ideas about the nature of reality, self, and phenomena. These conceptualizations “do not accurately reflect how the world actually is” and generate suffering because we mistake linguistic constructs for reality.

Nagarjuna demonstrated through rigorous dialectical analysis that all phenomena, including mental states and the self, lack intrinsic existence (svabhava). This “cognitive default” of projecting substantial existence onto things reflects “our tendency to become attached to things, reflecting a need for solidity and permanence, forever frustrated by the certainty of death”. The therapeutic goal was not to replace deluded thinking with a correct philosophical view but rather to let go of all fixed conceptual positions. “Our emotional and mental turmoil is replaced by a beatitude or serenity (shiva) that cannot be grasped but can be lived”.

Vasubandhu (fl. 4th-5th century CE), philosopher and co-founder of the Yogacara school, developed a sophisticated psychological system centered on consciousness and its transformations. Vasubandhu elaborated the theory of eight types of consciousness: the five sense consciousnesses, empirical consciousness (mano-vijnana), a self-aggrandizing mentality (manas), and the alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness). The storehouse consciousness explained psychological continuity and the mechanisms of karmic conditioning—the “seed” (bija) of each experience is “stored subliminally and released into a new experience,” providing “a quasi-causal explanation for the functioning of karmic retribution”.

Vasubandhu’s analysis revealed that what we take to be an external objective world is actually constructed within consciousness itself. “We are fooled by consciousness into believing that those things which we perceive and appropriate within consciousness are actually outside our cognitive sphere”. This insight—that “cognition takes place only in consciousness and nowhere else”—anticipated by over a millennium Western philosophical idealism and phenomenology. The therapeutic implications were profound: suffering could be addressed by transforming the very basis of consciousness. “Buddhism is a method of cleansing the stream of consciousness from ‘contaminations’ and ‘defilements’”, achieved through ashraya-paravritti (overturning the basis) whereby consciousness (vijnana) is gradually transformed into unmediated cognition (jnana).

From the Buddhist perspective, “everyone who is not an awakened being is in some sense mentally ill.” The Buddha attributed mental illness to “the arising of mental defilements which are ultimately based on the unwholesome roots of greed, hatred, and confusion”. Buddhism offered “a method of cleansing the stream of consciousness from ‘contaminations’ and ‘defilements’.”

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Chinese Medical Psychology (1st-10th Centuries):
The Integration of Emotion and Physiology

Traditional Chinese Medicine developed during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and flourished through the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), creating a comprehensive system for understanding the relationship between emotional states and physiological processes. The foundational text, the Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic), described the Shen (spirit or consciousness) as residing in the Heart and governing consciousness. The Shen concept evolved from a mystical force into “a clinical entity in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), influencing diagnostics and treatments for emotional and mental imbalances”.

Zhang Zhongjing’s Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage, c. 200 CE) built upon this foundation, addressing “how external pathogens can disrupt the Shen, leading to symptoms like delirium or restlessness”. The text emphasized that “the Heart is the sovereign of all organs and represents the consciousness of one’s being. It is responsible for intelligence, wisdom, and spiritual transformation”.

Chinese medicine conceptualized mental disorders as arising from disruptions in the flow of qi (vital energy) and imbalances among the internal organ systems. “According to Chinese medicine theory, MDD major depressive disorder is mostly characterized by emotional disorders and stagnation of qi, which leads to a loss of regulation of the liver, a loss of function of the spleen, and a loss of nourishment of the heart”. The system recognized both external emotional factors (worry, fear, anger) and internal factors (the qi of the organs being easily disturbed) as contributing to mental illness.

Treatment modalities integrated herbal pharmacology with emotional and spiritual interventions. Classical formulas like Xiao Yao San (Free and Easy Wanderer Powder), first recorded during the Song Dynasty (960-1127 CE) but based on earlier traditions, have been “used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders for thousands of years”. The formula’s eight herbs were designed to address liver qi stagnation, a fundamental pattern underlying many emotional disorders. Chinese physicians documented successful treatments of hysteria, insomnia, and depression using these formulas, with detailed case records surviving from the medieval period.

Traditional Chinese Medicine created a comprehensive system for understanding the relationship between emotional states and physiological processes. Chinese medicine conceptualized mental disorders as arising from disruptions in the flow of qi (vital energy) and imbalances among the internal organ systems.

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Notes:

  1. Asava (or Āsava), a Pali/Sanskrit term in Buddhism, refers to mental effluents, defilements, or cankers like sensual desire, craving for existence, wrong views, and ignorance that “flow” from the mind, perpetuating the cycle of rebirth (samsara) and suffering.
  2. Alaya-vijnana (or ālaya-vijñāna) refers to the “storehouse consciousness,” a foundational concept in Mahayana Buddhism (especially the Yogācāra school) representing the deep, subconscious repository where all karmic seeds and impressions from past experiences are stored, influencing present perceptions. It’s the basis for identity and rebirth, a deep level of mind holding everything.

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