[Buddha-l] Was the Buddha mentally ill?

[Richard Hayes]

On Jul 29, 2010, at 7:56, Jamie Hubbard <jhubbard at smith.edu> wrote:

> Well than, Richard, the notion of pervasive dissatisfaction and the 
> complex routines required to eliminate it must get your bile flowing, 
> huh?

Yes, it does. Fortunately, I hardly ever hang around Buddhists these days, so I almost never have to put up with people trying to convince me that I'm wrong in believing I'm happy. I also rarely have to put up with people trying to convince me I really do believe that things have inherent natures, and that's why I'm deeply unhappy without knowing it. 

> Though the Buddha didn't invent the notion of samsara as a hell 
> that one needs to escape, he did do a pretty good job of formalizing it. 
> It never ceases to amaze me how many contemporary Westerners  that have 
> entirely wonderful lives can be convinced that their "happiness" is not 
> "true happiness," which lies in some sort of immutable state of nirvana 
> (in my experience Asian Buddhists--including monastics-- don't have 
> quite the same degree of investment in the First Noble Truth and its 
> solution in the Third Noble Truth as converts). Virtually all studies  
> report that regardless of country, race, gender, age, physical 
> condition, whatever -- nearly 50-55% of the folks report feeling happy 
> (though perhaps not including Western Buddhists), contented, and 
> satisfied most of the time, and another 20% or so report that they are 
> nearly always satisfied and content. There are many problems with these 
> sorts of studies, but as Dan noted earlier, a bit of basic psychology is 
> a good thing for folks interested in Buddhism-- IMO, a very healthy 
> antidote for the First Truth as well as required reading for any budding 
> Buddhologist (as is abhidharma and basic Buddhist psychology).
> 
> Of course, now that the psychologists have gotten into the Buddhist game 
> of convincing everybody that they have a disorder, other problems 
> surface, such as the huge increase in pharmaceuticals prescribed, 
> usually by your general practitioner w/out any accompanying therapy or 
> by a psychiatrist who simply checks your physical responses (blood 
> tests) every now and then and likewise gives no attention to any sort of 
> therapy.
> 
> Alas-- bourbon and a nap are so much easier.
> 
> BTW, I have been teaching the past few years with a rather skeptical 
> psychologist, who doubts as much of his field as I do of mine. The first 
> truth is patently false, the third makes no sense. Oh well.
> 
> Jamie
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