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In the past several decades, mindfulness training, a discipline at the heart of Buddhist practice, has increasingly been integrated into Western psychotherapy practice. While mindfulness techniques have been implemented in many different psychotherapy modalities, the common clinical algorithm is that psychotherapists teach their patients to observe their sensations, feelings, and ideas in the present moment without judging or overidentifying with these mental contents.
However, mindfulness was never meant to be only a clinical method. It was developed as a means of bringing the Dharma, the teaching or essence of Buddhism, into the Western mainstream. Mindfulness, in this sense, is a lifestyle and a way of being.
In this poster we hope to show that a core Buddhist notion has a remarkable convergence with the accepted algorithms of psychodynamic psychotherapy practice (see also Lin and Seiden 2015). We introduce a Chan algorithm, The Four Steps, drawn from Chan (Chinese Zen) Buddhism. The four steps are Face it, Accept it, Deal with it, Let it go. (This formulation was introduced by Master Sheng-Yen, a well-known Chan master who sought to teach Chan to the modern Western world.)
Although mindfulness techniques have been adapted to and made use of in many clinical psychotherapy settings, the original Buddhist purpose may not be well understood. What follows is a brief summary for those unfamiliar with the Buddhist view of human psychology.
From a Buddhist perspective, the purpose of mindfulness is to cultivate wisdom (Sanskrit: prajna). With mindfulness, duhkha (suffering)