Understanding the theories of psychology is important in ascertaining the causes of mental instability and advocating for practices that promote mental health and happiness. Buddhism, although a religion, provides an important approach to evaluating the cause of human suffering and adopting practices that result in happiness.
Part A
The concepts of personality are universal in their application. The beliefs and views of Buddhist psychology transcend the cultural and social chasm between the Buddhist and social societies. These beliefs can be applied equally to individuals across western societies, as they are fundamental in creating and bolstering the mental and emotional well being of an individual (Marano, 2016). The Dalai Lama perceives adaptation and adjustment as important aspects of personality. In his view, openness to information is a cornerstone of adjustment and happiness. Effective adoption and application of adjustment are the precepts of his patience and calmness for which he is well known. The Dalai Lama also advocates for being aware and getting close to true reality, including the suffering of humanity. Through meditation, he gets acquainted with the pain of others, making it easier for him to understand the reality of humanity.
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Buddha’s conveyed his wisdom of enlightenment as the four noble truths. The four truths are: there is suffering, the origin of suffering, the end of suffering, and the eightfold path. Through this enlightenment, Buddha sought to convey the reality that there is suffering. Just like there is a cause for suffering, there is also an end to it and a path to the end. These truths would be relevant in a person’s life in understanding and alleviating misery caused by drug addiction, bereavement, personal loss, etc. From these truths, Buddhism teaches that the self is susceptible to adversity and suffering. Creating awareness of the environment is thus fundamental in cultivating self-control and mitigating the inevitability of suffering. Buddhist ideas have become popular among some therapists because the practices harness subjective experiences to ameliorate emotional distress that material comforts have failed to wipe out.
The narrative metaphor is the most appropriate for personality theory. Every individual has their life story, which often changes depending on the circumstance or situation the person faces. These changes in situations often bring out a change in personality, which translates to rewriting of the person’s narrative. In a person’s lifetime, these changes are manifested as plot twists, time progression, change of characters, important and subtle events. An outgoing and enthusiastic person will often meet and interact with similar outgoing people in certain social events and adventures. It is these adventures that will describe the person’s narrative – a projection of their personality.
A unified theory is a multilevel approach to combining different perspectives, and explanations of personality are organized and related. The unified theory acknowledges the individual differences caused by biological and cultural influences and works to organize the differences into a wholesome approach. Given the intricacy of organizing the relationship matrices of the different personality theories, it would be difficult to develop a unified theory without distorting the constructs of the individual personality. Thus, we do not need a unified theory today.
From the assignment, I have learned that Buddhism is not only a religion but an important entity of psychology for contemporary western society. The teachings and enlightenment embedded in Buddhism, if well harnessed, are vital in understanding some aspects of human behavior such as their perception of suffering, and how to deal with suffering.
Part B
Gordon Allport’s personological trait theory is most similar to Buddhist psychology. Like with Buddhist psychology, Allport focused on the functioning of the whole personality. This theory was based on unobservable internal factors such as self-awareness, vision, and goals. At the center of the two theories are the constructs of religion. Allport viewed religion as an integral, unifying influence. The concept of suffering is also highlighted in both theories. Drawing from the example of Mother Teresa’s altruism, Allport conveys a religious devotion motivated by the suffering of others. Allport’s theory and Buddhist psychology differ in their approaches to cognitive psychology. While Allport perceived that the statements of others can be taken at face value, the Dalai Lama values openness to new information and dialogue.
Buddhism should have a role within religion. The insights and revelations brought forth by Buddhism have an overreaching effect on the life of individuals in contemporary society. Emotional distress and depression are common among many people. Psychologists are adopting meditation, fundamental teaching of Buddhism, to curtain the incidences of mental instability (Marano, 2016). The effective application of meditation is contingent on embracing the teachings and practices of Buddhism.
The narrative metaphor is most appropriate for personality theory. Like a narrative, a person’s life has a plot, plot twists, characters, salient episodes and events, unimportant occurrences, and lessons. These components are important in defining an individual’s personality.
Reference
Marano, H. E. (June 2016). Buddhism and the Blues. Psychology Today. Retrieved on 2 nd March 2020 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200310/buddhism-and-the-blues
