Freud and the Buddha

'This luminous book by Axel Hoffer and his colleagues challenges the false binaries of East and West, psychoanalysis and humanistic philosophy, the certainty of structure and the fluidity of transience, as well as the self's proud separateness and its humble merger with the universe. Themes of positive emptiness, healthy detatchment, pitfalls of insight, and, above all, the elusive anguish that forever pulsates at the core of human existence are also elucidated here. The conceptual and clinical yield of such discourse is awe-inspiring!'--Salman Akhtar, Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College; Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia'Freud and the Buddha is a much-needed map of the places where psychoanalytic thinking and Buddhist psychology converge and diverge. These lively chapters and Dr Hoffer's final synthesis bring fresh perspectives to the interface of two powerful tools for the relief of human suffering. This volume will have much to offer students of the dharma as well as students of depth psychology.'--Robert Waldinger, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; Senior Dharma Teacher at Boundless Way Zen'This book is by far the most sophisticated contribution yet to the dialogue between Buddhism and psychoanalysis that began almost sixty years ago. Eschewing romantic idealisation on the one hand and easy dismissal on the other, free from cultural prejudice, the book is exemplary in clearly highlighting the similarities and differences between two important traditions of psychological inquiry and, more importantly, in what the two can learn from each other as they strive towards their common goal of ameliorating mental suffering.'--Sudhir Kakar, Visiting Research Professor at Goa University, and author of The Inner World