| Abstract: | In this article I explore some of the implications of the Buddhist perspective on nonduality and acceptance for psychoanalytic practice. Nonduality is a mode of experiencing that breaks down the distinction between categories that are conventionally regarded as opposites (e.g., good versus bad, pure versus impure, sacred versus profane, heaven and hell). The Buddhist perspective on nonduality is that the natural human tendency to think about things in dualistic terms is at the heart of the problem and that wisdom is the ability to experience things nondualistically. As long as we distinguish between things as they should be in some idealized state versus things as they are, we are unable to be fully open to, and appreciate the present situation for what it has to offer. I attempt to convey a sense of the way in which the cultivation of a nondual perspective can lead to a radical and paradoxical perspective on the role of acceptance in the analytic process. |
