Lack and Transcendence: The Problem of Death and Life in Psychotherapy, Existentialism, and Buddhism - Softcover

Loy, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573927201 ISBN 13: 9781573927208

Publisher: Prometheus Books/Humanity Books, 2000

Synopsis

Whatever the differences in their methods and goals, psychotherapy, existentialism, and Buddhism are concerned with the same fundamental issues of life and death and death-in-life. In this unique work, David Loy brings all three traditions together for the first time in a synthesis receptive to the insights of each, thereby casting fresh light on familiar problems.

Dr. Loy's work grew out of the cross-fertilization of two basic ideas: the psychotherapeutic concept of repression and the Buddhist doctrine of nonself. Buddhism implies that our primal repression is not fear of death but the quite valid suspicion that "I" am not real. This shift from libido-instinct to the way we understand our situation opens up new perspectives and possibilities which this book explores.

Written in a clear, jargon-free style that does not assume prior familiarity with the topics discussed, this insightful book will appeal to a variety of readers including psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, psychologists, scholars of religion—particularly of Buddhism—Continental philosophers, and literary and culture critics.

About this title

About the Author

David Loy is a professor on the Faculty of International Studies at Bunkyo University, Japan. He has been a student of Zen for over twenty-five years and is a qualified Zen teacher. He is the author of Lack and Transcendence: The Problem of Death and Life in Psychotherapy, Existentialism, and Buddhism and Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy, as well as numerous articles.

Review

"Overall, this book is an intellectual tour de force in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.... Lack and Transcendence proposes a sophisticated, erudite, and challenging approach to transcending our mortality through transcending our notions of selfhood. While he cannot claim to represent every Buddhist tradition, Loy deconstructs our fears of mortality in terms a modern audience ought well to appreciate."

Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus Books/Humanity Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1573927201
• ISBN 13: 9781573927208
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 218