The Couch and the Tree: Dialogues in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism

A provocative and trailblazing cross-disciplinary anthology.

With the growing interest in the relationship between Buddhism and psychoanalysis, it is surprising that no book has replaced the 1960 classic Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis, with essays by D. T. Suzuki, Erich Fromm, and Richard De Martino. Now, in this new alchemical collection, psychoanalyst Anthony Molino offers a bold new alloy of these two major disciplines. Both ambitious and timely, The Couch and the Tree is a two-part anthology that spans and documents a unique cross-fertilization of Eastern and Western thought. While Part One provides a historical overview of the classic writings in this far-reaching, adventurous dialogue (including the works of Fromm, Suzuki, Jung, Hisamatsu, Watts, and Horney, to name only a few), Part Two features a series of brilliant contemporary works, many appearing here for the first time. Included are essays by such innovative thinkers as Adam Phillips, Mark Epstein, Masao Abe, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Nina Coltart, and Michael Eigen. Most notable perhaps is a conversation--on the question "Is There an Unconscious in Buddhist Teaching?"--between the psychoanalyst Joyce McDougall and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A truly essential collection, unique in both conception and scope, The Couch and the Tree marks a watershed in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exploration.

Anthony Molino, a psychoanalyst, anthropologist, and award-winning translator of Italian literary works, has edited two collections of interviews with prominent psychoanalysts. He lives with his wife in Italy.