Rob Preece

Rob Preece has been a practicing Buddhist since 1973, principally within the Tibetan tradition. He has spent many years in intensive retreat in the Himalayas under the guidance of eminent Tibetan lamas. Preece has been working as a psychotherapist since 1987 and gives workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist psychology. An experienced meditation teacher and thangka painter, he lives in London and is the author of The Wisdom of Imperfection and The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra.

Rob Preece

Rob Preece has been a practicing Buddhist since 1973, principally within the Tibetan tradition. He has spent many years in intensive retreat in the Himalayas under the guidance of eminent Tibetan lamas. Preece has been working as a psychotherapist since 1987 and gives workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist psychology. An experienced meditation teacher and thangka painter, he lives in London and is the author of The Wisdom of Imperfection and The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra.

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SNOW LION NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

The Wisdom of Imperfection

The following excerpt is taken from The Wisdom of Imperfection by Rob Preece.

One of my greatest challenges as a practicing Tibetan Buddhist of some thirty years has been to reconcile two worldviews—namely, those of Buddhism and Jung. By some coincidence, I first encountered both of these at the same time, while at university. Finding that both approaches offered something very important in understanding my life, I have never felt the desire to abandon one for the sake of the other. As a consequence, I needed to find some way of bringing these views together. As my exploration of these approaches of self-actualization has unfolded, I have become increasingly aware of distinctions among what might be described as a journey, a path, and a process.

My early encounters with Jung gave me the invaluable recognition that life could be seen as a journey with phases and rites of passage that are crucial to our unfolding maturation. When I encountered the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I found that it offered a path that could be followed—a clear and systematic method of self-transformation. When I later trained as a psychotherapist, I became increasingly aware that we are constantly passing through a psychological process, something that Jung also recognized in his explorations of alchemy.

Each of these subtle distinctions sheds a different light on our self-actualization. In Jung’s view, the journey symbolized since time immemorial in myths and legends expressed an archetypal unfolding of the individual through life: the journey of individuation. This stands in contrast to the philosophical precision and systematic method with which Buddhist practice approaches a path to the attainment of enlightenment. It is assumed that an individual following this path has already reached a certain level of development in his or her life. Again, both approaches stand in contrast to the psychotherapeutic emphasis on a process of transformation, an alchemical process that occurs in the context of therapy.

The classical Buddhist teachings, particularly in the Tibetan tradition, define a path on which experiences and insights evolve as we engage in specific practices. What is so extraordinary about the Tibetan tradition in particular is its wealth of methods, coupled with teachings that explain the nature of mind and of the reality we experience. In this respect, the Buddhist tradition offers what many of us look for: a clear and concise way to cultivate the mind and free our lives from needless confusion and suffering.

While Buddhist teachings offer a means of resolving our life issues, they have less to say about the subjective experience of that path and what its psychological effects might be. The insights or experiences we might gain emerge through a psychological process that is different for each of us. For example, in the Tibetan tradition there are instructions on how to evoke a particular tantric deity, or gain an experience of emptiness (shunyata), but seldom is there an explanation of how the individual experiences the effects of practice. This insight may be found only if one spends time with experienced meditators who are willing to speak about their own experience. Unfortunately, most Tibetans I have encountered are reluctant to speak of their own inner process. This is in part because they do not use a psychological language, but also because they seldom allow such intimate questioning.

What this dilemma brings to light is the important difference between a path and a process. We could say that a spiritual path is more structured and doctrine-centered, while its underlying psychological process is more organic and person-centered. While these two are radically different, they are intrinsically interwoven. This has led me to wonder how we might map the underlying psychological process, or indeed the journey, of someone who is practicing the Buddhist path. What kinds of problems might we encounter? And are there any common elements of that journey from which we can learn as Westerners trying to bring Buddhism into our lives?

As a psychotherapist as well as a Buddhist practitioner, I am inevitably affected greatly by these questions. Over the years, many of my clients have been Buddhists attempting to look at the integration of Buddhist principles into their lives. Part of my intention in writing this book, therefore, has been to bring together these two worlds: the Western understanding of psychological processes and Buddhist practice. One dimension of this will be to see how Buddhist insights and practice influence and enable our psychological journey. The other will be to explore how the process of psychological individuation, as described by thinkers such as C. G. Jung, is reflected in the Buddhist path.

Individuation, in Jungian terms, is essentially the process of becoming a psychological “individual” who is a separate, indivisible unity or whole. To individuate is to bring into being our innate nature and to manifest this in our life as an individual. Individuation implies becoming ever more conscious of, and fully open to, all that we are, be it good or bad, so as to become increasingly whole. This is a path that values our individual qualities and potential, along with all of our human frailty and fallibility.

Individuation as a process of self-actualization is at the heart of the path of the bodhisattva, one who dedicates his or her life to attaining buddhahood for the welfare of all sentient beings. Although not couched in these terms, what Buddhist understanding offers is a path of practice that profoundly supports this process. While Buddhism may not speak of a process of individuation as such, if we consider the Buddha’s life, it was a demonstration of exactly this. His teachings describe a path of gradual self-transformation and self-realization: the awakening of his innate true nature. Placing the bodhisattva’s path alongside the Western psychological understanding of individuation enables us to make valuable connections that inform both approaches.

Buddhism, because of its nontheistic approach to self-realization, has more in common with the psychotherapeutic world than most other spiritual traditions do. We can see this reflected in the way Buddhist principles are increasingly becoming incorporated into a more contemplative style of psychotherapy.

The spiritual-psychological journey is, however, no simple path to travel. All too often we fail to recognize our capacity for self-deception. Having been a Buddhist for many years, I am continually amazed at my own capacity, and that of some of my peers, to distort our understanding of Buddhism to suit personal inclinations. This is often done in order to maintain and justify habits and beliefs that secure a familiar sense of identity in the world. Freud said that neurosis is a kind of personal religion. We could equally well say that we collectively and individually shape our religious beliefs to affirm our neuroses. Nowhere is this tendency more evident than in religious dogmatism and fundamentalism.

In his seminal book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Chögyam Trungpa began to open the eyes of Westerners to their tendency to adopt Eastern, and particularly Buddhist, practices and beliefs in a way that turned them into exotic trinkets to be collected and played with. My own teacher, Lama Thubten Yeshe, often spoke of the Western “supermarket mentality” that wants quick and easy solutions to our problems. The Western disposition to try a little of this and a little of that could create what he called “spiritual soup,” all mixed up together.

For Westerners, translating the doctrine and practices of Eastern spiritual traditions into experience is not straightforward. In my time as a member of Buddhist communities, I have seen how easily we distort and confuse the essential meaning of practice, and misinterpret basic principles of doctrine. It has also become evident how easily we place a veneer of spiritual practice and spiritual correctness over deeply unresolved personal problems. We create a kind of spiritual pathology.

Over my past eighteen years working as a psychotherapist, many Buddhist practitioners have come to see me. Most have been genuinely attempting to reconcile Western life with the Buddhist tradition. More is at issue, however, than the contradictions between Buddhist ideals and Western lifestyle. It is increasingly noticeable that the Western psyche, with its particular cultural inheritance and emotional wounding, does not always fit comfortably within an Eastern approach to spiritual practice. This is not to conclude that an Eastern tradition does not suit us, or that Western people are spiritually inept. It is true, however, that our Western upbringing does make our emotional life and sense of identity very different from what one finds in the East.

Whether we recognize it or not, in the West we live with deeply entrenched Judeo-Christian values. These permeate our culture in ways that are often very subtle. They influence our worldview, our values, and our experience of the body, sexuality, and gender. They form deeply ingrained attitudes towards good and evil, spirit and matter, and sexuality and spirituality, as well as coloring our view of reality.


Eastern teachers from different Buddhist traditions are often surprised by the depth of emotional wounding they encounter in Westerners. It is hard for them to conceive of the pressures and stresses that impinge upon our psyches from early infancy. As a consequence, they can sometimes seem surprisingly simplistic in their responses to Westerners’ questions about their problems. Buddhism has no developmental model that addresses the unfolding of the personality and ego-identity through childhood. Consequently, it is not easy to explain in Buddhist terms the nature of the development of self-identity and how it can be damaged. Furthermore, the influence of this damage in the adult is hard to clarify and often more complex than any model to be found in the traditional teachings.

Western psychotherapy has charted the kinds of psychological damage we suffer, but we cannot assume that Eastern teachers will address these problems. It takes time for Eastern teachers even to begin to understand the kind of life we lead in the West and the nature of the pressures, insecurities, and stresses that affect us. Fortunately, some Eastern teachers take time to learn about our experience so that they can tailor their guidance to Western needs rather than simply following doctrine.

Many Westerners explore spiritual traditions because they seek a solution to their psychological malaise. However, it is evident from my work as a psychotherapist that these “spiritual” solutions do not always address the root cause. Many people on the “spiritual” path have more of a problem with their basic identity in the world than they do with their relationship to the divine. Unfortunately, spiritual organizations often attract distressed people seeking spiritual solutions that do not necessarily address their core suffering. It can take a sophisticated insight to understand the nature of our emotional wounding and the patterns and defenses that crystallize around it. Perhaps, therefore, it is unwise to assume that a spiritual practice will automatically resolve these deep psychological issues.

In my search for a resolution to these dilemmas, I have learned a great deal from my own process and that of my psychotherapy clients. Moreover, certain themes have emerged that I feel must be looked at more deeply. When we examine our personal pathology more closely, we may discover a way to become liberated from it. If we fail to do so, these unaddressed issues may color our spirituality and distort our understanding. Ultimately, nothing is gained by blindness and unconscious self-deception, but we often fail to see these weaknesses in ourselves.

The Shadow—to use the name that Jung gave to our blind spots—is notoriously elusive. It feeds on our denial and lack of awareness. In this book, I wish to explore some of these blind spots—not to provide solutions, but to help us to see the potential pitfalls in our path. Much of what I am introducing is from my own, often painful, experiences. My own spiritual path has seldom been filled with glorious realizations, visions, and magical insights. Perhaps one could see the recognition of my blindness and mistakes as a kind of insight. I hope that is so, but it never feels as exotic as the profound realizations described in the teachings.

We need a deep-rooted compassion for ourselves in order to allow for our fallibility and vulnerability on the path. There is little point in trying to base our lives on unreal ideals that only cripple us. My experience has led me to conclude that a fundamental aspect of the journey is the uncovering of our personal spiritual pathology and its gradual resolution. At each stage in the path, new aspects of pathology may emerge, and their resolution will enable us to move forward. Our willingness to learn and grow from this process is perhaps one of the most extraordinary qualities of our human nature. Considerable wisdom comes from our state of imperfection.

In what follows, I have tried to draw on the insights of both Buddhist and Western psychology to explore what can be seen as the process of individuation of Buddhist practitioners in the West. In particular, I am grateful for the insights of my teachers Lama Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, and for the ideas of C.G. Jung. Most of all, however, I owe a debt to the invaluable experience of the many people I have seen over the years in therapy and to those with whom I have worked in workshops and retreats.

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The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra

The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra By Rob PreeceThese excerpts from The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra—one on retreat and the other on purification—are entertaining, knowledgeable, and rich with Preece’s hard-earned wisdom as a longtime Buddhist practitioner and psychotherapist.


MEDITATION RETREAT

The alchemical vessel of meditation retreat is very powerful. The Tibetan word for retreat, samlado, means, literally, “to sit or stay within boundaries,” and the retreat situation is a place where the boundaries within which you live are defined specifically for the purpose of meditation. These boundaries may demand not speaking, not reading distracting literature like newspapers, and meeting only specific people. There may be defined geographical boundaries beyond which you do not go, and specific activities performed each day. The body, speech, and mind are placed within this context—the vessel—and whatever arises from the unconscious is what you work with. So long as you maintain your self-discipline, the energy of whatever arises is held, and transformation can take its course. This can make retreat uncomfortable, particularly over long periods.

In one retreat of over six months, I experienced weeks of powerful sexual fantasies principally resulting from the deity I was practicing, which was intended to evoke and transform such feelings. For a while I found the intensity of energy almost intolerable, but by remaining within the clearly defined retreat boundaries, and giving the energy a vehicle for its transformation in the meditation practice, the intensity eventually began to subside.

After a time the fantasies ceased, and I noticed a change had gradually taken place through the process of meditation. The wild, crazy energy that had been evoked was changing into something much freer and more blissful. The bliss was accompanied by an openness or spaciousness that enabled it to be experienced without the grasping that would turn it into sexual desire and frustration. I sensed that for the first time the wild, uncivilized rawness of my sexual energy was falling within my own control rather than my being its slave.

In retreat the practitioner enters a process that is an intense example of transformation. The practitioner is the prima materia, and in one sense the body is also the container in which the transformation takes place. The body is the vessel that contains the elemental forces of the unconscious; the emotions, the instincts, and their related psychological patterns and impulses. The use of deity practices and ritual sadhanas (methods of transformation) in Tantra give a focus to retreat and act as a catalyst for transformation. They provide the forces awakening within the body with a symbolic vehicle through which they can be channeled. When undertaken skillfully and with guidance, retreat can be a profound experience in which the retreat boundaries exist to support the inner process.

There are inevitable dangers with retreat, and fanatical extremism leads to trouble. If a meditator pushes too hard when he or she is not ready, the result can be disastrous. I recall a man who left the army to come and live in the Buddhist community where I once lived. He had heard that by gaining samadhi (Tib. shi né, “tranquil abiding,” often called “single-pointed concentration”) in meditation he could develop superhuman powers. He became utterly determined to gain this power, which takes long periods of intense, highly disciplined meditation in retreat. He prepared a room in the basement and was told by his teacher to meditate on a particular practice. Within a week of fervent pushing and squeezing, his anger and frustration were at boiling point; he burst out of retreat and made his way to the nearest pub. When last heard of, he had joined the French Foreign Legion.

PURIFICATION

We might think that the concept of purification implies a dualism between that which is impure, and therefore undesired, and that which is pure and desired. This may also seem to contradict the essential meaning of Buddha nature, which is that all phenomena, whether pure or impure, are empty of inherent existence. It is our ignorance and dualistic thinking that judges and discriminates one from the other. This implies that the primary obscuration to be purified is dualistic thinking and its consequences.

The ultimate purification is indeed the realization of emptiness experienced moment by moment. However, because attention in Tantra is focused upon the energy-winds, purification on this level helps to clear the underlying obstructions that prevent an experience of nonduality. It is defiled energy-winds that are the underlying or hidden cause of dualistic ignorance.

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While the conventional language of Tantra speaks of purification, we can equally see this as a process of healing. In Action Tantra, healing and purification are a significant aspect of the relationship to the deity through visualizations and mantra recitations. Its effectiveness arises from the intimate relationship between visualization, mantra, and the energy-winds. Approaching the healing process is relatively simple and extremely powerful if practiced with strong concentration, clarity, and an appreciation of the quality of the deity. Even after a brief period of mantra recitation the effect can be dramatic; the mind feels clearer and the energy in the body smoother and more fluid.
The process of healing visualization begins by generating or invoking the presence of the deity to be practiced. The deity is usually visualized either in the space in front of the meditator, or a few centimeters above the crown of the head. The meditator often makes certain prayers and perhaps offerings as a preliminary practice to establish an open receptive relationship with the deity.

Although traditionally this is done formally, through the recitation of the sadhana, the important thing is to make a personal connection. The disadvantage with reciting traditional prayers in an unfamiliar language can be that they may not generate the feeling of openness and devotion that needs to be present for the practice to be effective. A personal style that includes our own particular life issues, problems, emotional distresses, and sicknesses as part of this process may be important to include in our reflections. We may wish to clear certain obstacles or limitations, or to cultivate qualities to help us, but when we do not make this personal link the practice can be dry and without feeling.

Healing and purification visualizations are usually of light and blissful nectar washing through the body, visualized as the practitioner simultaneously recites the mantra of the deity. This gradually cleanses, heals, or purifies the energy-winds, freeing them from blocked, sick, tired, toxic states. It can be helpful to imagine the sickness, emotional blocks or hindrances leaving the body as black substances. Visualizations of this kind are increasingly common in the Western healing world, particularly when working with diseases such as cancer. There are relatively few dangers, and these visualizations are simple to learn.

Increasingly, our health, both physical and psychological, is affected by the environments in which we live and work. The intensity of emotional stress from work will invariably leave a residue within our nervous systems. The energetic quality of city life is often extremely unhealthy. Pollution pervades our world and feeds into our bodies through the air, our food, and our water. All these conditions contribute to a toxicity in our subtle energy that is extremely detrimental. Finding a simple way to clear this toxicity is important for our general state of health, as a way to prevent more severe illness. The purification practices of Action Tantra, while not clearing all the gross effects of pollution in our bodies, will certainly help to clear toxic energy arising from stress.

For more information:

Rob Preece has been a practicing Buddhist since 1973, principally within the Tibetan tradition. He has spent many years in intensive retreat in the Himalayas under the guidance of eminent Tibetan lamas. Preece has been working as a psychotherapist since 1987 and gives workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist psychology. An experienced meditation teacher and thangka painter, he lives in London and is the author of The Wisdom of Imperfection and The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra.

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Rob Preece on the Practice of Tonglen

The Courage to FeelBefore taking in other people’s pain, it’s sometimes wise to take in your own suffering.

In the practice of tonglen—the sending of good thoughts and taking in of others’ suffering—it is often suggested that we should first become familiar with taking on and accepting our own suffering. This can be done simply by considering our own emotional or physical problems and then willingly accepting them as they are as we breathe in, rather than struggling against them and fighting ourselves. To make this more effective, it can be very helpful to visualize yourself in front of you and then spend time connecting to particular difficulties you might have.

When working with clients who have suffered significant trauma or difficulties in childhood that are still emotionally disturbing, I have often suggested that people visualize themselves as that child in front of them. The person then spends time feeling into the nature of the childhood difficulties and eventually begins a process of tonglen. Meditating in this way has helped them to begin to love themselves with their wounding and pain rather than reject the child within because it is unacceptable.

Another variety of practice is to reflect on problems or illnesses we experience currently and then recall all those whose suffering is probably equal or much worse. This may be very powerful if we are the kind of person who becomes depressed or downhearted when there are problems in our life. It helps us to realize that we are not the only one who is suffering in this way. It can aid us in letting go of the disposition to be caught in a self-preoccupied state. For example, if I have the flu or some similar ailment, I find it very useful to take on the suffering of all those who may be suffering in a similar way. On those occasions when I find myself laid out with illness, it is the one thing I can do that opens up my mind and my heart.

Whatever the hardship is in our life, if we include it in our meditation, we can think of those around who are suffering just as much, if not worse. Our relationship to hardship and pain changes as we let go. It can feel less distressing and overwhelming. Our mind begins to open up and feel more spacious, and our heart can begin to feel a greater concern and compassion for those who suffer similarly.

Adapted from The Courage to Feel: Buddhist Practices for Opening to Others by Rob Preece

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Spiritual Emergency

The following article is from the Summer, 2011 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here.

FOR MANY OF US OUR MOST SUBTLE ENERGY-WINDS and the potency of the deeper forces within the body remain dormant. The unleashing of these forces in what is sometimes described as a spiritual emergency can be a shocking and extremely disorienting experience. The kundalini awakening, as it is called in certain Eastern traditions, is an expression of the sudden reopening of the threshold that is created between our conscious life and the forces latent within the body/psyche. This is usually experienced as the sudden uprising of energy through the central channel in such a way that it radically alters our perception of reality. When this process happens in a sudden and uncontrolled way, it is often very disturbing and extremely hard to integrate, hence the notion of spiritual emergency. This experience of something akin to a psychotic episode is little understood in Western clinical psychology, and is therefore often misdiagnosed. When it is seen in clinical psychiatric terms, a kundalini awakening can be inappropriately treated. Fortunately there is a growing recognition of this process and the need for skillful intervention and support.

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To gradually awaken the body requires that we do not separate our spiritual practices from the body, and instead recognize that the body is a central vehicle in the process of awakening.

When we have a natural, gradual, and deepening relationship to the energetic processes of the body underlying much of our psychological and emotional life, then this potential emergency need not occur. Instead, the body is awoken gradually rather than suddenly. To gradually awaken the body requires that we do not separate our spiritual practices from the body, and instead recognize that the body is a central vehicle in the process of awakening.

When the body is ignored or overlooked, disembodied practice can be perpetuated, and there will be a lack of awareness of, and sensitivity toward, the energetic processes within the body. Not understanding the body's energetic processes can give rise to aches and pains that are often a reflection of what the Tibetans call wind (Tib. lung) disorder, in which the energy-winds become blocked or out of balance.

Practices such as yoga, chi gung, and the Tibetan kum nye help to clear and balance the energy-winds, thus enabling a greater capacity to stabilize the mind in meditation. They also enhance sensitivity to, and awareness of, the natural movement of the energy- winds within the body.

adapted from Preparing for Tantra by Rob Preece

Preparing for Tantra

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