Zen and Extreme States

This link is to a video of a talk by Dr Edward Knight. In the video, Dr Knight talks about the use of Zen in dealing with extreme mental and emotional states. The video was filmed in Portland Oregon at a day of practice for people labelled with psychosis. 

Dr Knight was labelled with schizophrenia in 1969 and has since also dealt with mania, depression, several anxiety disorders and addictions. He initially studied Insight or Theravadin Meditation for 7 years with Tempel Smith and Peter Doobinin. 

He started using Dharma for Mental Health Recovery on his own through an intensive study of a book by Joseph Goldstein (Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation). This book helped transform his life. 
He later began studying Zen to apply it to Mental Health Recovery with Roshi Robert Joshen Althouse in 2002. 
He continued his studies of Zen to apply to Mental Health Recovery with Roshi Bernie Glassman and has studied with Roshi Bernie. 

A student of Roshi Bernie’s, Dharma Holder Jim Daiken Bastien, said to Dr Knight when he was having a difficult time: "Schizophrenia is the Enlightened Way"; an expression which seems to resonate with "Psychotic Buddha". Daiken relieved much of Dr Knight's suffering by his pith saying "Mind states do not exist." Dr Knight struggled for about a year to penetrate this pith saying and let go. Though Ed had been practising for a number of years with letting go of voices, Jim’s wisdom released him from exploring unnecessarily the origin of “voices” and painful states - allowing him to just move on.

Dr Knight taught Zen Dharma Mental Health Recovery as part of his training at ValueOptions where he was Vice President of Recovery, Rehabilitation and Mutual Support until he retired on May 13, 2011. He was also was an Adjunct Professor of Rehabilitation Counselling at Boston University until 2008 when the department closed. He has a website about mental health and Zen. 

See the video of Dr Knight's talk for people labelled with psychosis here.


Note: You may also be interested in Manasa Ayurveda - a traditional Buddhist Ayurvedic approach to mental health and wellbeing, now being introduced in the West...