Cognitive therapy, mindfulness, and original Buddhism: Wisdom to handle smartly the two-edged blade called “thought”

Abstract

Humans have developed advanced civilizations by “using” thought. However, it is also true that they are ridden by thinking and suffer because of it. Patients who have depression are an example in humans of being “used” by thought. The aim of this paper was to investigate people’s wisdom to involve thoughts that are causing such pathological conditions. First, I review the research on thought in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which includes a pathological model showing that a person’s thoughts about an event cause pathological consequences. I then introduce the therapeutic approach toward them. Second, I investigate how mindfulness-based CBTs, which are often called “the third generation” of CBT, changed the treatment of thought in CBT. Third, I introduce the understanding and the treatment of thought in Buddhism, which is the origin of mindfulness. The basic principles of Buddhism are primarily introduced because it is essential to understand the basic idea of Buddhism. Finally, we examine the relationship between humans and thought.