Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

Buddhism, Psychology, and Addiction Theory 117
frequent desires to destroy him or her and everything around them. The state of
Hunger is most closely allied with traditional perceptions of addiction in that it
represents insatiable greed, whether it is for socially acceptable desires such as
fame or fortune, or the more destructive ones of alcohol and other drugs. Any
addiction can fall into this classification including work-a-holics, hunger for
power and/or prestige, or even unhealthy, co-dependent relationships. While
desire is a part of the human condition, in the state of Hunger one is at the mercy
of one’s cravings and cannot control them. This state does indeed correspond with
the first of the twelve steps where the addict admits; “I am powerless over alcohol
(narcotics, food, relationships etc.) and my life has become unmanageable”
(AA, 1976, p. 59).
The world of Animality is the state where an individual is ruled by instinct.
Morality nor reason have any impact on his or her actions, nor is there any ability
to delay gratification. In this state, one takes advantage of the weak while
abjecting oneself to the strong. Animality refers not to pure animal functioning
but could correspond to pure id functioning; instinctual satisfaction with no modulation.
Ikeda, in explicating Nichiren Buddhism describes the world of anger as
not merely aggressive destructiveness but as characterized by a mind of perversity,
one that is fawning and crooked, as well as one that arrogantly looks down
on others seeking only its own aggrandizement (Soka Gakkai, 1998). In the world
or state of anger, a person’s ego is selfish, greedy and suspicious of others. They
only value themselves while others are held in contempt. Their superiority is a
dearly held belief requiring frequent reinforcement while the inferiority of all
others must be constantly reasserted.
Along with the worlds of tranquility and rapture, the six lower worlds are
considered to correspond to the six worlds of consciousness and reality. The
world of tranquility is achieved when one is in a state of equanimity with oneself.
Also referred to as the world of humanity, in this state the individual enjoys life
and seeks harmony in all things. However, it is unstable as it is unable to manage
the transience of all phenomena. Thus, the tranquility that is achieved is transitory,
affected by suffering from without and within. Much has been written about
the world of rapture or the Devil of the Sixth Heaven wherefrom we are manipulated
by the attainment of any desire. This image has been defined as “the most
powerful of the devils, which dwells in the highest of the six realms of the world
of desire. He works to prevent believers from practicing Buddhism and delights
in sapping the life force of others” (The Gosho Translation Committee, 1979,
p. 309). This prevention of practice is brought about by the state of rapture, which
this devil induces. The concept is designed to explicate the seductive but transient
nature of heaven as conceptualized in the Ten Worlds doctrine. The rapture that
one experiences in this world is the fleeting and illusive, but ever sought after
satiation of a desire or consummation of a peak experience. In the six lower
worlds, the individual is controlled and manipulated by the environment and