Why should family therapy consider principles of Zen Buddhism?

Abstract

In this paper we will lay out the rationale for drawing on Zen thought for the evolution of the family therapy field, and we will discuss the resonances between these two bodies of knowledge in terms of theory, practice and the ways in which Zen thought extends our current systemic understanding. The necessarily systemic nature of family therapy resonates with the profound sense of interconnectedness that underlies Zen Buddhist thought. In many places, these unlikely bedfellows reinforce each other’s findings. But there is something more. For Zen thought extends beyond the present parallels with family therapy along lines that pave the way for the expansion of systemic thought into a new dimension – a dimension encompassing the nature of the consciousness of the therapist and client alike – a dimension embodying the state of compassion, flowing directly from the idea of interconnectedness.