Shooting at Nothing: Disinformation, injustice, and shame (in existential Buddhism)

Authors

  • Chris Goto-Jones Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65828/wc2hep68

Keywords:

Shame, anxiety, injustice, Buddhism, non-self, hiri, ottappa

Abstract

By considering an account of shame provided in Buddhist philosophy and psychology, this article seeks to understand the suffering of those who have been unjustly shamed by the dissemination of disinformation. It seeks to provide a framework that avoids the danger of possible iatrogenic damage when therapists deny that the shame such people feel is 'real'. Furthermore, this article explores some of the ways in which this Buddhist account might offer therapeutic techniques to help ameliorate the suffering of the unjustly shamed.

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References

Ambalatthika-rahulovada sutta. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.061.than.html [Accessed on 1 January 2023.]

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Dhammapada. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html [Accessed on 1 January 2023.] Translations may vary.

Goto-Jones, C. (2021). A box of darkness: Transforming the experience of existential loss. Existential Analysis: Journal of The Society for Existential Analysis, 32: 2: 189-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.65828/s2tfdz76

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NICABM (2022). How to Work with Shame. Available at https://www.nicabm.com [Accessed on 1 January 2023.]

Reps, P. & Senzaki, N. (eds.) (1985 [1957]). Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.

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Stolorow, R. (2011). Toward greater authenticity: From shame to existential guilt, anxiety and grief. International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology. 6: 285-287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15551024.2011.552411

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Published

2023-01-01

Cite This Article

Shooting at Nothing: Disinformation, injustice, and shame (in existential Buddhism). (2023). Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 34(1), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.65828/wc2hep68
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