Page 1 of 1

Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 10:44 am
by Strive4Karuna
Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 10:49 am
by retrofuturist
Greetings,
Strive4Karuna wrote:Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.
Cultivation of the brahma-viharas.

:group:

Metta,
Retro. :)

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 1:16 pm
by santa100
Also contemplate on the anicca(impermanent) nature of all conditioned phenomena. Dukkha is no exception... :smile:

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 1:37 pm
by robertk
elements arise and cease completely instantly. understand that -even to a small degree-and the past will seem like an empty dream..

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 4:26 pm
by Feathers
Be kind to yourself. I sometimes find that because Buddhism teaches "the way out of suffering" I fall into my old ex-Christian habits of feeling that if I am suffering I am sinning - i.e. it is morally wrong of me to feel suffering/pain/sadness/etc. This totally misses the point, so when you look at Buddhism to help you heal and teach you to cope with suffering, don't inadvertently inflict more suffering on yourself. Of course you may not do that anyway, but it is one of my early pitfalls.

:hug:

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 6:07 pm
by binocular
Strive4Karuna wrote:Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.
I've known several people who have used Buddhist teachings for the purpose of sweeping their problems under the rug ...

IOW, there is the danger of applying the teachings wrongly, but nevertheless having the conviction one is advancing in the practice and getting better.

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:56 pm
by Modus.Ponens
It's an interesting question. Psychologists studied the monks who came from Tibet and were emprisoned and tortured, and they concluded that they had no PTSD sympthoms. The only explanation is that they practice meditation.

Bhante Yuttadhammo, iirc, told the story of a woman who was abused when she was a child and went to therapists for years and never got over the traumatic event. She was very miserable. He said that she learned to meditate (properly) and she got to a much more peaceful state of mind.

On the other hand, I've read that a person who was abused during childhood, went on a retreat and got out of there earlier and s/he said that it was like living it all over again and that s/he couldn't stop thinking about it.

What lessons can we take from this? In my humble opinion, it's that meditation can help you a lot, but to do it in apropriate dosages.

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 8:52 pm
by LonesomeYogurt
Modus.Ponens wrote:What lessons can we take from this? In my humble opinion, it's that meditation can help you a lot, but to do it in apropriate dosages.
This is important - you can't just power through trauma by racking up a certain number of hours on the cushion. Brahmaviharas, mindfulness, and samadhi are incredibly helpful when it comes to dealing with painful experiences, but they are also capable of doing great harm when practiced or developed incorrectly.

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 9:24 pm
by Strive4Karuna
Just to clear things up, I have never been abused nor am I an Orphan

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 11:31 pm
by Ben
Strive4Karuna wrote:Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.
Yes, I have.
Practice sila, Samadhi, and panna.
It has worked, and continues to work, for me.
kind regards,

Ben

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 1:22 am
by ground
Strive4Karuna wrote:Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.
Mindfulness.
"Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the five clinging-aggregates.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html
:sage:

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 11:03 am
by Sadge
Mindfulness, mindfulness, mindfulness. Getting distance and a non judgemental acceptance of traumatic memories is hugely helpful.

Re: Buddhism & overcoming traumatic experiences?

Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 3:12 pm
by MontrealMonk
Ben wrote:
Strive4Karuna wrote:Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to overcome? Especially experiences from childhood? Abuse, severe neglect, being an orphan etc.
Yes, I have.
Practice sila, Samadhi, and panna.
It has worked, and continues to work, for me.
kind regards,

Ben
Very well said.

:namaste: Nice to meet you, Ben. I'm Freddy from Montreal, Canada.