Nothing Is Hidden: The Psychology of Zen Koans

Summary

“Using old koans as a jumping off point, Magid brings a wonderfully unorthodox (and helpful) perspective to traditional Zen teachings. As both Zen teacher and psychoanalyst, Magid unmasks the psychological naivete that is still all too prevalent in contemporary Zen practice, and shows how it can lead to problems for students, and tangled relationships between teachers and students. In each insightful essay, Magid makes a journey from a short koan into far territories of the heart.”—Susan Moon, author of This Is Getting Old

In this inspiring and incisive offering, Barry Magid uses the language of modern psychology and psychotherapy to illuminate one of Buddhism's most powerful and often mysterious technologies: the Zen koan. What's more, Magid also uses the koans to expand upon the insights of psychology (especially self psychology and relational psychotherapy) and open for the reader new perspectives on the functioning of the human mind and heart. Nothing Is Hidden explores many rich themes, including facing impermanence and the inevitability of change, working skillfully with desire and attachment, and discovering when "surrender and submission" can be liberating and when they shade into emotional bypassing. With a sophisticated view of the rituals and teachings of traditional Buddhism, Magid helps us see how we sometimes subvert meditation into just another "curative fantasy" or make compassion into a form of masochism.