Back in the 1970s, traveling in India as a graduate student, I found myself studying Abhidharma, one of the more elegant examples of such an ancient psychology from Buddhism. I was stunned to discover that the basic questions of a science of mind had been explored for millennia, not just a mere century. Clinical psychology, my own field at the time, sought to help alleviate the varieties of emotional pain. But, to my surprise, I found that this millennia-old system articulated a set of methods not just for healing mental suffering, but also for expanding such positive human capacities as compassion and empathy. Yet I had n~ver heard of this psychology anywhere in my own studies.

Back in the 1970s, traveling in India as a graduate student, I found myself studying Abhidharma, one of the more elegant examples of such an ancient psychology from Buddhism. I was stunned to discover that the basic questions of a science of mind had been explored for millennia, not just a mere century. Clinical psychology, my own field at the time, sought to help alleviate the varieties of emotional pain. But, to my surprise, I found that this millennia-old system articulated a set of methods not just for healing mental suffering, but also for expanding such positive human capacities as compassion and empathy. Yet I had n~ver heard of this psychology anywhere in my own studies.