The
development of Humanistic Psychology during the past generation or so has
contributed very much to the actualizing of great ranges of human
potential. During this same
period Asian cultural ways have become more actively present in American life,
in processes of human growth and social change. This presence is felt in Humanistic Psychology. The work of Maslow, Rogers and Gestalt
thinkers acknowledges a debt to Taoism and Zen. One Asian experience
which has not received the attention it deserves is Chinese painting. Painting in the traditional
Chinese way provides a great reservoir of nurturance for human growth. Coming from this tradition myself, I
have been able to integrate this painting process into my practice of art
therapy, to foster personal growth for myself, my students and my clients. It is now time for me to explore more
directly and in depth the relationship between Humanistic Psychology and the
theory and practice of Chinese painting.
From this exploration, I will develop a theoretical basis for using
Chinese painting as an art therapy modality with the support of Humanistic
Psychology.
In
this paper I will explain the uses of Chinese painting as a form of art
therapy. In order to facilitate an understanding of these uses, I will present
a study of “self-actualization” as conceived in Taoism and compare this with
Maslow’s version in Humanistic
Psychology. Then, I will show how the process of Chinese painting facilitates
self actualization both for the traditional artist and for clients using it as
a therapeutic modality.
For
many years I have practiced and taught traditional Chinese painting to foster
spontaneity and personal development. More recently in my therapy study and
practice I have adapted this painting process for use as an art therapy
modality. In the meantime my studies of Humanistic Psychology, especially that
of Rogers and Maslow, have helped me to discover similarities ( along with
differences ) between this psychology and Taoist philosophy. In a previous
paper I gave an exposition of Rogerian Client-Centered-Therapy and showed how
it would apply in a case study. In this paper I will concentrate on an
exposition and critique of Maslow’s personality theory in its relations to
Taoism and Chinese painting ( A more complete groundwork would include a review
and integration of CCT and of Gestalt).
This
paper then is divided into eight parts.
Following this introduction
I will give an exposition of Maslow’s theory of personality and human
growth. The third part explains Maslow’s idea of what psychotherapy should be,
consistent with his theory of personality. The fourth part explains Maslow’s
theory of “cognition of being in the peak experiences.” The fifth part presents
a study of the Taoist ideas of the “Authentic Person” and his perception of the
world. In the sixth part I will discuss the features of Maslow’s thought that
suggest parallels to Taoist thought. Here I identify Maslow’s own references to
“Taoistic” thinking and give a critique of his views of Taoism. The seventh part is an exposition of
the theory and practice of Chinese painting as a growth-fostering process. In
the eighth part I present my summary and synthesis of the principles and
practices of Chinese painting with the principles of psychotherapy that follow
Maslow’s psychology.
Maslow
considers his theory of psychology the “Third Force Psychology,” the other two
being psychoanalysis and behaviorism. This “Third Force” is a movement which
comprises a variety of psychological and philosophical viewpoints and includes
theorists that belong to Adlerian, Jungian, Gestalt, ego psychoanalytic and
existential schools. Although
differing on many issues theorists of this movement are united in the single
purpose of refuting classical psychoanalysis and experimental behaviorism.
Their aim is to reject orthodoxy in science and to redirect scientific inquiry
toward such human concerns as creativity, beauty, love and value.
Maslow’s
personality theory is perhaps the most widely read and respected one among the
“Third Force” theories. He upbraids classical psychoanalysts and behaviorists
for their “pessimistic, negative and., limited conceptions” of man ( Hall &
‘Lindzey, 1970. P. 326). Maslow
traces this conception to Freud.
He says, “this Freudian conception is continually confirmed by
clinicians as largely true for insecure and frightened children, and while it
is partially true for all human beings, in the main it is untrue for healthy
happy, secure children . . . “( Maslow, 1968, p. 24 ). Maslow on the other hand based his
theory of personality on the study of healthy people or what he called
“self-actualized” persons. Maslow
postulates from this study that each human being is endowed with an innate
nature that is unchanging. This, nature, although similar species-wide, is
unique to each individual. And it is not evil but rather good or neutral. It is weak, delicate, subtle, and
easily overcome by cultural pressure and wrong attitudes toward it. Even though it is weak, this innate
nature does not disappear in a person but presses persistently for
actualization. But first, basic needs for survival must be
satisfied.
The
human organism is motivated by needs both for survival and for
self-actualization. The individual is free to choose a productive course of
psychological growth only when his basic needs for survival are satisfied.
Maslow’s well known motivation theory with its hierarchy of needs is structured
as follows:
Physiological
needs are the starting point in motivation theory. These are needs which are
considered isolable, namely, relatively independent of each other. And one can demonstrate an underlying
somatic base for them, for
example, hunger, sex and thirst.
Fatigue, sleepiness and maternity response are exceptions to this
criterion. But these are all
primary needs because a person will almost always satisfy these needs
before he satisfies others in the
hierarchy ( Maslow, 1954, p. 84 ff).
If
physiological needs are “relatively well satisfied there emerges a new set of
needs, roughly the safety needs” (Maslow, 1954, p.84). These are the needs to
avoid physical threat and to some extent psychological threat such as the need
to have predictable orderly role of the parents ( Maslow, 1954, P.84). Another level of safety needs is, the
preference for familiar rather than unfamiliar surroundings. Frustration of
safety needs may lead to neurosis.
“The neurosis in which the search for safety takes its clearest form is
in the compulsive-obsessive neurosis,” in which the person tries frantically to
maintain a completely stable environment( Maslow, 1954, p.89).
If
both physiological and safety needs are gratified there emerge the love,
affection and belonging needs. A
person will hunger for affectionate relationships with people in general. The
thwarting of these needs is commonly found to lead to maladjustment and severe pathology. Maslow points out that
sex is a physiological need but is multidetermined by love and affection
needs. Also, in love, both
giving and receiving love are
aspects of that need.
The
next level is the need for esteem( Maslow, 1954, P.90 ff). This is the need for a stable high
self-evaluation, self-respect, self-esteem and need for the esteem of others.
Thwarting of these needs produces inferiority, weakness and helplessness,
leading to compensatory and neurotic behavior.
The
ultimate need is the need for self-actualization. That is the need for a person to do what she or he is fitted
for, “to become everything that one is capable of becoming . . . .The clear emergence of these
needs usually rests upon prior satisfaction of the physiological safety, love
and esteem needs” (Maslow, 1954, p.92). Later I will discuss further the qualities of
self-actualized people.
Important
for an understanding of both pathology and health are Maslow’s view of
frustration and gratification (Maslow, 1954, p.92 ). In extreme deprivation “it is most likely that the major
motivation would be the physiological needs rather than any others” (Maslow,
1954, p.82 ). Maslow warns against viewing such extreme deprivation as typical,
though he points out that “if we wish to see these needs directly and clearly
we must turn to neurotic or near neurotic individuals and to the economic and
social underdogs”’ (Maslow, 1954, p.83 ff).
Maslow
states that the basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative
prepotency.
One
main implication of this phrasing is that gratification becomes as important a
concept as deprivation in motivation theory for it releases the organism from
the domination of a relatively more physiological need, permitting thereby the
emergence of other more social goals. The physiological needs, along with their
partial goals, when chronically gratified cease to exist as active determinants
or organizers of behavior-. They now exist only in a potential fashion in the
sense that they may emerge again to dominate the organism if they are thwarted.
But a want that is satisfied is no longer a want. The organism is dominated and
its behavior organized only by unsatisfied needs. . . .
This
statement is somewhat qualified by a hypothesis . . . ,namely, that it is
precisely those individuals in whom a certain need has always been satisfied
who are best equipped to tolerate deprivation of that need in the future, and
that furthermore, those who have been deprived in the past will react
differently to current satisfactions than the one who has never been deprived (
Maslow, 1954, P-84).
Maslow
considers that the healthy, normal and fortunate adults in our society are
largely satisfied in safety needs.
How then, is the hierarchy of needs correlated with a theory of
psychopathology? Psychopathology
arises from the thwarting of important desires. This is the key to Maslow’s view.
Any
theory of psychopathologenesis must then be based on a sound theory of
motivation. A conflict or a
frustration is not necessarily pathogenic. It becomes so only when it threatens or thwarts the basic
needs or partial needs that are closely related to the basic needs (Maslow,
1954, P.104).
Thus,
Maslow points out that not every deprivation leads to psychopathology (e.g.
sexual
“deprivation” experienced in some cases of celibacy). He argues that what is psychopathogenic is threatening deprivation,
that is, a deprivation that thwarts a basic need and self-actualization of the
organism. “Deprivation is not psychopathogenic; threat is.” ( Maslow, 1954,
P-158 ). Furthermore, a threat is a situation which is not merely impossible to
deal with, but on which the organism feels it must deal with and solve, but
cannot ( Maslow, 1954, p.165).
It
is of great interest here that he points out that a threatening deprivation is
one which thwarts not only some lower human need, but is one which threatens
self-actualization. The
implications of this must be, again, that needs organize themselves into a
hierarchy, crowned by self-actualization, and also that self-actualization is
an innate need for growth and wholeness. Otherwise, frustration of self-actualization would not
produce any psychopathology ( Maslow, 19549 P-156ff). Likewise, psychopathology is essentially a phenomenon of a
thwart to self-actualization.
Although
these needs motivate human behavior, yet to what extent each need affects a
behavior is hard to measure. There
is no clear-cut cause to an expected effect. The behaviors of an individual
that constitute his personality are rather complex. Maslow calls the organization of personality, “the
personality syndrome.” Maslow defines the personality syndrome as follows:
Our
preliminary definition of personality syndrome is that it is a structured
organized complex of apparently diverse specification ( behaviors, thoughts
impulses to action’ perceptions, etc. ) which, however, when studied carefully
and validly are found to have common unity that may be phrased variously as a
similar dynamic meaning, expression, ‘flavor,’ function, or purpose . . . . In
a syndrome we have a troupe of feelings and behaviors that seem behaviorally
different, or at least have
different names, which, however, overlap, intertwine, interdepend, and may be
said to be dynamically synonymous.... In our definition of syndrome, the main
quality that characterizes the whole (meaning, flavor, or aim ) can be seen in
any of its parts if these parts are understood not reductively, but
holistically ( Maslow, 1954, P. 32-35).
Maslow
agrees with Horney in believing that there is a continual flux of dynamic
interaction within a syndrome, “wherein any one part is always affecting every
other part in some way and is in turn being affected by all other parts, the
entire action going on simultaneously” (Maslow, 19549 P. 37-38 ).
Personality
syndrome according to Maslow is well-organized and can resist change. It can maintain relative constancy
under the most unusual conditions of external change. If a well-organized
syndrome is forced to change, the change is usually temporary. The syndrome
re-establishes itself quickly. If the syndrome changes at all in any part, the
change is seen in all parts of the syndrome.
Overt
behavior is an expression of the whole personality. That means each act is
determined by each and all of the personality syndromes. As I pointed out earlier, Maslow
believes that each person has within him an innate unchanging nature (Maslow,
1968, P.3). This inner nature is a
determinant of behavior. Since the individual resides within a cultural milieu,
this milieu that helps to determine the inner nature of the organism is another
determinant of behavior.
The
immediate situation is an additional set of determinants of behavior... the
goals and aims of the behavior are determined by the nature of the organism,
and the paths to the goals are determined by the culture; the immediate
situation determines the realistic possibilities and impossibilities: which
behavior is wise, which is not Maslow, 1954, P.55).
Because
of its complexity, behavior is not always a good index of character
structure. Some behavior as
Maslow conceives it is a spontaneous expression of the organism rather than a
motivated one in seeking need
gratification. Others are
coping behaviors, seeking for need gratification. Coping behavior is effortful. Spontaneous expression is effortless, uncontrolled and
uncontrollable. Coping is more
determined by external determinants. Spontaneous expression is innate ( Maslow,
1954 P.55ff).
Maslow
points out that “the basic needs
for safety, belongingness, love relations and for respect can be satisfied only
by other people, i.e., only from outside of the person” (Maslow, 1968 P.34 )
and that “man’s instinctoid
tendencies, are far weaker than cultural forces” ( Maslow, 1968, p.171
). He believes that it is social
pathology and ignorance that is responsible for man’s neurosis and miserable
condition ( Hall & Lindzey, 1970, P. 327). He believes that man’s destructive hostility is
reactive rather than instinctive (Maslow, 1968, P.195 ).
Man
is somehow caught in a vicious cycle of sickness, for “sick people are made by
a sick culture; healthy people are made possible by a healthy culture. But it
is just as true that sick individuals make their culture more sick and that
healthy individual make their culture more healthy” (Maslow, 1968, p.6). How
can we hope to build a healthier society for the future with sick people and
sick culture?
Maslow’s
hope for human change and development lies in self-actualizing people. According to him, he had written a
major statement as early as 1943 on self-actualizing people, but it took seven
years for him to get enough courage to print it. He had to struggle against both the disease and deficiency
models in psychology, and against the lack of a rigorous research base to back
up his personal observation and statistical study behind the article. In his study
of such people he discovered that healthy people are “metamotivated”.
By this he means that these self- actualizing individuals ( more
matured, more fully human ), by definition, have already suitably gratified
their basic needs, and are now motivated in other higher ways. The healthy
people are gratified in all their basic needs ( of belongingness, affection,
respect, and self-esteem). They
have a feeling of belongingness and rootedness, they are satisfied in their
love needs, have friends and feel loved and loveworthy (Maslow, 1971,
p.299-300). They are devoted to
some work outside of themselves.
Self-actualizing people are in an ideal situation - their inner
requiredness coincides with external requiredness.
For
self-actualizing people, profession is not just functionally autonomous, but
rather an instruments of ultimate values. The intrinsic values are justice,
goodness, beauty, order, unity and so forth. These intrinsic values are what
Maslow calls “metaneed”.
Self-actualizing people are motivated by metaneeds. These
metamotivations are intrinsic values of being. They seem to be biologically
necessary for self-actualizing people. They are instinctive or inherent in man
as the basic needs are and when they are not fulfilled the person may become
sick. In this respect, sick person is what he considers’ suffering
metapathology. The deprivation or frustration of metaneeds will result in
metapathology, which includes alienation, joylessness, anguish, and boredom,
ennui, etc. ( Maslow, 1971, p.299ff).
Metamotivation
is a growth motivation rather then a deficiency motivation. Maslow thinks that
11 the closer to self-actualizing, to full-humanness, etc. the person is, the
more likely the person’s work is metamotivated rather than
basic-need-motivated. For example,
for more highly evolved persons, ‘The Law’ is apt to be more a way of seeking
justice, truth . goodness etc., rather than financial security, admiration,
status, prestige), dominance, masculinity, etc. (Maslow, 1971, P. 31) The
metaneeds are not in a hierarchy of prepotency but are equally potent. Since
the value-life is an aspect of human biology, says Maslow “the spiritual life* is part of our biological. It is the
‘highiest’ part of it, but part of it” ( Maslow, 1971, p. 325).
“The
spiritual life is then part of the human essence, It is a
defining,--characteristic of human nature, without which human nature is not
full human nature” ( Maslow, 1971,
P.325).
“Metamotivation does not ensue automatically after basic-need
gratification” (Maslow, 1971, P-301) Only self-actualizing people are metamotivated. For a person to be metamotivated,
it is necessary” not only (a) that he be sufficiently free of illness, ( b)
that he be sufficiently gratified in his basic needs, and c ) that he be positively using his
capacities, but also (d) that he be motivated by some values which he strives
for or gropes for and to which he is loyal” (Maslow, 1971 P. 301)
Maslow
elaborates on metamotivated, self-actualizing persons. According to him
self-actualized persons have the following distinguishing features: ( 1 ) They
are realistically oriented. They are unthreatened and unfrightened by the
unknown. ( 2 ) They accept their own human nature, accept others and the world
for what they are. (3 ) They are spontaneous. 4 ) They focus on
problems-outside themselves rather than being ego-centered. (5 ) They can be
solitary without harm to themselves and without discomfort. They are calm,
serene and aloof; they need privacy.
( 6 ) They are independent of culture and environment. (7 ) They have
renewed interest in life and appreciate again and again, freshly and naively,
the basic goods of life. ( 8
) Most self-actualized persons have mystical experiences or spiritual
experiences not necessarily religious in character. ( 10 ) Their relations with others tend to be deeply
emotional and profound, because they have genuine desire to help the human
race. They are more capable of obliterating the ego-boundaries than other people.
( 11 ) Their values and attitudes are democratic. ( 12 ) They do not confuse
means with ends. ( 13 They have a philosophical sense of humor. (14 ) Their
creative-ness, seems rather to be kin to the naive and universal creativeness
of unspoiled children. (15 ) They are resistant to enculturation. They are not
well adjusted. They get along with the culture in various ways, but of all of
them it may be said that in a certain profound and meaningful sense they resist
enculturation and maintain a certain inner detachment from the culture in which
they are immersed. ( 16 ) They transcend the environment rather than merely
cope with it (Maslow, 1954, pp. 203-228).
For
those who need help towards self-actualization psychotherapy is an aid. Maslow
believes that psychotherapy takes place in six main ways: ( 1 ) by expression (
act completion, release, catharsis as exemplified in Levy’s release therapy (2
) by basic need gratification giving support, reassurance, protection, love,
respect ) ; ( 3 ) by removing threat (protection, good social, political, and
economic condition); ( 4 ) by improved insight, knowledge, and understanding ;
(5) by suggestion or authority, and ( 6 by positive self-actualization,
individuation, of growth “ (Maslow
1954, P-306 ). Among the six ways Maslow considers, the gratification of the
“basic needs” the most important way, because it leads to the ultimate goal of
all therapy, namely, self-actualization. Since “these basic needs are mostly
satisfiable only by other human beings, therapy must take place mostly
on an interpersonal basis” ( Maslow, 1954
P. 306).
The
satisfying of these needs is precisely what Maslow calls the basic therapeutic
medicines, namely, the giving of safety, love, belongingness, feeling of worth,
and self-esteem. These
needs gratifications are the
necessary preconditions for the production good human beings, which in
turn is the turn is ‘the ultimate goal of all psychotherapy. Insight therapy is important according
to Maslow but, purely cognitive or rationalistic insight ( cold, unemotional
knowledge about ) is
not curative. Maslow prefers to “
organismic insight therapy” (Rogerian) in which an emotional experience is involved
simultaneously with the reliving of the experience, a catharsis, a
reaction. The organismic insight
therapy is a rich experience, simultaneously cognitive, emotional, and
conative. According to Maslow,
there is no difference between organismic insight, organismic emotion and
organismic conation except the angle of approach of the student” ( Maslow,
1954, P. 332). Maslow claims that
tile apparent differences between insight, and conation “would be clearly seen
to be artifacts of a two atomistic approach to the subject”( Maslow, 1954
P.332).
The
ultimate goal of psychotherapy is to foster growth and to help an individual to
realize his potentials in order to achieve self-actualization. Realistically speaking it is a very
difficult task, since as Maslow has pointed out this society is
pathology-centered, surrounding the individual with pathological vectors.
In
his redefinition of self-actualization (Maslow, 1968, P.97 ), Maslow points out that “ any person in
any of the peak-experience takes on temporarily many of the characteristics which I found in self-actualizing
individuals.” He says that these
peak-experiences are not just an emotional-cognitive-expressive state. It is a passing characterological
change. These experiences are not
only the happiest and most thrilling moments, but are also moments of greatest
maturity, individuation, fulfillment - in n a word, his healthiest
moments. These episodes then are
moments of an individual’s full functioning moments.
The
moment of being fully human, more creative, more humorous, more
ego-transcending, more independent of his lower needs, more perfectly
expressive or spontaneous and
full-functioning. Such
states of episodes can, in theory, come at any time in life to any person,
“What seems to distinguish those individuals I have called self-actualizing
people, in them, these episodes seem to come far more frequently, and intensely
and perfectly than in average people” ( Maslow, 1968, p. 97) Thus defined, self-actualization
becomes a matter of degree and of frequency rather than an all-or-none affair.
It
seems to follow that Maslow believe that a person’s degree of
self-actualization is measured by the frequency and intensity of
peak-experiences. If this is true, then psychotherapy should be fostering
individuals in achieving peak-experiences. However, it is important to note that quality, variety,
fruitfulness, and productivity of peak-experiences are necessary. Maslow does not say this but his expositions
imply it. Without such
criteria, we would have to admit that people whose peak-experiences are induced
entirely by drugs, alcohol, and or sex are self-actualized.
To
get an accurate picture of Maslow’s concept of peak-experiences and
B-cognition, we would have to carefully review the original criteria which he
used in questioning people about “the most wonderful experience or experienced
of their lives” ( Maslow, 1968, P-71 ) and in searching widely in relevant
literatures for records of similar experiences. The characteristics of such
“cognition” which he cites are his
“perfect composite syndrome,” drawn from all his researches. These
features tell us what to look for.
But Maslow does not provide us with any clear statement about which, if
any, minimum features are necessary for a peak-experience, nor which features,
if they occur, are sufficient for such experiences. The sections on
peak-experiences in Toward a Psychology of Being are the most recent
complete statements on the subject, and result from Maslow’s own critique of
his previous work.
In peak-experiences the person radically transcends ordinary
perception.
(1) Things are experienced as a whole, complete detached
from relations, possible
usefulness, expediency and purpose. The experience is “seen as if it were all there was in the
universe, as if it were all of Being . . . “ (Maslow, 1968, p-74).
(2) There is exclusive and total attention, complete
absorption “as if the precept had
become for the moment the whole of being.” The cognition is non-judging,
non-evaluating.
(3)
The person experience the world as if it were independent of both self and
everyone else. He refrains from
“projecting human purposes” onto it( Maslow, 1968, P. 76).
(4 )
Repeated experience become richer, in contrast to the usual effects of
repetitions( boredom, familiarization, loss of attention, etc.).
(5)
In peak experiences, “perception can be relatively ego-transcending,
self-forgetful, egoless. It
can be unmotivated, impersonal, desireless, unselfish, not needing,
detached . . . Some writers speak
of identification of the perceiver and the perceived, a fusion of what was two
into a new and larger whole . . “
(Maslow 1968, P-79).
( 6
) The peak-experience is felt as
“self-validating,” carrying its own intrinsic value. That is, it is an end in itself.
(7 ) “. . . . In these moments the person is outside
of time and space subjectively . . . .In the creative furor, the poet or artist
becomes oblivious of his surroundings, and of the passage of time (Maslow, 1968, p.80).
(8)
The experience is always good and desirable, never evil and undesirable, it is
perfect, complete and needs nothing else . . . sufficient to itself (Maslow,
1968, p.81).
(9)
Subjects speak of peak-experience as “more absolute and less relative” to shifting
needs, to time and space, as if they were perceptions of reality independent of
man and persisting beyond his life (Maslow, 1968, p.
85).
(10
) “ B-cognition is much more
passive and receptive than active,” though it can never be completely so (Maslow,
1968 p.86 ). Maslow finds the best
descriptions of this “passive” kind of cognizing in Eastern philosophers, for
example, to whom Maslow attributes the “Taoistic conception of ‘let be’”
especially Lao-Tzu, and
Krishnamurti, who speaks of “ choiceless awareness”. In the “Taoistic” attitude one “can be humble before
the experienced non-interfering-, receiving rather than taking . . . .” Maslow
mentions here “the difference between passive listening and active, forceful
listening” of the good therapist ( Maslow, 1968, p.87).
(11) The emotional
quality of peak-experience is
“a
special flavor of wonder, of awe, of reverence, of humility and surrender
before the experience as before something great”.( Maslow, 1968,p. 87-88). ( It is of interest to note that
his choice of the word before the experience suggests subject-object
dualism).
(12
) Things present in peak-experiences are concrete, not abstracted, experienced
without intervention from comparisons, classification, evaluaton, uses. Here Maslow speacks of perceiving the
“the ineffable, that which cannot be put into words” (Maslow 19 68,
p.91).
(13) “Many
dichotomies, polarities, and conflicts are fused, transcended or
resolved.” Self-actualizing
people experience presumable opposites as fused and simultaneous
rational/irrational, selfish/unselfish, and so on. “The mor we understand the whole of Being, the more we can
tolerate the simulataneous existence and perception of inconsistencies, of
oppositions and of flat contracictions” (Maslow, 1968, p. 91-92). (Knowing this, the therapist can
experience the neurotic person just as he is, without blocking).
(14
) The person is godlike in all these senses, but “particularly, in the
complete, loving, uncondemning, compassionate and perhaps amused acceptance of
the world and of the person”
(Maslow, 1968, p. 92 ).
This implies acceptance of what is-normally experienced as evil.
( 16 ) There is a complete though momentary loss of fear and
negative blocks against the experience( Maslow, 1968, p. 94).
(17 )
There is a parallelism or isomorphism between the inner and the
outer. As the Being of
the world is perceived, the person comes closer to his own Being. “Each makes
the other more possible” (Maslow, 1968, P-95).
( 18
) There is “a fusion of ego, id, super-ego and ego-ideal, of conscious,
preconscious, of primacy and secondary processes, a synthesizing of pleasure
principle with reality principle, a healthy regression without fear in the
service of the greatest maturity, a true integration of the person at all
levels” ( Maslow, 1968, p.96). Here Maslow states his criteria in
psychoanalytic language.
Maslow
recaps ( under the eighth point ) the features experienced, and terms them
B-values. These are qualities of the things experienced. The features above
include these qualities. It is thinkable that the points listed above could be
reduced to these qualities. But Maslow himself does not state what their
relations are.
Wholenness
Perfection
Completion
Justice
Aliveness/Spontaneity
Richness
Simplicity
Beauty
Goodness
Uniqueness
Effortlessness
Playfulness
Truth/honesty/Reality
Self-sufficiency
In
order to have a better understanding of the Taoist ideas of the ‘Authentic
Person ’, one is obliged to examine basic principles of Taoism. Basically, Tao
means “The Way.” Confucius used the term to define the “way of man.” The
Taoists, however, regarded it as the all-embracing first principle. It is said
in the twentieth chapter of Han-fei-tzu:
Tao
is that whereby all things are so, and
with which all principles agree. Principles(li理 )are the
markings (wen 文 )
of completed things. Tao is that
whereby all things become complete . Therefore it is said that Tao is what
gives principles . . . . (Fung, 1952, P. 177 ).
There
is a thing, formless yet complete. Before heaven and Earth existed. Without
sound, without substance, it stands alone without changing. It is all pervading and unfailing. One
may think of it as the mother of all beneath Heaven. We do not know its name, but we term it Tao Tao
Te Ching, ch. 25, in Fung, 1952, P-177).
The
way of Tao is spontaneity:
Man’s standard is Earth,
Earth’s standard is Heaven.
Heaven’s standard is Tao.
Tao’s standard is the spontaneous ( tzu jan )
(Tao Te Ching, ch. 25, in Fung, 1952, p. 177).
As Lao Tzu
conceives it, then, Tao is the all-embracing first principle of all things. The
expression of Tao is spontaneity.
According to Lao Tzu the innate principle of each individual thing is Te. Lao Tzu’s description of Te is as follows:
Great
Te’s form follows only Tao ( Tao
Te Ching
ch.
21) . . . .Tao gives them[the ten
thousand thing
birth.
Te reared them. becoming things, they gained forms.
Through
their tending forces (shih )they become completed.
Therefore
of the ten thousand things, there is not one that
does
not honor Tao and prize its Te. No one has commanded the
honoring
of Tao an-prizing of its Te. But this has
been
forever spontaneous ( Tao Te Ching
ch. 51, in Fung
1952,
p. 180).
Thus,
by spontaneous expression all living things attain their individual Te and actualize their own innate
nature.
Lao
Tzu also recognizes that an individual has inborn desires.
He
advises man to limit one’s desires.
However, Lao Tzu’s ideal person can only exist in an ideal society,
where there is plenty of food and shelter, where individuals can easily “obtain
their food sweet, their clothing beautiful, their homes comfortable, and their
rustic tasks pleasurable “ (Tao Te Ching, ch. 80 in Fung, 1952, p.188 ).
The ideal person according to Lao Tzu is like an infant. He is simple-minded
and possesses the knowledge and desires of an ignorant man. But this outward
ignorance of the ideal person is “the result of a conscious process of
cultivation” ( Fung, 1952,
p.190).
The
Taoist idea maintained by Chuang Tzu is somewhat different from that of Lao Tzu. Although Chuang Tzu holds the same concept of Tao and Te. Chuang Tzu does not believe that it is necessary to live in an
ideal country to be happy. He
believes that if a person follows the principle of Tao, that is, spontaneity, he is happy. Since all things are part of Tao, and each has its own
individual Te, each then has its
spontaneous nature. If one follows the growth process of nature spontaneously,
one is bound to attain happiness. Chuang Tzu calls his ideal person the
“Authentic Person” (chen jen 真人).
Chuang
Tzu’s “Authentic Person” is not the ignorant person or the infant; his is the
person who penetrates through the outward appearances of things to their inner
“reality”. He/she sees beyond good
and evil, justice and injustice, right and wrong. The “Authentic Person” harmonizes the systems of right and
wrong, and rests in the Evolution of Nature ( Chuang Tzu, ch.21, in Fung, 1952,
p.233 ). His experience of the
world is “pure experience真境.” In “pure experience’’ the
“Authentic Person” is one with the universe. In this experience one’s intellectual speculation ceases. The “Authentic Person” in this experience accepts the,
immediate presentation. The “Authentic Person” simply takes “the that at its face
value, neither more nor less; and taking it at its face value means, first of
all, to take it just as one feels it, and not to confuse oneself with abstract
talk about it” ( William James, Essays in Radical Empiricism pp. 13, 48, in
Fung, 1952, p.239)
Chuang
Tzu in his work describes this pure experience:
The
knowledge of the ancients was perfect. How perfect? At first, they did not know
that there were things ( i.e., they had experience, but no intellectual
knowledge ). This is the most perfect knowledge; nothing can be added. Next they
knew that there were things, but they did not make-distinctions between them,
but they did not yet pass judgments upon them... ( Chuang Tzu ch. 2, in Fung,
19529 P.240 ).
Obviously,
the less intellectual speculation of things one has, the more pure is the
experience. Chuang believes that
the “Authentic Person” respects the Te,
or the innate potentiality of things. “Each thing is what it is, and does what
it does. There is no need for us consciously make it so, or consciously make
distinctions about things. ( Fung, 1952, p.241 ). “What the Chuang Tzu calls
‘the fast of the mind’(xian zhai 心齋 ) and ‘sitting in forgetfulness’ (tso wang坐忘)are
designations for this state of pure experience (Fung, 1952, p.241).
The “Authentic Person” is in constant state of “pure
experience”. By cultivating spontaneity, his innate nature, the “Authentic
Person” identifies with the great flux(大化), he becomes the
Mysterious Power (Hsuan Te 玄德 ). Chuang Tzu says in
Chapter XII:
Through
cultivation of one’s nature ( hsing性 ), one returns to the Power(Te 德 ). Having returned to
the Power, one becomes identified with the Beginning. Being thus identified,
there comes emptiness. With emptiness, there comes vastness. One is then like
(birds) chirping-pin- with joined beaks. Being like this, one reaches a union
with the universe. Joined in this union, one is as someone stupid or confuse(
This is called the Mysterious Power (Hsuan Te玄德 )It is identification with the great flux,”
(Chuang Tzu, ch. XII, in Fung, 1952, p.242).
Chuang Tzu’s “Authentic
Person” does not transcend the world, he identifies
with the world’s all-inclusive totality, the Tao. The self is only part of the Tao. Chuang Tzu explains this in Ch’i Wu Lun (齊物論Equality of Things), “by drawing an analogy to the human body,
suggesting that a man is not an organism with one part ruling over all the
others but more like a corporate entity in which the parts mutually influence
each other.”(Legge, l979, P.17).
The hundred joints, nine openings, and six organs all function
together. Which part do you prefer? Do you like them all
equally, or do you have favorite: are they not-all servants Can they keep order
among themselves, or do they take turns being masters and servants? It may be
that there is indeed a true master. Whether I really feel his existence or not
has nothing to do with the way it is. Once a man is given a body it works
naturally as long as it lasts...”(Feng, 1974, p.25).
In
this analogy to the human body, Chuang Tzu gives a description of the nature of
the unity that is Tao. “Just as there is a sense of wholeness and oneness to
the body because of the unifying- function of the heart, there is wholeness and
oneness to life universal because of the unifying function of Tao” (Legge, 1979, P-17).
Tao has no will of
its own, no preferences, it sees all things as equal. To solve the conflict of
dichotomy of right and wrong Chuang Tzu’s “Authentic Person” stands at the “still-point”
in the center of the circle beyond right and wrong. Chuang Tzu says:
There is right because of wrong, and wrong because of right. Thus, the sage does not bother with these distinctions but seeks enlightenment from heaven. So he sees “this”, but “this” is also “that,” and “that” is also “this.” “That” has elements of right and wrong, and “this” has elements of right and wrong. Does he still distinguish between “this” and “that”, or. doesn’t he? ‘,’Then there is no more separation between “this” and “that’,” it is called the still-point of Tao. At the still-point in the center of the circle one can see the infinite in all things. Right is infinite; wrong is also infinite. Therefore it is said, “Behold the light beyond right and wrong (Feng 1974, P. 29)
This “Authentic Person” is free, because he/she is not obliged to
make any choices. His/her mind is determined by the context of the moment. He
synthesizes diverse views and conflicting ideas. He is without discrimination,
he sees all things as being equal.
Thus, he has infinite ability to adopt to the changing circumstances.
Chuang Tzu’s “Authentic Person” does not transcend the world, she/he does not
need to escape to an ideal world to live. She/he is happy anywhere, and at all
times
Maslow
frequently refers to elements of what he calls “Taoistic” thinking. These
direct references support the implicit similarities between his thought and
Taoist philosophy. At the same time it seems that Maslow did not fully
understand some aspects of Taoism, and that he held some views (especially on
certain features of the self-actualizing person) which are incompatible with
Taoism. These facts, in addition to his use of the peculiar term “Taoistic;’
which is probably never used by other writers on ‘Taoism ( e. g. Waley, Creel,
Welch, Chan, Chang, Watts), and the apparent fact that he never actually quotes
any Taoist writings, suggest that his knowledge of Taoism is secondhand.
Here
I will review the basic similarities, explicit and implicit, between Maslow’s
thought and Taoism, point out the contrasts I also find, and critique certain
features of Maslow’s work. My particular concern is to identify the experiences
common to Maslow’s thought and to Taoism, and to show how these relate to
therapeutic process and self-actualization.
Peak-experiences
of self-actualizing people as discussed by Maslow bear a great resemblance to
the “pure experience” of Taoist sages in China. Consider Point 1. in the
description of the cognition of being in peak-experiences: “In B-cognition the
experience or the object tends to be seen as a whole, as a complete unit,
detached from relations, from possible usefulness, from expedience, and from
purpose”(Maslow 1968 p. 74). And his statements that one “can more readily look
upon nature as if it were there in itself and for itself . . . [-one] can more
easily refrain from projecting human purposes upon it” (Maslow, 1968 P.76). And that ‘perception can be
relatively ego-transcending, self-forgetful egoless. It can be unmotivated, impersonal,
desireless, unselfish, not needing, detached . . . we may even speak of
identification of the perceiver and the perceived, a-fusion of what was two
into a new and larger whole, a superordinate on it”( Maslow, 1968, P-79). :”We
could also name it desireless awareness ‘“( Maslow, 1968, p. 86).
These
points all remind, us of significant statements in Taoist philosophy about
seeing- things as they are, without expectation or prejudices, without
experiencing divisions or distinctions. All these features are found in a
variety of statements by the well-known Taoiots, Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu. For example:
The Tao that can be told is not the
eternal Tao(道可道非常道). The name
that can be named is not the eternal name(名可名非常名). The nameless is the beginning of
heaven and earth(無名天地之始).
The named is the mother of ten thousand things(有名萬物之母). Ever desireless, one can see the
mystery(以無念以觀其妙).
Ever desiring, one can see the
manifestations(故常有欲以觀其徼)
(Feng, 1972, One).
Since
Maslow never directly quotes from Taoist texts, we may wonder where he gets his
phrase “desireless awareness,” which he speaks about in relation to Lao
Tzu. Peak-experience is very
similar to the Taoist notion of “pure experience真境;’ to what the Buddhist call intuition(hsien
liang現量
)and to the experience of the Taoist “Authentic Person真人” referred to
by Chuang Tzu. Of this
experience, Fung Yu-lan says, “When one is in a state of “pure experience’’ the
things experienced are concrete .
. . . There is neither destruction nor construction. Therefore, the truly
intelligent man avoids all distinctions, and rests in a state of pure
experience, in which he is near perfection” (Fung, 1952, p.240).
Perfection
means, in Chuang- Tzu’s terms, that
All things may become one, whatever their state
of being. Only he who has transcended sees this oneness. He has no use for
differences and dwells in the ordinary and common. To be ordinary and common is
the natural function of all things. To function naturally is to realize one’s
true nature. Realization of one’s true nature is happiness. When one reaches
happiness. one is close to perfection . . . . Therefore the sage harmonizes
right with wrong and rests in the balance of nature. This is called taking
both-sides at once” (Chuang Tzu ch. II, in Fung, 1952, p.241).
Oddly
enough, Maslow seems to contradict himself in saying first that objects tend to
be “detached from relations,” and then, in Point 2, that they are “seen
imbedded in their relations with everything else in the world and as part of
the world”(Maslow, 1968, P-74-75). How can an object be both “detached from
relations” and “imbedded in its relationships.”
Maslow
repeatedly uses the term “Taoistic” to label a point of view which is
anti-authoritarian, anti-controlling, non-interfering, receptive, “letting be,”
and the like( See the more than two dozen uses of the term in Farther
Reaches of Human Nature, 1971, e.g. pp. 14, 15, 52, 89, 12,. 133, 134, 222,
276, and in Toward. a Psychology of Being, 1968, PP.55, 86). In most
cases Maslow’s use of the term “Taoistic’’ is consistent with Taoist ideas.
However, on one occasion when he used the term in a comparative sense, “less Taoistic” (Maslow, 1971, p.69),
it is not consistent with Taoist ideas.
Since Taoism is not measured by degree, it is hardly conceivable to say
“less Taoistic.”
In
several respects the qualities of self-actualizing persons are among those
identified in the heart of Taoist philosophy: wholeness, fusion with the world,
simplicity, effortlessness, self-sufficiency, spontaneity, transcending
dichotomies, ego-transcending, innocently
perceiving and behaving, more natural, in the here-and-now. On the other hand, some of the
mata-motivations and gratifications which Maslow ascribes to self-actualizing
people are apparently incompatible with Taoism, and his inclusion of them
suggests strongly that he never read some of the key passages in Taoist
writing, (e.g. Chapter 2 in Tao
Te Ching, ).
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there
is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another,
and
the central theme in Chuang Tzu’s chapter on Equality of Things齊物論. Maslow’s
self-actualized people do not seem fully liberated and Maslow is not consistent
with himself. For example,
self-actualized persons “hate sin and evil to be rewarded, and they hate people
to get away with it,” and that “They are good punishers of evil, . . . they
“fight lies and untruth”(Maslow, 1971, p. 308). He even contradicts his own statement that one who
loves another may see any kind of change in that person as impossible or
impious( Maslow, 1971 p.18). He makes this statement in order to illustrate
what he means by qualities which he considers “Taoistic.”
Some
of Maslow’s statements suggest that he himself was susceptible to the sort of
dichotomous thinking which the self-actualizing person is supposed to have
transcended. He expressed a strong
belief that lack of a “system of value is pathogenic” (Maslow, 1968, p.206). The real issue is far more subtle than this. Both Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu warn
that attachment to a system of
right and wrong is a major source of human problems, and Seng Ts’an, a Chinese
Ch’an Patriarch who acknowledges and echoes these Taoist thinker, says flatly,
The
Perfect Tao knows no difficulties
Except
that it refuses to make preferences;
Only
when freed from hate and love,
It
reveals itself fully and without disguise . . . .
To
set up what you like against what you dislike—This is the disease of the mind: When
the deep meaning[Of the way] is not understood Peace of the mind is disturbed
To no purpose. (Suzuki, 1960, p-77)
Thus
we see that Maslow’s understanding of Taoism is limited; and his apparently
correct uses of his own term “Taoistic” are weakened by these limitations. Nevertheless, when cleared of
these misconceptions, there is frequently real potential in his views for
nurturing peak-experiences and realizations of the sort fostered in Taoism and
Chinese painting.
For
centuries painting in China has been used as a form of spiritual exercise. It
“has never been separated from the Tao of living” (Sze, 1959, P. 37) Painting is the expression of the
harmony of Heaven and Earth, an expression of the essence of the “Authentic Person,” the spiritual
reality. The process of painting is the transference of an inner experience
into visible form. Two major steps are involved: (1 ) perception and (2 )
painting.
Before
he can paint a good picture, the Chinese artist is advised to look at the
nature and harmony of the phenomenal world. The perception is that of the
“Authentic Person”. The artist
learns to perceive with the Taoist attitude, namely to view phenomena
“desirelessly,” and to let the essence of existence, or Tao, reveal itself.
The artist is to capture the spirit residing in each and every form
experienced. The painting which issues from this experience then is the mirror
image of this perception. Painting is produced not only by the skill of the
artist but by the exercise of the spirit. The artist is to harmonize with the
spirit of things. The first canon of Chinese painting is “ Ch’i yun shen
tung,”( the movement of ch’i, the breath of life is life-like).
As Sze puts it, “If a work of painting has ch’i, it inevitably reflects
a vitality of spirit that is the essence of life itself” (Sze, 1959, P-37).
Wang
Wei, a fifth century artist, describes it in this way: “The form of the object
must first fuse with the spirit, after which the mind transforms it in various
ways. The spirit, to be sure, has no form; yet that which moves and transforms
the form of an object is the spirit” (Quoted in Sze, 1959, P. 39).
First
of all then the artist has to perceive the spirit in the object. Thus, in
looking at a scene the Chinese artist does not carry a sketch book. He is
simply there, all of him/herself, there, to absorb the various changing aspects
of the scenery; the wind that is moving through it, the music that is in the
air, and the light that is forever moving. The artist is sensitive to the total
existential reality of the moment. S/he does not expect to see anything in
particular, but just let the whole of nature to “ caress” him/her and impart to
her/him the mystery of that moment. S/he is either sitting or standing quietly
without exerting him/herself to see. As Chang Chung-Yuan says in Creativity-and
Taoism of the artist, “His creative intuition penetrated through the outer shell
of things to their inner reality. He had experienced nature’s imageless,
wordless, and soundless untouched primacy and therefore could make her
invisible, integral beauty tangible to the senses either by means of rhymes and
rhythm, or by form and color” (Chang Chung-Yuan, 1963, p. 202).
The
guiding principle of painting is “pure reflection.” As Chuang Tzu puts it, “When the mind is in repose, it
becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation.” (Siren,
1963, P. 52). When the artist becomes one with the universe and all things, his
brush becomes the creative agent for all forms. Artistic media sometimes
imposes limitations on the artist, but if the artist has gained spiritual
freedom he is able to transcend the restriction of the material. Shih-t’ao, the
seventeenth century Chinese artist says in his Saying on Painting (Hua Yu Lu
):
A
materialist attends to the affairs of the world. A man enslaved by the material world lives in a state of
tension. He who is tense labors over his paintings and destroys himself. He who
moves among the hustle and bustle of the world handles his brush and ink with
caution and restraint. Thus the environment impinges upon a man, can only do
him harm and in the end make him unhappy. I meet the world as it comes, yield
superficially to the hustlers, and thus achieve peace of mind. With peace of mind comes a.
painting . . . . For the
important thing in art work is contemplation. When contemplates the One (unity of all things), one sees it
and that makes one happy. Then one’s Paintings have a mysterious depth which is
unfathomable....
The
conventional people follow the ignorant and the ignorant have a mind completely
veiled. Remove the veil and the ignorant become wise; leave the conventional
man uncontaminated and his mind remains pure . . . . He responds to the affairs
of the world without signs and deals with them without visible traces. His ink
seems to be there by itself, and his brush moves as if not doing anything. Thus
the little scroll controls all objects of creation. One who keeps his mind calm
will find that ignorance is replaced by wisdom and conventionality by purity of
mind (Lin Yutang, 1967, P-152-153).
Thus
the Chinese artist is in his way a non-conformist. To perceive the world “desirelessly” is to learn the growth
process in nature. Each artist in
the process of perceiving and creating undergoes the awakening and growth of
life. He identifies with each of
the phenomena of nature. Shih-t’ao
says:
For heaven has invested the mountain with many functions. The body
of the mountain comes from its location; its spirituality from its spirit; its
changes of mood from growth and change; its first awakening and growth
(meng-yang
) *from its clarity; its stretching across
vast areas from movement; its
hidden potentialities come from silence; its rambling manner
comes from a peaceful disposition; . . .Thus it is seen that the mountain takes
up these functions and maintains them and they cannot be changed or
substituted. Therefore the true man(the “Authentic Person”) never leaves his
true manhood and enjoys the mountain.
It
is the same with water. Water does many things. These are things that water
does. It reaches out in vast rivers and lakes to spread its benefits—such is
its virtue. It seeks the lowly humble places—such is its sense of courtesy. Its
tides ebb and flow ceaselessly—such is its Tao.
It breaks out in crashing waves—such is its strength. It swirls about and seeks
its level—such is its law. It reaches out to all places—such is its
far-reaching power. Its essence is clear and pure—such is its goodness. It
turns about and reaches-towards the (East China Sea)--such is its—goal. . . .
To know the functions of the mountain without knowing the functions of water is
like a man sinking in a sea without knowledge of its shores or standing upon
its shores without knowledge of the vast expanse beyond. Therefore the wise man
knows the shores and watches the water passing by and his spirit is pleased
(Lin, 1967, P. 155).
The artist understands himself and the Tao
through his
desireless perception of the phenomena of nature. Learning to
perceive as a Chinese artist is a growth process. And in
perceiving nature the artist sees the laws of growth and life.
Seeing is the most important part of the creative process. A Chinese artist is required to be
alone with nature. Many people mistranslate this aloneness with nature as
“meditation”. It is not
meditation in the dictionary sense of the word, where it means “thought, or
thinking; reflection, contemplation” (The Random House Dictionary of the
English Language). The artist is
sitting or standing in the surroundings of nature, totally quiet and not
exerting himself, concentrating the total energy of the self on the existential
moment in the presence of the phenomenon. No expectation is present in the
artist—this is the “desireless” moment. Only in such a way is the artist able
to see the true essence of nature, to see the presence of the spirit or Te in each object, the just-so-ness of
things. Nothing in this
universe is permanent. Looking at its changeless potentiality,
it is permanent, yet looking at the object’s constant growth process, it is
dynamic. It is from
this constant dynamic movement of things, the constant flux of natural
phenomena of the world, that the Chinese artists learn of the “reality” of
permanence and change, the reality of life as a constant process of
becoming. The Chinese artist
learns from this experience that everyone is given Te, the existential reality of each and every object, its fate,
its suchness, its just-so-ness. The Tao on the other hand is the totality of
all the Te, and the total
just-so-ness of existential reality.
An
artist’s duty is to actualize the te
in her/himself—to release her/his potentiality. That is her/his mission as an artist. Though this te is individual, it is a part of the total existential reality,
that is, the Tao.
Only
when an artist understands the
process of nature and sees beyond the appearance of natural objects to
the inner reality of things can she/he create a Taoist painting. Such a painting is the “spontaneous
reflection from one’s inner reality, unbound by arbitrary rules from without;
and undisturbed by confusion and limitations from within. In “this spontaneous reflection one’s
potentialities set free and great creativity is achieved without artificial
effort” (Chang, 1963, p. 203).
In
the process of creating, the Te of the individual responds to the
growth process of nature—Tao—and
carries with it all the potentialities of the universe. Therefore, in a Chinese
painting, of even a simple branch of plum blossom, the infinite potentiality is
manifest in this plum blossom.
“When the painter, who is one with nature, seizes his brush to create
the particular, his activity will be supported by all the vitality of
universality” (Chang, 1963, p. 204).
Thus,
in an individual artist the achievement of “enlightenment” through the
quiescent process of creativity is what the Taoist calls Te. When Te
is achieved one is said to have returned to one’s original nature. In
the creative process, the artist effortlessly projects his “desireless
perception of the universe (the phenomenon) of nature on to a white sheet of
paper or silk. This creative process is one of self-realization which requires
no outward instrumentality to effect its inward process. The painting is only a
manifestation of the creative activity.
In a
painting the artist not only creates the appearance of things but the reality in them. If we call Te reality, and each
object “appearance,” the relationship of the two can be explained in the
following manner. A seventh-century monk, Fa-tsang, the founder of the Hua Yen
School of Buddhism, explained the identification of appearances and inner
essence (reality) in the following manner:
Fa-tsang
pointed to a golden lion in the court and delivered his famous parable. Gold
symbolizes reality, and the lion, he said, symbolizes appearance. Reality is
formless by itself but assumes any form that circumstances gave it. Similarly,
gold has no “nature of its own” but is shaped into the form of a lion as its
appearance. On the other hand, the
lion is merely a form or an appearance,which has no reality of its own—it is
entirely gold(Chang, 1963, P. 99).
In the process of painting the Chinese artist is often said
to be one with the act. He loses himself entirely in the act of painting. This
creative process must also be understood in terms of the principle of
permanence and change, the changeless within the ever-changing. The aspect of
the phenomenon at each given moment as the painter perceives it beyond the
manifestation, into the inner reality of the object, is both static and
dynamic. The inner essence of each object, the Te, is static. The process of being or manifesting of the object in
the phenomenon is dynamic. The static aspect of the object is changeless, the
dynamic aspect is ever changing. When the changeless remains within itself, it
is oneness, or non-being, the source of creativity. The manifestation of this
changeless aspect of nature is “change,” that is, being. It is from this
abundant source of the changeless, the non-being, that the Chinese artist draws
his strength. This quiet stream of creativity cannot be defined. It is a
process of growth. The painter is
cultivating the ability to utilize his total potentiality of growth. It is this Te or the Tao for which
the Chinese artist is searching, through color and form in the phenomenal
world. It is this Te
or Tao the Chinese artist is trying to manifest
in color an d form, in the work of a painting. His inner being benefits in the process of searching and
revealing. This helps her/him
become The artist understands himself and the Tao
through his desireless
perception of the phenomena of nature. Learning to perceive as a Chinese artist
is a growth process. Andin
perceiving nature the artist sees the laws of growth and life.
The
purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical basis for using Chinese
painting as an art therapy modality with the support of Maslovian psychology.
At this point I want to restate briefly the main ideas I have presented, in
order to develop a synthesis of the principles of a Maslovian psychology with
the theory and practice of Chinese painting. In Part II, I showed that Maslow
views people as having an inborn potential and need for growth and
self-actualization, that growth always occurs when one level of basic needs is
met, bringing to the foreground the next level of needs. Psychopathology arises
from the thwarting of basic needs and the natural potential for
self-actualization. A principle function of psychotherapy arising from such
thwarted needs, as I noted in Part III, is to provide a basis for helping the client
meet them—to help him or her
gratify needs for safety, belonging, affection and self-esteem in
particular. Only when these
are sufficiently met can the person fully enter his or her process of
self-actualization. Peak
experiences, as reviewed in Part IV, often occur in the process of
self-actualization, with the person experiencing a wide range of deeply
fulfilling realizations—including wholeness, transcending dichotomies,
compassionate acceptance of life. In Part V I explained the Taoist notion of the “Authentic Person” who represets a
fully self-actualizing person.
There I also explained such basic Taoist ideas as Tao, Te, pure experience,
transcendence of dichotomies, spontaneity, and desirelessness. In Part VI I
compared- Maslow’s thought wit h Taoism and critiqued some flaws in Maslow’s
understanding of Taoism. Part VII is an explanation of Taoism as the
theoretical basis for Chinese painting, and the Chinese artist’s experience
with nature. I also explained how the creative process fosters realization of
human potentials, and that it instills the growth process of nature—those
qualities of wholeness, spontaneity, movement, change, and free flow which are
part of natural growth process.
Though
Maslow’s psychology is a development of Western thought, he acknowledges its
similarities to Taoism. While his understanding of Taoism is not always
correct, he already attempted a synthesis of Humanistic Psychology and Taoism.
Having discussed these points, I can now turn to a final synthesis that unites the
best of Maslow with the most usable features of Taoism and the process of
Chinese painting.
Maslow’s
psychology has grown as a response to the basic needs of a technologically
over-developed society whose Standards of knowledge and normality represent a
serious imbalance in human life. Much of our social energy has been focused on
exploiting and depleting natural resources, elaborating consumer comforts, and
using sophisticated technology to control people and the natural environment.
As a result, people have been
seriously alienated from nature, self, and others. The needs for
actualizing higher potentials in Maslow’s terms are critical. Most recently
Maslow’s psychology has been used not only in psychotherapies but also in
education and in organizational and managerial psychology. This evidences how
deeply people now experience these “higher needs”. “Self-actualization” and personal growth are basic motives
in much of contemporary education and management practice. Maslow’s psychology
has been used to provide for personal growth in many organizational settings,
in harmony with a new phase of real social evolution in America.
Taoism,
on the other hand, developed as a response to social rigidity, to rules and
regulations set by Confucianists. The Confucian world is governed by a highly
elaborate social system to which people are both temporally and spatially
bondaged. Although people in
that system do not suffer the need for belongingness, they greatly suffer from
a deficiency of individual freedom.
However, the spiritual naturalism in the outlook and philosophies of the
Chinese have avoided the fundamental dualisms which have created so much
anxiety for Western people. The Chinese were not alienated from nature, since
the human context was deeply rooted in the dynamic equilibrium of Heaven and
Earth. The laws of social order were to be patterned on the laws of nature.
Taoism and Chinese painting have been natural vehicles for nurturing
spontaneity, orderly personal growth and complete self-realization.
First,
instruction in Chinese painting involves a creative relationship (creative
relationship mentioned here is very similar to that described in Creative
Process In Gestalt Therapy, by Zinker, for lack of space, I will not
elaborate here) between the teacher/therapist and the students/clients. Whether
working with an individual in therapy or with people in groups, the therapist
shares her feelings and experiences closely with them. The process of Chinese
painting expresses deep feelings that can be shared among the group. Second,
clients/students in a group setting experience a deep sense of identity, and
mutual respect out of quiet and intense working together. Since Chinese painting is process
rather than product oriented, focus is on the ability of letting the brush
do its job; each person’s work is respected as a
spontaneous expression. Third, the
process of painting leads one through a
Taoist experience with nature to a creative expression in the
painting. Through “desireless”
awareness of the nature’s growth process, the person harmonizes his/her own
perceptions and development.
Chinese painting fosters a
growing self-forgetfulness and vitality.
This
recovery of natural life process through receptivity to nature answers, as I
see it, a primary basic need—pure need for re-integration with nature. And we transcend the division between
ourselves and the natural environment.
It can be said that this is a need which has arisen from having
satisfied our basic needs for food, shelter and the like means of technology.
The
complexity and precision of
technology and society evokes a need for some level of wholeness,
simplicity and spontaneity.
The recent movements for ecological balance, for more natural and
organic ways of living, for natural and holistic health are all responses to
these needs. It might be argued that the need for reintegration with nature is
at least equal to the others set
out by Maslow—a metamotivation. In fact, such a need is never explicitly
mentioned by Maslow, though it might be inferred from some of his ideas (e.g.
the importance of wholeness). Perhaps Erich Fromm has made this need for
recovery from modes of alienation more clear than any other psychologist.
Integration
with nature, through “letting be,” receptivity, spontaneity, transcending the
dichotomy of self and world, is experienced in the process of Chinese painting.
The practice of Chinese painting nurtures the roots of peak-experience. In
self-absorbed awareness of bamboo, water, rock etc., the dichotomy between self
and nature dissolves, one’s “original nature” stands revealed.
Both
Maslow’s thought and Taoism are helpful for liberating people from the bondage
of social institutions. As Maslow stated, man’s innate nature is easily
overcome by culture. The goal of psychotherapy then must be to help liberate
this nature for self-actualization.
Analogously, Taoism has been a philosophy for fostering the “Authentic
Person’s” awareness to ensure spontaneity and freedom from social
rigidities. Taoists have
utilized Chinese painting—and poetry writing—as spiritual exercises for many
centuries. In the “growth conscious” period we are now experiencing in America,
Chinese painting affords a distinctive creative process of self-actualization.
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* spiritual life: By spiritual life Maslow means the life of self-actualizing people oriented around “peak-experiences.”
孟陽 Lin makes
the following comment on this: “The artist’s creation is compared with the
creation of the world of forms out of chaos and life out of forms. When the
first vague shapes take form in ink, this is comparable to the awakening and
growth of a child’s consciousness (meng-yang), and later life is given to the
picture through the brush-strokes’) (Lin, 1967, P. 154n.).