Two Great Sites
by Danny Fisher
I wanted to share with you about two great sites that I discovered recently. You should definitely check both of them out.
The first is the official website of the TōDō Institute. The welcome message tells visitors a lot about what they’re doing.
- Here you will find a wealth of material on Alternative Methods of Mental Health such as Morita Therapy and Naikan from Japan. These methods are rooted in Eastern philosophy; applied to life in contemporary Western society.
Morita Therapy represents the action element of Japanese psychology; Naikan represents the element of self-reflection. Together, they offer an alternative approach based on values such as mindfulness, purposeful living, gratitude and responsible action.
Most approaches to mental health in the West are rooted in European psychology. The principles presented here are quite different, originating in Japan and rooted in Asian tradition and philosophy. You’ll find guidance on topics ranging from depression to procrastination. So please relax, take off your shoes (Japanese style) and come explore resources which blend the practical, the spiritual and the psychological.
Naikan therapy has an explicit Buddhist connection, in that it was developed by Yoshimoto Ishin, a devout Jodo Shinshu Buddhist.
Anyway, there is lots of good stuff at the TōDō Institute’s site–take a look.
The second site is quite possibly my new favorite blog: the Spiritual Pathways blog, a project of the Chaplaincy Department at the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. As a chaplain, I find it at times enormously fun and always useful. (For examples of both of these qualities, be sure to browse the chaplain interviews.) They’re also a great filter of news stories–in fact, they’ve caught a lot of items that have slipped beneath my radar. For example, in July, they posted about a terrific New York Times profile of a hospital chaplain. And, last month, they found the video posted below, which is certainly of interest to Buddhist chaplains.
