Chonyi Taylor (Dr Diana Taylor) is a Buddhist nun and a lecturer and supervisor in the Graduate Diploma Program in Buddhism and Psychotherapy for the Australian Association of Buddhist Counselors and Psychotherapists. This particular combination offers the Buddhist essence fused with Western psychology, allowing diverse readers, both professional and lay, accessibility. The text is relevant to all who have reached the point of declaring, ‘Enough,’ about addictive patterns or thoughts, or practitioners who are working with them.
The foundational premise is the Buddhist belief that addiction is a desperate ‘wanting for more,’ created by the mind and that we can change our mind for the better. What does ‘better’ mean in this context? To “be in balance, not being thrown around by the rising and falling of events and experiences.” If we can achieve this, “we would be at peace with ourselves and…the people around us.” This is a ‘spiritual practice’ in this context; an investigation of the true nature of your mind, as it is within the nature of your mind that you will find your happiness.
How do you do your investigation? Systematically and sensitively, Taylor introduces meditative practices which incorporate mindfulness, introspection, and equanimity through which you can change the compulsive mind and create new habits.
Release from addiction occurs when “our lives are full of meaning… when we are connected within ourselves and with other people, with our environment and with the energies of pure compassionate wisdom.” Whether you recognise in yourself limiting addictive patterns or thoughts or not, we at my manifesto applaud work which encourages you to truly know yourself. Our service is to assist you in your ongoing discovery.