Abstract:
For over 20 centuries, Buddhism has been the spiritual practice of the majority
of Sri Lankans. Though Buddhist practices have been increasingly influencing psychotherapy
in the West, the use of such practices in psychotherapy in Sri Lanka is not
common. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by presenting a case study where Buddhist
mindfulness practice was used successfully in the treatment of a case of obsessive compulsive
disorder. This paper also presents an outline of the association between Buddhist
mindfulness practice and mindfulness practices used in modern-day psychotherapy and
discusses issues in the use of mindfulness practice in psychotherapy.
