Despite the prevalent notion that Buddhism and psychoanalysis are contradictory currents with fundamentally different views of the world, both of these two approaches concentrate on understanding and relieving human suffering. Upon closer inspection, a number of important similarities are revealed. In this volume the psychoanalyst Ralf Zwiebel and the Zen Master Gerald Weischede hold a dialogue about their respective work models and the basic understanding of self and world behind them. They ask how the two systems can learn from each. Their conclusion is: psychoanalysis can profit from the cultivated presence practiced in Buddhism, and Buddhism can benefit from the reflections psychoanalysis makes about a persons life history.

Prof. Dr. med. Ralf Zwiebel, Arzt für Neurologie und Psychiatrie, ist Psychoanalytiker und Lehranalytiker (DPV, Alexander-Mitscherlich-Institut, Kassel); ehemals Professor für Psychoanalytische Psychologie an der Universität Kassel.