Learning from experience: Bion's concept of reverie and Buddhist meditation: A comparative study.

The author argues for a common denominator between Bion's view and the Buddhist view of mental development. In both thought systems, mental growth is synonymous to learning from experience. The author closely examines Bion's concept of attention and compares it to mindfulness, a major factor in Buddhist meditation. In both doctrines, attention must be isolated from other mental processes in order to attain learning from experience. The author compares reverie to the state of mind of equanimity. She argues that enhancement of the ability of reverie, or improving the inner container such that it can hold any content while unmoved by desire, is the purpose of Buddhist practice. Both view the mind as capable of transcending its own restrictions and 'the capacity to know anything' as attainable through disciplined practice.

Int J Psychoanal. 2007 Dec;88(Pt 6):1507-26. Pelled E. University of Tel-Aviv, Mane 19B, Tel-Aviv 64364, Israel.