East or West, the Goal Is the Same: Buddhist Psychology and Its Potential Contributions to Invitational Education.

The United States has a multi-billion dollar weight loss industry. There are pills, books, DVD's, CD's, diets, food diaries, special foods, support groups, personal trainers, television programs, game shows, point systems, weigh-ins, an army of machines, and even special rubber suits ... you name it, we sell it to those who want to lose weight. And why do we want to lose weight? Appropriate weight management is related to good health, longevity, a more active life, and, perhaps, also to one's attractiveness. In the west, good health, long life, active living, and caring friends are all associated with the ultimate goal of happiness. Given the keys to weight loss we are concomitantly given the keys to one route to happiness. If this is true, wouldn't those keys be coveted, embraced, and used to guide our daily living? Fortunately the keys to healthy weight management are well known. There are few things in science known as well as we know the two irrefutable strategies for healthy weight management: exercise more and eat less. This is a guarantee. It does work. So why do so many have such difficulty with the concept? Paradoxically many of us do not want to give up pleasure to get happiness. We desire an easier way and do not like relying on the energy of our volition but prefer some substitute for self discipline. This propensity (but not necessity) for externalization presents us with a continual array of new problems, each in turn relying on yet another externalized solution. The premise behind describing this gloomy outlook is that even if we had unquestioned strategies that would lead us to happiness, as individuals we would still confront substantial personal difficulties in accepting and implementing them. For example, just as in weight loss, one significant roadblock to getting to a state of happiness would be the pleasure we must for forgo to get happiness. In short, happiness requires substantial personal effort, perhaps too much effort. Rather than internal self discipline, our tendency is to avoid fundamental changes in our thinking and action in lieu of finding an environment that requires considerably less effort and self-discipline. In weight loss, we look for the right gym, the right diet, the right gear, the right personal trainer, the right supplements, and the right prepackaged meals. And yet, for many of us, the goal of weight loss and the benefits weight management provides remains elusive. We do, however, have two vehicles that can help us, one from the west and one from the east. East and West Meet On Uncommon Ground Invitational education is representative of western viewpoints and is designed to be a vehicle where one person can be of benefit to others, usually through an invitation to participation provided by way of the people, places, procedures, processes, and policies (Purkey & Novak, 1996) that make up a learning environment. By manipulating these variables the likelihood that others experience success and happiness is greatly enhanced. However, it is always the purview of the individual to accept or reject the invitation. From the east, Buddhist psychology claims we all want to be happy. Further, all the causes and conditions needed to be happy are already in us. (Gnanarama, 2000; Hagen, 1997) Happiness is unlocked by the recognition that suffering exists as a natural state of being; this suffering is caused by desire; desire can be extinguished; and happiness obtained. In response to these propositions the western view counterpunches with some problematic issues: not everyone has the strength to accomplish this journey; someone must teach the ways to happiness; life can present fostering situations but also stultifying challenges; and self discipline alone cannot bring about pleasant events or meet personal needs. The perspective of Buddhist psychology, we can conclude that both eastern and western views demonstrate that we cannot unlock happiness for others. …