A Ramble About the Psyche

"ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ' αν απολεση την εαυτου ψυχην ενεκεν εμου και του ευαγγελιου ουτος σωσει αυτην"

“Because whoever wishes to save his own psyche will destroy it, and whoever would destroy his psyche for my sake and the sake of this gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35, my translation)

I've reflected on this passage a lot. It's one of the teachings of Jesus that occurs in all three synoptic gospels. It's usually translated as “...save his own life will lose it...” But the problem with this translation is that the original word is, quite literally, psyche, and not one of the regular words which “life” usually translates (being ζωή  or βίος) .

The most common translation for “ψυχη” is “soul.” Other translations are “life, self, conscious self or personality, center of emotions and desires, etc.” According to Dictionary.com, “psyche” means “soul, spirit, or mind,” and the psychological definition of “psyche” is “the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious.” “Psyche” is comprehensive of the combination of experiences, memories, reasoning, and physiological factors which inform and contribute to “who” a person is. If one were to look back at all the possible translations and uses of the word “ψυχη” in Greek, it seems like the definition hasn't really changed much in two thousand years.

The simplest definition of the word “psyche” as it pertains to the person is “I”. Whenever we say “I do this” or “I go there” or “I think” it is our psyche that we are referring to as the “I.”

As human beings we tend to cling tightly to the notion of our own psyches. That is, we have a set idea of the psyche we think we are, and we do everything we can to protect it and keep it the way we think it should be. We treat the psyche of a human being as though it is set in stone and immutable.

The problem with this is that the human psyche is only the sum of its components, just like a computer is only the sum of the hardware and software that is put together in order to form a whole system. But unlike a computer, the human psyche is in constant flux. Every new experience, every new thought, and the countless chemical reactions within the brain all cause the psyche to change from moment to moment, and thus the person changes from moment to moment, even if the change is only slight.

The root of the Buddha's teaching was that the idea of a permanent, indivisible self (in Sanskrit, “atman” which translates into Greek as “psyche”) was an illusion. The Buddha said that “The existence of self is an illusion, and there is no wrong in this world, no vice, except what flows from the assertion of self. The attainment of truth is possible only when self is recognized as an illusion.”

To cling to the psyche is like trying to hold on to the wind with your hand. And this is another definition of the word “ψυχη”, “breath.” The harder you try to hold on to who you think you are or are supposed to be, the more it escapes your grasp and all you end up with is frustration, futility, and in the end you find that you have destroyed your psyche in the attempt to save and protect it. Living in a large city area, it's not hard to find people on the streets who have suffered from this psychological destruction as they were helpless to prevent the loss of everything with which they identified their psyches.

The only way to preserve one's psyche is for one to let it go. Let go of the illusion that the psyche is fixed and permanent. Allow it to change and grow and be aware that it is never the same from one moment to the next and accept it. Don't cling to the idea of it, or allow it to be identified with anything which can be lost or destroyed.

Finally, Jesus said that the only way to save one's psyche was to destroy it for his sake and the sake of his Gospel. Traditionally, it is taught that the Gospel only refers to the death for our sins, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But if you look at how Jesus Himself used the word, Gospel refers to His entire body of teaching in the same way that the word “dharma” is used by the Buddha.

The core of what Jesus taught in terms of practice was the letting go of possessions, passions, judgments and relationships, as well as one's own psyche. He taught that if anyone wanted to follow Him, that person needed to disown himself, take up the method of his own execution (that is, die to himself), and then follow Him. This is what it means to destroy your psyche for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel. It means to let go of everything your psyche is attached to in obedience to what He taught. And once you let go of everything impermanent and corruptible with which you have identified your psyche, then, through the joining of your psyche to Him through baptism into His death, you will save it. Because He has risen immortal and undying, so too will your psyche be immortal because it is grown together with Him.

As long as you cling to and assert the idea of your psyche, you will suffer loss and destroy your psyche instead. The only way to preserve it is to destroy all attachments to everything impermanent with which it is identified and identify it with what is permanent and immortal.