The Psychosomatic Studies on Nama and Rupa in Reference of Abhidhamma Sangaha

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This book has used the languages in both Abhidhamma and contemporary science. In Abhidhamma, the book Abhidhamma Sangaha is mainly used for analysis. In the aspect of using the language of modern science, the concepts in biology, and psychology are integrated into Abhidhamma's teachings to enhance readers' understanding of Abhidhamma and Buddhist teachings. However, not all the concepts in Abhidhamma's teachings can be included. The concepts in the book are those which belong to the pancakhandha, especially the process of cognition. The theories of psychology and the teachings in Suttapitaka are incorporated to draw out parallel techniques to help the readers to have a clear understanding. This attempts to enable readers to develop knowledge and apply it in practice to gain happiness in this very life. Hopefully, this generates the reader's strong faith and encouragement to engage in the practice.
Dr. Ven. Brenda Ly is a Teaching Faculty with expertise in Pali at the School of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religions, Nalanda University. She has also completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Buddhist Studies at Delhi University. Before joining the Sangha, she completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Victoria, Canada. She had many years of working experience in the Medical field in Canada. Since October 2020, she has been a Guest Faculty at Nalanda University, teaching courses on Ancient Religions in Asian Countries, Buddhist Psychology, and Pali. She has also served as a Dhamma teacher and Vipassana meditation instructor among Vietnamese and other communities in Canada and USA. She has taught at FoGuang Shan Samanera Training Centre (FGS), New Delhi. She has experience working in the health sciences, specifically in psychiatry and gerontology, and she has served at Fraser Health Authority in British Columbia, Canada.

Human beings, i.e. homo sapiens, are one of the socialized species but, unlike other species humans are much more advanced in all domains, whether physiology, language, cognition, emotion, socialization, spirituality or any other. Due to the advanced development in these domains, the manner of promotion of the health of humans is also diverse. In Buddhism all of these perspectives are classified into two major groups, of the rupa (material phenomenal body), and näma (psychological body). These two bodies have been dissected and categorized into five aggregates of the phenomenal aggregate that belong to the material phenomenal body, and the sensation, perception, mental fabrication, and cognition aggregates those belong to the psychological body. This thesis takes these five aggregates based on the teachings in Abhidhamma and the suttas of the Theravada Buddhist tradition in the light of psychosomatic perspectives. This enables readers in contemporary society to understand the authentic languages and teachings especially in Abhidhamma and Buddhist teachings in general. With clear understanding of the teachings one can apply them in practice so that one can experience well-being in this very life. For that purpose, this thesis has been divided into four chapters, of which the first two chapters discuss the theoretical concepts and the relevance of the physical human body and mind in Abhidhammic language, which are elaborated in physiological and psychological languages which helps one to understand them.