community, crippling conditions such as those now known as acute manic
depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, and multiple personality disorder.
It must be kept in mind, however, that it would be completely foreign to
the teaching and spirit of Buddhism and Taoism to suggest that any idea or
practice can be regarded as a cure for all ills, or that any spiritual exercise
can automatically bring about the desired regeneration regardless of the
mentality and attitude of the practitioner.
In the traditional psychology of ancient Buddhist and Taoist schools,
psychoactive exercises like the golden flower were part of comprehensive
programs, not magic wands all-powerful in themselves.
To say that greenery needs light, earth, air, and water does not diminish
the importance of any of these elements; but it may be necessary to
emphasize the importance of one or another when it is missing or
insufficient.
For ancient methods of mental development to be naturalized in the
West, they themselves will have to be in working order to be able to
respond and adapt to local needs; and there will have to be ways of
expressing and addressing those needs effectively in the context of the new
cultures. This is why clinical and descriptive psychology have become
avenues for the exploration of formerly esoteric knowledge relating to the
nature of experience.
