Naikan

Naikan is rooted in the Eastern wisdom tradition. It was developed in Japan in the 1940s by Ishin Yoshimoto, a devout Buddhist of the Pure Land sect (Jodo Shinshu). His strong religious spirit led him to practice mishirabe, an arduous method of meditation and self-reflection. After Yoshimoto used Naikan to help prisoners in the 1950s, psychiatrists in the 1960s started to use it as a psychotherapy. Today in Japan it is the most popular psychotherapeutic method that originated in Buddhism.The author’s ToDo Institute has over 500 members and a mailing list of over 4,000Naikan is also used to train employees so they can interact better with customers and colleagues. The Toyoko Inn, for example, which has over 230 hotels throughout Japan, requires all its full-time employees to do intensive Naikan.Today, there are around 30 Naikan centers in Japan, and it is used in mental health counseling, and in rehabilitation of prisoners. It has also taken root in Europe, with a dozen Naikan centers now established in the UK, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland