“Birth is suffering, life is suffering, death is suffering. I can show you the way out of suffering.”
— Siddhartha Gautama AKA Thee Buddha
According to both Hinduism and Buddhism, the Ultimate Goal of Life is to permanently escape from Existence, at least on the human plane of Reality.
Perhaps one reason humans are drawn to casinos, where the odds are stacked against them and the game is controlled by the house, is that human life itself feels like one vast casino. It seems like we can somehow win and produce happiness for ourselves but the odds are not just stacked against us. The nature of Life itself makes any permanent happiness impossible. Even if we are fortunate enough to have good health, friends, family, partner, children and prosperity, these things will inevitably be lost or damaged in this world and we too, shall die and face an uncertain rebirth. Thus the Buddha’s declaration that Life IS suffering.
Just as Hatha Yoga works out the tensions and knots of the physical body so that one can sit in stillness and realize the Self as pure consciousness — not merely a small, embodied creature — psychotherapy works out the knots of the mind. Its purpose is similar: to cultivate enough inner calm and clarity to begin the deeper work of realization.
Psychotherapy is not the ultimate end of human growth, but a valuable stepping stone. It helps us heal our most pressing psychological wounds so we can move forward into the real project of ending our suffering, which requires spiritual liberation. When one lingers too long in self-analysis, therapy can become self-referential. At that point, rather than leading to liberation, it risks reinforcing identification with the very self one hopes to transcend.