ABSTRACT
Loss itself is not always bad: for young people to successfully negotiate their adolescence they must let go of or lose the dependency of their childhood so they may become independent adults. In this chapter, the author presents his experience of young people with mental illness and how his spiritual practice of meditation and Theravadan Buddhism has shaped the way he approach young people in his job. The guiding principle of the form of Theravadan Buddhism is that by calming and purifying the mind, and thus developing wholesomeness in thought and action, peacefulness develops; from a mind free from agitation, the wisdom arises that leads to the end of unhappiness, for the benefit of oneself and others. For a young person who has lost belief in his or her abilities, being able to achieve some success in the present can be very restorative. Focusing on the present decreases expectations, so that problems can become more manageable and goals more achievable.
