Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Citations | 395 |
| Key points | Argues that the modern scholarly tendency to interpret Buddhist technical terms as referring to discrete meditative states of consciousness is based on an unquestioned assumption that Buddhist practice is primarily about inculcating religious or mystical experiences. |
Abstract
Abstract The category “experience” has played a cardinal role in modern studies of buddhism. Few scholars seem to question the notion that Buddhist monastic practice, particularly meditation, is intended first and foremost to inculcate specific religious or “mystical” experiences in the minds of practitioners. Accordingly, a wide variety of Buddhist technical terms pertaining to the “stages on the path” are subject to a phenomenological hermeneutic—they are interpreted as if they designated discrete “states of consciousness” experienced by historical individuals in the course of their meditative practice.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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State of the evidence: Buddhism Unclear
Argues that the modern scholarly tendency to interpret Buddhist technical terms as discrete meditative states of consciousness rests on an unquestioned assumption that Buddhist practice is primarily about inculcating religious or mystical experiences.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Buddhist roots of mindfulness training: a practitioners view | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 87
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Mindfulness in cultural context Transcultural Psychiatry August 1, 2015
- Can enlightenment be traced to specific neural correlates, cognition, or behavior? No, and (a qualified) Yes Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- THE ‘UNIVERSAL DHARMA FOUNDATION’ OF MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION: NON-DUALITY AND MAHĀYĀNA BUDDHIST INFLUENCES IN THE WORK OF JON KABAT-ZINN Contemporary Buddhism July 3, 2018
- Measuring a Journey without Goal: Meditation, Spirituality, and Physiology. BioMed Research International 2015
and 82 more in the library
Cites 4
- The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy Philosophy East and West October 1, 1993
- Two Epistemological Models for the Interpretation of Mysticism Journal of the American Academy of Religion June 1, 1988
- Phenomenological Mapping and Comparisons of Shamanic, Buddhist, Yogic, and Schizophrenic Experiences Journal of the American Academy of Religion 1993
- Overview: clinical and physiological comparison of meditation with other self-control strategies. American Journal of Psychiatry March 1982