The watermill and the water buffalo: Monastic thoughts on distraction and mind
Charlotte Eubanks, Jamie Kreiner
postmedieval March 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1057/s41280-026-00410-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Embodiment Metacognition Zazen |
| Key points | Argues that John Cassian and Dōgen provide complementary accounts of religious concentration and distraction, highlighting both the necessity of mental focus and the spiritual significance of its loss. |
Abstract
本稿は座談会のかたちで、古代末期のクリスト修道士ジョン・キャッシアンと鎌倉時代の道元禅師の考えをもとにして、宗教的な集中力の大切さまたはその反対である「失心」の体験について論じる。 This Dialogue thinks about how the late antique Christian monk John Cassian and the medieval Zen teacher Dōgen described religious concentration, exploring both why mental focus is so important and what happens when distraction wins the day.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |