What Is Meditation?
Asian Traditions of Meditation October 31, 2016 DOI: 10.21313/hawaii/9780824855680.003.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Proposes that meditation can be defined as an 'attention-based technique for inner transformation' to enable cross-cultural study and distinguish it from related practices. |
Abstract
This essay defines meditation as an “attention-based technique for inner transformation”. This generic definition establishes a common point of reference for the cross-cultural study of meditation, and it serves as a basis for discussing cross-cultural issues relating to the foci and modes of meditative attention, the attitudes toward the technical nature of meditation, and the relation between short-term changes of “state” and long-term changes of “trait” in the inner transformation that meditation brings about. Meditation is distinguished from related phenomena that sometimes go by the same name, but are non-technical, state- rather than trait-oriented, or mechanical in a way that fails to modify the mode of attention of the meditator, as in the automated and ritualistic repetition of mantras. The essay also discusses the fuzzy borderlines between meditation and a number of other practices, including prayer, mysticism, ritual, shamanism, medicine, martial arts and modern-day relaxation techniques and psychotherapy.
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 |