Mindfulness oasis: Cultivating mental wellness through Zen meditation retreats for tourists with mental and psychological vulnerabilities
YiTing Zhou, Zhiwei Lin, IpKin Anthony Wong
Tourism Management June 7, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2025.105237 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Tourists attending Zen retreats |
| Intervention | Zen retreats |
| Topics | Meditation Buddhism |
| Keywords | Mental image Mental health Tourism Psychotherapist Applied psychology |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Zen retreats simultaneously reduce vulnerabilities and enhance well-being, aligning with mainstream psychotherapy techniques. |
Abstract
This research explores Zen retreats through the psychological transformation perspective, focusing on the general population's broader mental vulnerabilities. Using a multimethod qualitative approach, including online traveler reflections and communications, onsite observations, and interviews, it reveals a multifactorial interaction framework in which tourists seek personal betterment, connections with kindred spirits, and sacred experiences, leading to inner transformation via Zen masters and restorative environments. Findings transcend the approach of positive psychology alone for understanding psychological transformation, demonstrating that Zen retreats simultaneously reduce vulnerabilities and enhance well-being. This inquiry introduces a temporal logic linking mental vulnerabilities, Zen practices, and therapeutic methods to provide empirical evidence for therapy authenticity. It further reveals the alignment between Zen tourism's restorative methods and mainstream psychotherapy techniques, thus grounding experiential narratives in established psychological theories. Finally, it contributes to individual and societal benefits, laying the foundation for using Zen retreats as a potential social healthcare approach.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... | 2017 | Qualitative study with mixed-methods | |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Buddhist Cambodian monks in Massachusetts | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 6 |
| The Lived Experiences of Experienced Vipassana Mahasi Meditators: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Experienced Vipassana Mahasi meditators | 2018 | Qualitative study |
Citations in the library
Cites 12
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2011
- Mindfulness‐based approaches: are they all the same? Journal of Clinical Psychology January 19, 2011
- Classical mindfulness: an introduction to its theory and practice for clinical application. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences August 1, 2009
- ‘I had more time to listen to my inner voice’: Zen meditation tourism for Generation Z Tourist Studies August 4, 2023
and 7 more in the library