Imagination-Based Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: A New Meditation Method Developed from Chinese Buddhism.
Junyi Hao, Chang Liu, Shaozhen Feng, Jing Luo
Journal of Religion and Health August 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-021-01409-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Buddhism |
| Keywords | Compassion Imagination Loving-kindness Zhiyi |
| Key points | Proposes that Zhiyi's imagination-based loving-kindness and compassion meditation, which limits imaginative content and helps others entirely through imagination, may be more suitable for non-religious participants than methods from Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism. |
Abstract
Many loving-kindness and compassion meditation methods used in psychological research are derived from Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism. Zhiyi (), a representative figure of Chinese Buddhism, proposed a different meditation method, namely, imagination-based loving-kindness and compassion meditation. The current article introduces the imagination-based loving-kindness and compassion meditation proposed by Zhiyi and compares it with meditation methods from Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism. Zhiyi's method limits the content of imagination during meditation, which can be an essential supplement to the free association method derived from Theravada Buddhism. Zhiyi's method of helping others entirely through imagination differs significantly from the tonglen method derived from Tibetan Buddhism and may be more suitable for participants without religious beliefs. Based on Zhiyi's source text and previous psychological studies, a mental-health training program for imagination-based loving-kindness and compassion meditation is proposed. The limitations of Zhiyi's method and the future directions for empirical research on Zhiyi's method are also discussed. The differences between Zhiyi's method and other methods in terms of effects and applicable populations need to be examined in future studies.
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 Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | 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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The effects of loving-kindness meditation on doctors' communication anxiety, trust, calling and defensive medicine practice. BioPsychoSocial Medicine May 10, 2024
- Transforming education: A review of the benefits of integrating mindfulness and meditation techniques in schools English Education Journal June 14, 2023
- Merging Oblivion Meditation: A Daoist method facilitating nondual experience through cosmic integration Archive for the Psychology of Religion January 12, 2026
Cites 11
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
- State Effects of Two Forms of Meditation on Prefrontal EEG Asymmetry in Previously Depressed Individuals Mindfulness March 1, 2010
and 6 more in the library