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The Quality of Zen Meditation- Bodily Experiences of Participants with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Lu Chueh-Fen, Hung Ming-Kuo, S. Nancy

Nursing & Primary Care October 30, 2018 DOI: 10.33425/2639-9474.1080 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 21
Population Adult patients with generalized anxiety disorder
Intervention Zen meditation programme
Duration 6-week Zen meditation programme
Topics Anxiety Buddhism Meditation
Key findings Practicing Zen meditation helped participants with GAD experience bodily awareness, identify characteristics of their GAD body, achieve a concentrated state with the breath, and encounter bodily resistance.

Abstract

Many aspects of meditation have been examined for over seventy years, including its physiological, psychological variables, and clinical conditions. However, the effectiveness of Zen meditation for clinical application has been debated. The quality of meditation could be one of the keys to understand the disagreements among studies. This study aims to reveal the experience of Zen meditation among participants with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A psychiatric outpatient department at a Taiwanese medical centre was the study site. A six-week Zen meditation programme was designed and provided to the study participants. Multiple data collection methods were used, including interviews, field notes, and diaries. Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology was adopted as a framework for guiding the data interpretation. Investigator and method triangulation was used to enhance the study rigour. Twenty-one adult patients with GAD were recruited. Four categories were merged: First, bodily awareness referred to the participants becoming more sensitive to their bodies, such as when they felt muscle tension, and when their senses became more sensitive. Second, determining the characteristics of the GAD body revealed how participants identified their bodies. Third, being with the breath referred patients to a wholly concentrated state. Finally, bodily resistance referred to the body disagreeing with the physical activities when practicing. By practicing Zen meditation, the participants experienced being close to their bodies, learnt to stay quietly with their bodies for a while, and gained awareness of their bodies. The contribution of this study is to identify the essence of good quality of Zen meditation which should be considered before examine the effect of Zen meditation.

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

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Anxiety Buddhism Meditation Philosophy of mind