An Exploratory Study to Define the Concept of ‘Pilgrimage Meditation’

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the experience of pilgrimage meditation targeting pilgrims in Buddhist holy places in order to understand the experience of pilgrimage meditation, and to identify the elements that should be included in the definition of pilgrimage meditation in order to clarify the definition of pilgrimage meditation. The study was conducted in two phases. The results of this study are as follows. First, as a result of analyzing the meditation experience experienced through the pilgrimage, 14 categories were derived in 5 areas: ‘meditation experience on pilgrimage’, ‘meditation experience on myself’, ‘meditation experience on others’, ‘meditation experience on the world’, ‘meditation experience through walking’. Second, as a result of analyzing the elements to be included in the definition of pilgrimage meditation, 7 categories were derived from 5 areas: 'motivation and purpose related elements', 'content elements', 'method elements', and 'result elements', 'other elements to be considered'. Third, the final definition of pilgrimage meditation was derived through expert verification. The results of this study are meaningful in providing basic data for the sustainable development of pilgrimage sites by understanding the meditation experience of pilgrims visiting the pilgrimage route and defining pilgrimage meditation.