The Self-Pattern and Buddhist Psychology
Shaun Gallagher, Antonino Raffone, Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Henk Barendregt, Prisca R. Bauer, Kirk Warren Brown, Fabio Giommi, Ivan Nyklı́ček, Brian D. Ostafin, Heleen A. Slagter, Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, David R. Vago
Mindfulness April 11, 2023 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-023-02118-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Flexibility engineering Self psychology Cognitive psychology Cognitive science Epistemology Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key points | Argues that Buddhist psychology's non-self concept and the pattern theory of self mutually illuminate the dynamic, enactive processes underlying experiences of self and non-self, with implications for reducing suffering. |
Abstract
Abstract In this paper, we address core insights from Buddhist psychology about mind-body phenomena and the self, and we relate such insights to the notion of the self-pattern developed in the pattern theory of self. We emphasize the dynamic, temporal and enactive characteristics of the self-pattern, consistent with the core Buddhist notion of non-self. Although there is no one-to-one mapping of Buddhist psychological concepts onto the pattern theory of self, there are important similarities among such concepts and the various processes and dynamical relations that constitute a pragmatic self-pattern that can explain both experiences of self and non-self. Buddhist psychology and the notion of the self-pattern offer mutual insight into the processes, the dynamics, and the implications for questions about well-being and a flexibility that avoids anxiety and reduces attachment, craving, and suffering.
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 21
- Pattern Theory of Selflessness: How Meditation May Transform the Self-Pattern Mindfulness August 1, 2024
- Mindfulness, cognition, and long-term meditators: Toward a science of advanced meditation. Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Meditation dosage predicts self- and teacher-perceived responsiveness to an 18-month randomised controlled trial Scientific Reports November 2, 2024
- Learning to attenuate myself: a predictive processing account of body-scan meditation and the dissolution of bodily boundaries. Neuroscience of Consciousness February 19, 2026
- Deconstructive meditations and psychotherapy: Transforming the perception of the self. World Journal of Psychiatry June 19, 2025
and 16 more in the library
Cites 12
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology December 11, 2018
- The brain on silent: mind wandering, mindful awareness, and states of mental tranquility Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 1, 2016
- Dynamical Relations in the Self-Pattern Frontiers in Psychology May 11, 2018
and 7 more in the library