Qualitative Study on the Experience of Pilgrimage Meditation through the Pilgrimage of Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch

Participants in the Sixth Patriarch Huineng pilgrimage meditation program reported eight categories and 38 subcategories of experiences, including their vows, experiences, and changes during the pilgrimage. The study analyzed written interviews with 85 participants using a modified consensual qualitative research method. The findings suggest that the pilgrimage meditation had a profound effect on participants, as evidenced by the range of experiences and transformations reported.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore what participants in the pilgrimage meditation program of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng Pilgrimage experienced through the pilgrimage. The research questions of this study are as follows. First, what are the vows made by participants in the pilgrimage meditation program through pilgrimage? Second, what are the experiences of participants in the pilgrimage meditation program through pilgrimage? Third, what are the changes experienced by participants in the pilgrimage meditation program through the pilgrimage? This study conducted unstructured written interviews with 85 research subjects who participated in the pilgrimage to the shrine of Master Huineng of the Sixth Patriarch and analyzed them using a modified consensual qualitative research method. The results of this study are as follows. Eight categories and 38 subcategories were derived from three areas: pilgrimage meditation program participants' vows through pilgrimage, experience through pilgrimage, and change through pilgrimage. Each category and subcategory was carefully categorized, the ratio was calculated, presented in order of frequency, and specific examples were clearly presented. The results of this study are expected to be significant in that they empirically confirmed the profound effect of the meaning of pilgrimage meditation.