The Dreams of Monks: Studies on Chinese Buddhists’ Dream Content
Daohua Zhang, Qiong Li, Heyong Shen, Hang Song, Kai Xu, Feng Liu, Jiaxi Wang, Dan Liu
Dreaming September 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1037/drm0000079 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 127 |
| Population | Monks and nonreligious respondents |
| Topics | Buddhism Dreaming |
| Key findings | Dream content differs significantly between monks and nonreligious respondents, with monks reporting more prediction and revelation themes, divine beings and teachers, and peaceful emotions, while nonreligious respondents report more death dreams, relatives, animals, dead people, and anxiety. |
Abstract
The present study is a comparison of dream content between monks and nonreligious respondents, aiming to understand the unconscious of monks, and to further explore the influence of religion on our human mind. The authors interviewed participants to collect dreams and then explored similarities and differences through content analysis. A total of 127 participants reported their dreams, 65 monks and 62 nonreligious respondents. Results suggest a significant difference in dream themes between monks and nonreligious respondents. Compared with nonreligious respondents, there were more “prediction” and “revelation” themes in the monks’ dreams. Meanwhile, nonreligious respondents had more “death dream” and “others” than monks did. About the characters in the dream, “divine beings” and “teachers” appeared more often in the dreams reported by the monks, whereas “relatives,” “animals,” and “dead people” presented more in dreams of nonreligious respondents. There were also significant differences in the emotions expressed in the dreams between the two groups, with monks reporting more peaceful and reverent emotions than nonreligious respondents, as well as less anxiety. About the reaction to the dreams, monks chose “chanting and praying” more often than nonreligious respondents. The importance of the results was analyzed in relation to the characteristic of Buddhism and the living environment.
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 |