Mindfulness meditation in various spiritual traditions
S. Kukharenko
Manuscript February 10, 2025 DOI: 10.30853/mns20250023 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that the state of mindfulness is a long-standing state of consciousness reported across Buddhist traditions, Russian philosophy, Western spiritual speakers, lucid-dreaming practitioners, and scientists, marked by heightened perceptual clarity, non-identification with the stream of consciousness, and bliss and tranquility. Contends that Western mindfulness development increasingly separates from its cultural and religious origins. |
Abstract
The aim of the research is to analyze the characteristics of the state of mindfulness in various spiritual traditions. The article examines the description of the state of mindfulness in various spiritual movements, primarily Buddhist ones. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of various terms existing in different religious movements to denote the state of mindfulness. The characteristics accompanying the state of mindfulness, described in various spiritual traditions, including higher clarity of perception, the absence of identification of the practitioner's awareness with the stream of consciousness, and the states of bliss and tranquility experienced by practitioners, are examined in detail. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that it considers the state of mindfulness not only in the Buddhist tradition, but also in several other spiritual movements. The role of mindfulness meditation in Western society is analyzed. As a result of the research, several key characteristics accompanying the state of mindfulness were identified. It was established that mindfulness is an existing state of consciousness that people of different ethnicities and cultures have entered for several millennia. This state of consciousness has received the highest praise in Buddhist movements, but the same state is described from their own experience by Russian philosophers, Western spiritual speakers, secular practitioners of lucid dreaming, and scientists. In recent years, the development of mindfulness has entered the paradigm of the development of spirituality in Western civilization, and there is a tendency to separate the development of mindfulness in the West from the cultural and religious component.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness. Emotion February 1, 2010
- Dreaming with Awareness: Exploring Lucid Dreaming as a Bridge Between Reality and Meditation SMARATUNGGA JURNAL OF EDUCATION AND BUDDHIST STUDIES October 1, 2023
- Meditation and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Journal of the American Heart Association September 28, 2017
- Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility. Consciousness and Cognition March 2009
and 2 more in the library