Meditation as a Path to Inner Calm in the Life of Buddhists
Adinda Faizah Rahmani, Busro Busro
Subhasita: Journal of Buddhist and Religious Studies January 31, 2023 DOI: 10.53417/jsb.92 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Theravada Buddhists who practice meditation regularly, along with interview sources and literature |
| Intervention | Theravada Buddhist meditation |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | The author argues that Theravada Buddhist meditation requires preparation through moral discipline and self-control, is practiced in sitting, lying, standing, and walking postures, and is necessary for attaining Nibbana. Regular practitioners are described as calm, better able to face problems, and free of negative thoughts, and the author contends meditation can also heal various diseases, including for non-Buddhists who have faith. |
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to find out how to prepare, the form of implementation in Theravada Buddhist meditation, and the most important thing about this research is to find out the psychological condition of Theravada Buddhists who have practiced meditation regularly and correctly. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method, namely research that is directed to conditions and facts that occur in a systematic and accurate manner regarding research and analyzes the truth of these facts based on the data obtained. Data collection techniques in this study used observation techniques, interviews, and a literature study. The discussion is through analysis of the results of observations and interviews. Based on the analysis of the literature and interviews with several sources, Buddhism is teaching contains a lot of ways of life, especially about morality. Meditation, which is one of the teachings of Buddhism, is a path to the final attainment of releasing suffering, and meditation has many benefits for the lives of Buddhists themselves because meditation provides inner peace for those who do it. This meditation requires preparation, such as carrying out moral discipline and also self-control, so that in carrying out this meditation, a person will be able to concentrate. And in the form of practice, this meditation is done by sitting, lying down, standing, and walking. Meditation for Theravada Buddhists is something that must be done in order to attain Nibbana. Followers who regularly meditate will make themselves calm, able to face problems with a cool mind, and most importantly, meditation can also make a person calm by cleaning dirty thoughts from within, where dirty thoughts tend to be negative, and being able to place a position on the present life, not stuck in the past and not expecting a future that has not yet happened. Apart from that, meditation is not only a religious activity, but meditation is also a tool for healing various diseases, which many non-Buddhists can use because they have faith in using this meditation and using the chosen object. This way, our mind will be focused, and mind will not go wild, giving us peace of mind.
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 |