Meditation, Buddhism, and Science
Oxford Scholarship Online October 19, 2017 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190495794.001.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key points | The volume argues that modern meditation, particularly "mindfulness," has been reshaped by its movement from monastic soteriological contexts into secular institutions such as universities, hospitals, corporations, and the military, and that scientific studies of meditation have not merely documented but helped create these transformations. The contributors contend that this shift often downplays the Buddhist beliefs, values, and cosmologies underpinning the practices, and they advocate a humanistic approach to studying the interrelations between Buddhism and meditation science. |
Abstract
This volume discusses modern transformations of Buddhist and Buddhist-derived meditation and the scientific studies of these practices from the humanistic perspective of scholars in the interdisciplinary field of Buddhist Studies. Meditation, particularly “mindfulness” meditation, has garnered enormous attention in recent years as the object of scientific study, to the point of redefining the very conception of meditation in the popular imagination and the academy. For millennia, these practices occurred almost exclusively in monastic contexts for soteriological purposes. Yet today, the institutional settings, goals, and the practices themselves have undergone momentous changes. Contemporary practice often focuses on practical matters, such as health, relationships, and work life, with little to no consideration given to the beliefs, values, or cosmologies that underpin such practice from the Buddhist point of view. Moreover, meditation’s institutional homes have gone from the monastery to some of the most powerful institutions in the world, including public universities, hospitals, multinational corporations, and the US military, as well as many non-institutional settings. The plethora of scientific studies conducted in recent years have, in fact, not only undergirded these transformations, but have helped to create them. The contributors to this volume seek to understand these changes within their broader historical, cultural, and institutional contexts. Their chapters show the importance of the humanistic study of the complex interrelations between Buddhism and the scientific study of meditative practices.
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 29
- A Framework for the Empirical Investigation of Mindfulness Meditative Development Mindfulness April 13, 2023
- Beyond All Splits: Envisioning the Next Generation of Science on Mindfulness and Compassion in Schools for Students. Mindfulness November 11, 2022
- Foreword: Seeds of a necessary global renaissance in the making: the refining of psychology’s understanding of the nature of mind, self, and embodiment through the lens of mindfulness and its origins at a key inflection point for the species Current Opinion in Psychology February 23, 2019
- Dose-response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study. Mindfulness 2022
- THE ‘UNIVERSAL DHARMA FOUNDATION’ OF MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION: NON-DUALITY AND MAHĀYĀNA BUDDHIST INFLUENCES IN THE WORK OF JON KABAT-ZINN Contemporary Buddhism July 3, 2018
and 24 more in the library