Personality Development in the Context of Buddhist Spiritual Well-Being: A Study Based on the Suttas of the Majjhima Nik?ya
Khamra Hun, Medagampitiye Wijithadhamma Mahathero
Journal of Arts and Humanities October 21, 2026 DOI: 10.18533/w1m1mp53 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative hermeneutical textual analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key findings | Argues that the Majjhima Nikāya presents personality transformation as a spiritual practice grounded in the threefold training of ethics, concentration, and wisdom, and that cultivating wholesome attributes such as faith, mindfulness, energy, wisdom, moral shame, and moral dread underlies psychological equilibrium and spiritual well-being. Contends this framework differs from secular therapeutic models and could inform modern mental health care. |
Abstract
This study examines the Buddhist framework of personality development and spiritual well-being through a textual analysis of the Majjhima Nik?ya. Unlike conventional secular psychological paradigms, Buddhism integrates ethical training and mental refinement directly into the process of personality transformation. Adopting a qualitative, hermeneutical research design, this study systematically analyzes primary discourses and their corresponding commentaries, structuring the findings around the threefold training framework: ethics (s?la), concentration (sam?dhi), and wisdom (paññ?). The analysis reveals that the deliberate cultivation of wholesome psychological attributes—including faith, mindfulness, energy, wisdom, moral shame, and moral dread—constitutes the foundational basis for psychological equilibrium and profound spiritual well-being. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that personality transformation within Buddhism is not merely a secular therapeutic pursuit but an authentic spiritual practice driven by ethical volition, culminating in individual liberation and social harmony. These findings offer valuable insights for integrating contemplative frameworks into modern mental health and psychological care models.
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 |