A Brief Survey of Research on Contemplation and Observation and the Significance of Those Studies Today
Kenryo Minowa
JOURNAL OF INDIAN AND BUDDHIST STUDIES 2016 DOI: 10.4259/ibk.65.1_1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that interest in Buddhist meditation in Japan emerged in the 1990s among ordinary society rather than academics, was later recast as "mindfulness" in a less religious sense, and only after the 2000s drew academic attention from psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhist studies, which now question the difference between the terms chi 知 and nen 念. |
Abstract
In the 1990s, samatha and vipassanā being introduced by Theravada monks into Japan, the interest in Buddhist meditation once again arose. One remarkable aspect of this movement is that this interest was found in ordinary society, rather than in academic circles. Later, the introduction took the form of “mindfulness,” which was less in the sense of religious practice. Much later, after the 2000s, academic fields like psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhist studies came to have an interest on this field. In recent years, they have come to question the difference between the terms chi 知 and nen 念.