Nomadic Civilization: Historical Research
July 24, 2026
M. S. Ulanov
Buddhist philosophy of consciousness, particularly the Yogacara school's concepts of stream of consciousness, anatman (no permanent self), and intentionality, anticipates modern Western debates about qualia. Through comparative analysis with Husserl's phenomenology, analytical philosophy, and cognitive neuroscience, the author argues that Buddhist thought is not an archaic relic but a living system capable of equal dialogue with Western science and philosophy. Integrating Buddhist tradition into contemporary discourse may help develop new methodological tools to overcome subject-object dualism in Western thought while preserving Buddhism's ontological, epistemological, and soteriological depth.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
July 14, 2026
Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola, Ajarn Shaman Shu, Shri Suryanarayana Swamikal et al.
This paper presents a synthesis and scholarly appraisal of the book 'Thai Theravada Buddhism', foregrounding the forest tradition, meditation methodology, and the lived authority of an Ajarn as both subject and researcher. The authors combine initiated insider scholarship—emic autoethnography grounded in formal initiation across three living religious lineages (Thai Forest Ajahn, Dravidian/Hindu initiation, and Yoruba/Ifa high priesthood)—with textual-historical analysis of canonical and modern Thai sources. Findings highlight the forest tradition's embodied epistemologies, lineage-based transmission, adaptive pedagogies for lay-monastic relationships, and cross-cultural resonances with Dravidian, Kemetic, and African diasporic practices. The authors argue that initiated insider scholarship yields unique access to ritual subtleties and pedagogical nuance often elided in conventional etic studies.
Digital Humanities Social Science and Cultural Preservation
July 11, 2026
Yasunari Miyagi, Yoko Tateishi, Moe Yorozu et al.
An AI system theory integrates the Buddhist vijñapti-mātratā philosophy with the free energy principle. The free energy principle holds that self-organized systems minimize informational free energy through active inference to reduce prediction error, explaining cognition and brain function. Vijñapti-mātratā describes consciousness as a multilayered structure of manifestation and information storage, which aligns with AI systems that compute and store information. Combining these frameworks could yield AI that not only processes knowledge but also generates actions with human-like emotional expressions.
Mimbar Agama Budaya
July 5, 2026
Edi Priyono, Euis Dewi Yuliana, I Putu Sarjana et al.
Chanting practice among students at the Institut Nalanda Jakarta dormitory fosters character development through three sequential processes: compliance with institutional norms, identification through shared social bonds, and internalization of values as personally meaningful. Using a qualitative phenomenological design with six purposively selected students, the study integrates Kelman's theory of attitude change with the Abhidhamma perspective, interpreting transformation through the concepts of citta and cetasika, which underpin mindfulness, self-control, and ethical conduct. The authors propose an Attitude Change Pyramid modelling the movement from external practice to internalized character, offering a transferable lens for religiously grounded character education.
International Journal of Global Mental Health Innovation Policy Action Culture & Transformation
July 2, 2026
Dawa Dolma, Tenzin Yangdon
Contemplating impermanence, a core Buddhist concept, helps Tibetan Buddhist monastics develop a positive attitude toward death. Nine Geshe-degree monks were interviewed, and four themes emerged: acceptance of death, purposeful living through impermanence, spiritual readiness for death, and emotional resilience through impermanence. Regular reflection on impermanence was reported to eliminate fear and foster acceptance of mortality, serving as both a spiritual principle and a psychological tool for coping with loss, reducing attachment, and building emotional resilience.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
July 1, 2026
Shimomoto, Tatsuya
This essay collection and knowledge graph maps three major Buddhist Abhidharma traditions (Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda, Yogācāra) onto contemporary computational phenomenology frameworks such as predictive processing, active inference, Global Workspace Theory, and Parallel Distributed Processing. The central correspondence developed is between manaskāra (attention as direction-fixing of mind toward an object, universal across all three traditions) and precision-weighting in active inference. The work includes sixteen essays, a cross-tradition dharma comparison table, and a JSON-LD knowledge graph. It also explores themes such as the multiple incompatible senses of the Chinese character 念, meditative cessation and the no-self continuity problem, and epistemic luck across traditions, comparing Dharmakīrti's pramāṇa-vāda with the Gettier problem and the Free Energy Principle.
Journal of Global Catholicism
July 1, 2026
S Mark Heim
Engaging with Buddhist meditative practices of emptiness can deepen a Christian understanding of what it means to be a creature. Three forms of Buddhist introspection are examined: analytical awareness of consciousness as empty of essences, real-time application of antidotes to reified projections, and nondual awareness of emptiness without a subject (nirvanic realization). The first form reveals a shared recognition that neither creatures (in Christianity) nor selves (in Buddhism) have essential being. The second shows a convergence between the Christian sinful creature and the Buddhist falsely projected self, offering practical therapeutic emptiness. The third suggests a resonance between Buddhist nondual emptiness and Christian apophatic or kenotic openness to divine indwelling, though not fully explored.
Jurnal Nyanadassana Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Sosial dan Keagamaan
June 30, 2026
Tri Saputra Medhacitto, Sanu Mahatthanadull
Loss and separation from loved ones are unavoidable human experiences, and Buddhism identifies them as a form of suffering (piyehi vippayogo dukkho). The Buddha taught that the path to ending this suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, also called the Middle Way, which avoids self-mortification and sensual indulgence. This path—comprising right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration—can serve as therapy for coping with loss. It helps reduce the risk of self-indulgence and self-destructive behavior caused by emotional turmoil, offering a way to adopt a proper attitude and manage negative emotions.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 30, 2026
Yiwen Zhang
Jung's theory of individuation reaches a structural limit that Vijnanvada (Yogacara) Buddhist philosophy can identify and continue. Prior comparative scholarship that mapped Jungian archetypes onto Buddhist categories conceals a more fundamental asymmetry between the two traditions. Both traditions posit a subliminal mind (collective unconscious or alaya-vijnana) in response to the insufficiency of surface consciousness. Jung's integrative methodology misreads the structural self-grasping of manas as content available for integration. The Jungian Self archetype reproduces at a more sophisticated level the same atma-graha structure that manas enacts in lived experience. Vijnanvada's doctrine of 'turning consciousness into wisdom' articulates a transformation of cognitive mode that Jung's framework approaches but does not formulate. Individuation functions as precondition for the subtler work of transforming the structural orientation of cognition itself.
British Journal for the History of Philosophy
June 30, 2026
Jan Westerhoff
The Cārvākas, an ancient Indian school of philosophy, defended an early form of materialism. Their views are contrasted with other philosophical traditions of the time, particularly those that posited non-material substances or a soul. The text examines the Cārvāka arguments and their place in the broader intellectual landscape of ancient India.