December 5, 2025Seyedeh Robabeh Riazi, Fatemeh Golshani, Anita Baghdasarians et al.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Zen meditation techniques on psychological well-being and pain in elderly residents. Methods and Materials: The study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up assessments and included both experimental and control groups. A total of 42 elderly residents (20 men and 22 women, aged 65-85) from Kahrizak...
In Buddhism, Meditation and Free Will: A Theory of Mental Freedom, Rick Repetti explains how the dynamics of Buddhist meditation can result in a kind of metacognition and metavolitional control that exceeds what is required for free will and defeats the most powerful forms of free will skepticism. This article argues that although the Buddhist path requires and enhances the kind of mental and...
I first attempt a taxonomy of meditation in traditional Indian Buddhism. Based on the main psychological or somatic function at which the meditative effort is directed, the following classes can be distinguished: (1) emotion‐centered meditation (coinciding with the traditional samatha approach); (2) consciousness‐centered meditation (with two subclasses: consciousness reduction/elimination and...
Buddhism has captured the imagination of many in the modern (Western) world. Recently, scientists have seemed eager to discover whether claims about Buddhist meditation can be verified experimentally. Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence that mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow practitioners to achieve different levels of...
Certain philosophers and scientists have noticed that there are data that do not seem to fit with the traditional view known as the Mind/Brain Identity theory (MBI). This has inspired a new theory about the mind known as the Hypothesis of Extended Cognition (HEC). Now there is a growing controversy over whether these data actually require extending the mind out beyond the brain. Such arguments,...
The present article explores Daoist effortless meditation with particular attention to its association with the inner cultivation lineages of classical Daoism (ca. 350–ca. 90 BCE). In addition to discussing the technical specifics of the practice, including its intimate connection to wúwéi 無為 (lit., ‘without acting/doing’; non-action/effortlessness), consideration is given to related...
Depression is prevalent among older adults in Southeast Asia, with fear of death as a key contributing factor. In Thailand, Buddhist death contemplation practices promote acceptance of mortality and may support mental well-being. However, their impact on mental health among elderly Thai Buddhist meditation practitioners remains underexplored. The aim of this study was to examine the...
This study presents a comparative investigation of the notions of mokṣa (Liberation) in Advaita Vedānta, as interpreted by Śaṅkarācārya, and fanāʾ (Annihilation of the Self) in Sufism, as explained by Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. The research portrays mokṣa as the ultimate realization of the individual self’s (ātman) identity with the universal absolute reality, Brahman. This state is achieved...
Soto Zen Buddhist precepts, contemplative medicine, and nursing are used to examine ethical and spiritual ramifications of being silent in the face of environmental destruction and nuclear hazards. It explores how spiritual integrity can guide personal, professional, and planetary development using a personal narrative based on Soto Zen practice and training in contemplative medicine, as well...
Caryāgītimanjarī is an abstraction of Vajrayāna philosophy or an upaniśada of Vajrayāna Buddhism. It is a gist of Vajrayāna philosophy and its doctrine or a āgama veda – a divine religious text of wisdom. These caryāgīti bring to life the sacred scripture (āgama), a sacred knowledge (veda) of ancient time (purāṇa) and it is described (bakhāne) in caryāgīti. It is rightly said so on caryāgīti:...
The Contemplation Sutra is central to the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, although its philosophical elements have received little scholarly study beyond doctrinal exegesis. This paper addresses the sutra as a systematic "salvific paradigm," using phenomenological tools to explain the fundamental patterns of religious awareness and soteriological orientation. Through rigorous examination of the...
Meditation, in particular advanced meditation, develops toward meditative endpoints (MEND), sometimes referred to metaphorically as awakening, enlightenment or salvation. A well-known instance of such an endpoint is called nibbāna (Pali) or nirvana (Sanskrit). Contemporary mindfulness teachers and diverse Buddhist traditions present differing views of nirvana. Some define nirvana as the...
This research is entitled “Buddhist innovation with meditation activities and solving the problem of bullying for children and youths,” has three objectives: 1) to examine the current issues related to bullying among children and youth, 2) to develop a Buddhist-based innovation to address bullying for children and youth, and 3) to assess behavioral changes in bullying among children and youth....
ABSTRACT This article explores the relevance of classical Theravāda Buddhist doctrine to the present-day development of artificial general intelligence. Specifically, it addresses the interconnected possibilities of machine consciousness and machine agency. The first section consists of a philosophical exploration of the notion of artificial consciousness in light of ordinary language...
Meditation practitioners, historically and today, sometimes report experiencing energy-like sensations in their body. While recent empirical studies have explored such experiences in the context of Buddhist and Yogic practice, no comparable research has yet examined energy-like sensations in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. We interviewed 30 practitioners and 30 teachers from Abrahamic...
Purpose: This paper dives into consciousness as a kind of projection from this vast, unseen realm that's both everything and nothing, shaping how we humans experience the world. Methodology: The work blends bold speculation with grounded evidence from metaphysics and science. It pulls from ancient Buddhist scriptures, timeless philosophical stories like Plato's cave, and cutting-edge research...
This paper explores the implicit thought of the “body-network” in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body, drawing from both his earlier and later works. It demonstrates that, for Merleau-Ponty, the phenomenal body is inherently interconnected with the world through motor intentionality. Meanwhile, in his later concept of “flesh,” this interconnectedness deepens into a relationship of...
The Amitābha Sūtra, one of the central scriptures of Mahāyāna Buddhism, presents a profound vision of reality grounded in both metaphysical and soteriological insight. From a philosophical perspective, the Pure Land (Sukhāvatī) is not merely a transcendent realm but a symbolic manifestation of pure consciousness, where being and awakening coincide. This paper explores the metaphysical structure...
The growing interest in mindfulness-based education highlights the need for approaches that integrate cultural and spiritual traditions to support students’ holistic development. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a Buddhist meditation retreat combined with mindful living education in enhancing mindfulness and compassion among students in Palembang City, Indonesia. Using a...
The fear of death is a fundamental existential issue that has been widely discussed in psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. This dissertation explores the phenomenon of death anxiety from the perspective of Buddhism, which offers a unique approach to understanding and overcoming the fear of death. Using a qualitative methodology, data was collected through in-depth interviews with 108...