Buddhist Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) also known as Metta Bhāvanā (Benevolent concern and compassion), is a contemplative practice to develop unconditional goodwill, compassion and benevolent concern for both oneself and others. There are increasing indications that LKM can improve emotional functioning, psychological well-being and physiology. This is a theoretical review of the effects of...
This research presents an academic synthesis of religious moderation (Wasatiyyah) as a preventive intervention against psychopathology, grounded in Muhammad U. Faruque's multidimensional self model. The normative foundation of Wasatiyyah is rooted in the concept of maqashid al-shariah as formulated by classical scholars, including Ibn 'Asyur in Maqashid al-Syari'ah al-Islamiyyah and Yusuf...
Abstract This article systematically constructs an Eastern introverted empirical paradigm rooted in Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist traditions, in contrast to the dominant Western extroverted empirical model. While the latter relies on external observation, experimentation and quantitative analysis as standard scientific norms, the Eastern cognitive path centering on self-reflection, mental...
This article argues that lotus and dharma wheel motifs in the Dunhuang Mogao Caves function not merely as decorative symbols but as active visual apparatuses that generate embodied religious experience through a mechanism we term “totemic mediation.” Drawing on Lévi-Strauss’s structuralist reading of totemism, Descola’s ontological framework, Gell’s theory of art as agency, Meyer’s “sensational...
This paper examines the Dharmatrāta-Dhyāna Sūtra as an early Chinese-translated dhyāna scripture and explores its significance in the Sinicization of Buddhism. Focusing on the Five Gates of Meditation and the distinction between the “expedient path” and the “superior path”, it shows how earlier Buddhist meditation methods were translated, reorganized, and developed within the Chinese context....
Objectives: Over recent decades, Western psychology has drawn extensively from Buddhism to create effective mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). To identify opportunities for deeper integration, this study compared the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, a foundational Buddhist text on mindfulness, with two established MBIs for mental health. Methods: Template analysis was used to systematically compare the...
The paper is the third article in the Pali-Psycho series. It compares the Pali Canon with the Desert Fathers, Rhineland Mysticism, Carmelite Mysticism, and Ignatian Spirituality. The analysis uses the convergence-type schema developed in the preceding integrative article and distinguishes empirical, structural-phenomenological, conceptual, and no-parallel relations. The central result is...
Shiksha SamvadJune 5, 2026Shruti Singh, Prof. Arun Kumar
Intention as a concept is being studied in metaphysics, psychology, and now in the field of AI.It is considered the driving force behind human behavior.It is roughly translated to Sankalpa in Vedic traditions.Sankalpa refers to the sole determination through which a person attains their desires through action.Another spiritual or metaphysical concept or principle that has been gaining...
Abstract This article discusses the reception and adaptation of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg’s thought in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japan. It situates this reception in the context of Japanese esoteric thought during the Meiji era. Japanese intellectuals called Swedenborg the world’s greatest theologian, even the Buddha of the North. Yet his importance to Meiji-era...
Of all of the major figures in the Western philosophical tradition, none was more influential on Simone Weil or more ubiquitous in her writings than Plato. Weil uses Plato's thought to frame her considerations of matters ranging from science and mathematics to divine creation and the relationship of human beings to what is greater than us. Yet Weil makes no attempt to read Plato objectively or...
Abstract Objectives While Buddhist-derived mindfulness dominates contemporary psychological research on the implementation of wisdom traditions, other wisdom traditions may contain comparable contemplative elements. Stoicism, an ancient Western philosophical tradition, incorporates mindfulness-like practices ( prosochē ) and cognitive approaches that parallel modern therapeutic interventions...
In this article we examine the intertwining of Zen Buddhism, Christian Mysticism and Archetypes through traditional Zen contemplative practice and tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. Ana María Schlüter Rodés (1935-1925), philosopher, theologian and Zen master, disciple of Yamada Kōun Roshi (1907-1989), writes and teaches Zen through contemplation, kōans —Zen paradoxes used to awaken...
This article analyses a transformation in Buddhist philosophy and ethics, away from self-centred happiness to what the author calls "relational citizenship". From the fundamental teachings of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), anattā (non-self), compassion (karuṇā), loving-kindness (mettā), and the Bodhisattva ideal, it articulates that genuine well-being is not a solitary psychological...
In Buddhism, the abhiññās (literally ‘higher knowledges’) refer to six types of supernatural powers that include recalling past lives and reading minds. This research explores the practical importance of supernatural powers (abhiññās) within the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, focusing on the contemporary meditation method formulated by the Burmese monk, Hpa-Auk Sayadaw (1934-). While modern...
This paper examines the relationship between the socio-political ethics of Emperor Ashoka and the meditative traditions of Ancient India through the lens of traditional Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). While classical traditions such as Yoga and Buddhism developed internal techniques for mental regulation through Dhyana (meditation), Ashoka’s Edicts established an external ethical framework...
In the contemporary era of hyper-connectivity and relentless professional competition, mental health preservation has emerged as a critical global challenge. While modern psychological frameworks provide essential interventions, there is increasing academic interest in the longitudinal wisdom of the Indian Knowledge System (IKS). This paper explores the therapeutic potential of two specific...
Purpose: The Ashtavakra Gita, an ancient Sanskrit dialogue between Sage Ashtavakra and King Janaka of Mithila, represents one of the most uncompromising articulations of non-dual philosophy in the history of Indian thought. Unlike the majority of classical Indian spiritual texts that prescribe gradual paths of discipline, ritual observance, and ethical refinement, the Ashtavakra Gita posits an...
Abstract According to many philosophers, something possesses intrinsic value if it is good in and of itself, without any external justifications. In contemporary scholarship, notable thinkers like Thomas Nagel (1979), William Frankena (1973), Charles Siewert (1998), and Walter Glannon (2016) argue that phenomenal consciousness—the subjective aspect or “what it’s likeness” of experience—holds...
Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the dynamics of the bioelectrical brain activity of monks and nuns during Zen meditation in their natural monastic environment. The participants were practitioners residing in two Vietnamese Zen monasteries: Truc Lam Tay Thien ( N = 7) and Truc Lam Thuong Chieu Buddhist Academy ( N = 6). The measurements were carried out using...
Abstract Understanding how the sense of self can be attenuated or reconfigured without loss of consciousness remains a central challenge in contemporary consciousness science. We propose a multidimensional framework of graded self-attenuation, in which the self is conceptualized as a dynamic configuration of distributed neural processes. Within this framework, contemplative practice attenuates...