Self-compassion involves treating oneself with the same kindness, understanding, and forgiveness that one would typically offer a friend in times of suffering or adversity. While self-compassion has shown consistent benefits in research and therapy, including psychological and physical health benefits, some individuals practicing it may initially encounter adverse reactions known as...
AbstractRecently, the construct ‘lucid dreamless sleep’ has been proposed to explain the state of ‘clear light’ described by Tibetan Buddhist traditions, a special state of consciousness during deep sleep in which we’re told to be able to recognise the nature or essence of our mind (Padmasambhava & Gyatrul 2008; Ponlop 2006; Wangyal 1998). To explain the sort of awareness experienced during...
Currently, the phenomenon that is attracting the most attention in the field of Korean Buddhism can be said to be a healing culture based on mindfulness. Inspired by the active application and use of mindfulness in Western psychology and psychiatry, the Buddhist community is almost uncritically accepting and popularizing various Western mind-body healing programs based on mindfulness....
The religious worldview of the mantranaya (esoteric Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna) can arguably be seen as rooted in the perspective that reality (tattva) is to be self-experienced (svasamvedya) through contemplative practices, serving as both their means (upāya) and expression (caryā). The tantric path-model of Padmavajra’s Guhyasiddhi, an exegetical text in the Guhyasamāja tradition, supposedly...
Preprints.orgFebruary 6, 2024Jun Mu, Tony Chui, Manli Zhong et al.
preprint
This study proposed to use wearable EEG to study the impact of vipassana mindfulness practice on beginner's physiological and neurological responses. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have numerous benefits, including stress reduction, improved attention and cognitive function, and enhanced emotional regulation. The roots of mindfulness meditation in Buddhism emphasize cultivating...
BackgroundThe investigation of mindfulness meditation practice, classically divided into focused attention meditation (FAM), and open monitoring meditation (OMM) styles, has seen a long tradition of theoretical, affective, neurophysiological and clinical studies. In particular, the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography (MEG) or electroencephalography (EEG) has been exploited to...
Humans have asked themselves the question "who am I" from ancient times. Vedic, upanishadic and buddhist philosophers have pointed out over millennia the illusive nature of the individual self, and posit either a no-self, or a universal Self. Vedantic scholars also posit the illusory nature of the universe (Maya) and suggest that the only reality is the knower (Brahman), a view resonating with...
Contemplative scholarship has recently reoriented attention towards the neuroscientific study of the soteriological ambition of Buddhist practice, 'awakening'. This article evaluates the project of seeking neural correlates for awakening. Key definitional and operational issues are identified demonstrating that: the nature of awakening is highly contested both within and across Buddhist...
Over the last decade, psychological researchers have begun exploring the effects of Vipassana, a meditation practice based on teachings expounded in the earliest Buddhist texts, dating back more than two-and-a-half millennia (Bodhi, 2005). Courses to learn the technique are widely available, with hundreds of thousands of participants attending residential courses at Vipassana meditation centres...
Meditation practices have demonstrated numerous psychological and physiological benefits, yet capturing the neural correlates of varying meditative depths remains challenging. This study aimed to decode self-reported time-varying meditative depth in expert practitioners using EEG. Expert Vipassana meditators (n=34) participated in two separate sessions. Participants reported their meditative...