Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) was first practiced by Buddhists and then developed by clinical psychologist. Previous studies on LKM have mainly focused on the impact of real person-guided meditation on depression, anxiety, and other negative psychology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explored the effect and mechanism of media-guided LKM on the improvement of social presence,...
Fundamental difference between Buddhist Mahāyāna school of Madhyamaka and Brāhmaṇic school of Advaita Vedānta in interpretation of ontology of time is analyzed on the basis of Nāgārjuna’s (2–3rd cc.) treatise Mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā, Candrakīrti’s (7th c.) commentary Prasannapadā, Vasubandhu’s (4th c.) treatise Abhidharmakośa, Asaṅga’s (4th c.) Abhidharma-samuccaya, Śaṃkara’s (9th c.) commentary...
Here we report meditative techniques, which modulate attentional control by arousal-driven influences and not by monitoring continuous thought processes as during mindfulness-related practices. We focus on Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) practices, during which a sequence of generation (self-visualization as a deity - Yidam) or completion with sign (inner heat -Tummo) stages necessarily precedes...
This review article is about the spontaneous dawn of the transparent mind and the peaceful self. The article starts with my direct observations as documented in my recent journal entries. As a neurologist, I ask myself, “how can I understand and explain these experiences in terms of modern neuroscience?” We as human beings have been asking such fundamental questions for thousands of years. The...
According to many first-person accounts, consciousness comprises a subject-object structure involving a mental action or attitude starting from the "subjective pole" upon an object of experience. In recent years, many paradigms have been developed to manipulate and empirically investigate the object of consciousness. However, well-controlled investigation of subjective aspects of consciousness...
The problems associated with modern management activities (stress, self-awareness, etc.), in particular their impact on the efficiency of employees, are considered. We suggested the use of meditation and mindfulness practices as an effective means of overcoming these factors. A historical retrospective of the origin and spread of meditation in the countries of the Ancient East (India, China,...
Black somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem has persuasively argued that racism exist in our bodies more than our heads and that racial healing requires learning to become mindful of our embodied states. The reason that racism remains prevalent despite decades of anti-racist education and the work of diversity and inclusion programs, according to Menakem, is that racist reactions that shun, harm,...
Abstract: Goenka’s Vipassana movement is distinguished for its consistent refusal to identify as Buddhist and its rich rhetorical repertoire for repackaging Theravada Buddhist teachings in pseudo-scientific and secular language. This book is an in-depth qualitative study of Goenka’s movement in New Zealand. It illustrates the implication of the movement’s discourse on shaping unique processes...
Abstract This chapter explores (1) drifters in samsara and (2) pursuers of the gateless gate as two common Vipassana disaffiliation trajectories. The chapter argues that deconversion or migration outside of the movement’s universe of discourse is a rare exit pattern in this movement. It shows that in the vast majority of cases the participants’ search for an alternative universe of discourse...
Abstract This chapter adopts Gooren’s conversion career model as a heuristic framework to demonstrate how one’s universe of discourse changes with increased participation and identifies the linguistic markers of this change. The chapter is divided into four sections and is rich with data: the first section explores the participants’ preaffiliation context by looking at their biographical...