This chapter explores the intersection of contemplative practices and international relations theory, offering a reimagining of the classical security dilemma through the lens of nonself and interdependence—core insights from ancient Buddhist thought. Building on foundational realist thinkers such as Thucydides, Kenneth Waltz, and John Mearsheimer, the chapter critically examines the evolution...
This chapter will be divided into two parts. The first section analyses and explains Lāhījī’s teachings concerning the necessary prerequisites for the mystical path of the ṭarīqat . The Way of the Sufi friends and darvīshes is a way of life that involves the daily practice of a host of ascetical and contemplative practices. When practised sincerely under the spiritual guidance of a living Sufi...
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...
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...
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...