International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
February 20, 2024
Douglas S. Duckworth
1 citation
This paper presents two dimensions of a bodhisattva, the ideal of Maha- ya- na Buddhism. One dimension involves contemplative practices that disclose a pure nature that is always already present; this reality is unveiled after the obscurations that cloud it are removed. I refer to this as a “top-down” approach because it is based on qualities of awakening that are already there, yet lie beyond...
January 26, 2024
Shawn Prest, Kevin Berryman
5 citations
preprint
This paper explores the intersection of deep meditative deconstruction, in particular the Buddhist defabrication process and its associated phenomenology, and computational mechanisms under the active inference framework (AIF). We contextualise states such as the jhānas within this process, drawing on both Buddhist theoretical frameworks and contemporary phenomenological understanding. We take...
Edinost in Dialog
2024
Stephen Bokenkamp
Prayer is a little-studied aspect of religious experience.This is especially true for a religion such as Daoism (Taoism), a Chinese religion widely known for its meditation practices and often confused with Buddhism.But, beyond meditation, Daoism had, from its beginnings as an organized religion in the second century C. E., prescribed methods of verbal communication with the higher powers, both...
Poligrafi
December 20, 2023
Nina Petek
The first part of the paper briefly outlines the role of dreams in early Buddhism and their importance in establishing the continuity of the whole tradition, before presenting in the second part entirely new aspects of dreams in the Buddhist eremitic tradition, influenced by the Tantric spiritual horizon, in particular by a transformed concept of the body. The central part of the paper follows...
Religions
September 11, 2023
Byongchang Kang
1 citation
This paper addresses the problem of polarization, which is considered one of the most pressing issues facing humanity, from the perspective of Mahāyāna Buddhism, specifically, the East Asian Buddhist teaching of the One Mind. The teaching is outlined in the Treatise on Awakening Mahāyāna Faith (Dasheng qixin lun), a significant text in East Asian Buddhism. The paper suggests that the One Mind...
Religions
July 21, 2023
Federico Divino
7 citations
This article investigates the challenge of personal crisis during deep meditation, as observed in an ethnographic inquiry into mindfulness and traditional contemplative practices. The study distinguishes between the “crisis of presence” in contemporary mindfulness practices, and the dissolution of the subject-object distinction in traditional Buddhist meditation. By analyzing Ernesto De...
Religions
July 20, 2023
Sophie-Anne Perkins
This article provides an in-depth exploration of the contextual, epistemic, ethical, personal, practical, religious, and socio-cultural factors that sixteen Western practitioners of Vajrayāna Buddhism highlighted as having particularly challenged their ability to learn and engage in deity yoga, including what strategies they may have adopted in attempting to overcome their impact. While these...
Healthcare
July 3, 2023
Justin DeMaranville, Tinakon Wongpakaran, Nahathai Wongpakaran et al.
6 citations
Research shows that Buddhist precept adherence (i.e., abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicant use) and meditation practice influence mental health outcomes. This study investigated how Buddhist precept adherence and meditation practice influenced the relationship between insecure attachment and depressive symptoms among Thai adolescents. A total of 453 Thai...
Religions
May 6, 2023
Shanshan Ma
4 citations
From the perspective of mysticism, the interpretation of zuowang 坐忘 as the breath-meditation technique with a transcendental goal establishes the religious basis of Zhuangzi’s cultivation. In contrast, most Chinese scholars argue instead that zuowang is primarily the mental state independent of meditative techniques, and that the techniques are devoid of philosophical significance. The pivot of...
Journal of Yoga Studies
April 10, 2023
Ian A. Baker
1 citation
In Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Bön, yoga refers to expedient means (thabs, S. upāya) for liberating oneself and others from the wheel of cyclic existence (kor ba, S. saṃsāra). Central to that agenda is mastery of a subtle physiology of energy channels (rtsa, S. nāḍī) and their nodal points at radiant “wheels” (’khor lo, S. cakra) along the body’s central axis. The method whereby subtle energy...