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Born | December 1, 1935 (age 83) |
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Nationality | United States |
Institution | University of Chicago University of Washington University of Hong Kong |
Field | Transaction cost, property rights, China's economic development |
School or tradition | New institutional economics |
Alma mater | Wa Ying College Queen's College, Hong Kong University of California, Los Angeles |
Influences | Adam Smith, Armen Alchian, Ronald Coase, Jack Hirshleifer, Milton Friedman, Aaron Director |
Contributions | 1969 The Theory of Share Tenancy 1982 Will China Go Capitalist? |
Steven N. S. Cheung | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 張五常 | ||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 张五常 | ||||||
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Steven Ng-Sheong Cheung (/tʃʌŋ/; born December 1, 1935) is a Hong-Kong-born American economist who specializes in the fields of transaction costs and property rights, following the approach of new institutional economics. He achieved his public fame with an economic analysis on China open-door policy after the 1980s. In his studies of economics, he focuses on economic explanation that is based on real world observation (an observation first approach). He is also the first to introduce concepts from the Chicago School of Economics, especially price theory, into China. In 2016, Cheung claimed to have written '1,500 articles and 20 books in Chinese' during his academic career.[1]
He obtained his PhD in economics from UCLA, where his teachers were the American economists Armen Alchian and Jack Hirshleifer. He taught in the Department of Economics at the University of Washington from 1969 to 1982, and then at the University of Hong Kong from 1982 to 2000. During this period, Cheung reformed the syllabus of Hong Kong's A-level Economics examination, adding the concepts of the postulate of constrained maximization, methodology, transaction cost and property right, most of which originate from the theories of the Chicago school.
- 4Contribution to economics and China's economic development
- 6Notable works
Academic career[edit]
A Hakka of Huiyang, Guangdong ancestry [2] born in Hong Kong in 1935, Cheung fled to China in 1941 due to the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. From 1959 to 1967, he studied Economics at UCLA and prepared a PhD dissertation. From 1967 to 1969, he did postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, analysing share tenancy and variable rural land resource allocation, and was hired as an assistant professor after impressing Milton Friedman in a debate. In 1969, he moved to the University of Washington where he taught until 1982. Under the advice of several friends, including Ronald Coase, he returned to Hong Kong as a professor in University of Hong Kong to support the economic reforms of China.
Unlike modern mainstream economists, Cheung's analysis does not rely on advanced mathematical techniques but solely on the two basic building blocks of price theory: one is the axiom of constrained maximisation and the other, the law of demand (one that already incorporates the law of diminishing marginal returns). One of the constraints which he emphasizes most is transaction cost (or better termed institutional cost).
His theory of share tenancy has enhanced the understanding of contractual arrangement, which was largely ignored by neo-classical economists. According to Cheung, sharecropping is not necessarily exploitative. It will achieve the same efficient allocation as labor markets under competition and zero transaction costs (Cheung, 1968).[3] In the presence of transaction costs, sharecropping can be efficient by lowering the monitoring costs of wage contracts and increasing risk-sharing benefits relative to rent contracts (Cheung, 1969).
This implication is revolutionary; sharecropping was perceived as an inferior arrangement for years. After the publication of The Fable of The Bees, our perception of externalities is no longer the same: as long as corresponding property rights are clearly delineated, OR transaction cost is zero, externalities can be internalized through private negotiation/contract arrangement without government intervention.
In 1983, Cheung published probably his most important journal article, 'The Contractual Nature of the Firm'. While a firm cannot be defined easily, Cheung interprets it as a kind of contractual arrangement being used to replace the market (i.e. price mechanism) to reduce transaction costs (e.g. the cost of price searching). Cheung once stated that when he finished writing the article, he knew that it would become a work that will last generations, and still be read a hundred years later. Thus, '[he] beheld the sky and laughed.'[citation needed]
Outside of the academic world, Steven Cheung is most well known for his numerous writings directed at a popular audience, especially the Chinese public. He is also known for his famous wit; in 1969 he wrote an article 'Irving Fisher and the Red Guards', published in the renowned Journal of Political Economy, arguing ironically that the activities of the Red Guards in China stemmed from their use of a 'refined concept of capital'. Unbeknownst to the readers, the article was written under considerable emotional pain; his close friend, the table tennis champion Rong Guotuan, had just committed suicide after being tortured by the Red Guards.
Cheung maintained a lifelong friendship with former mentors Ronald Coase and Milton Friedman, the latter of whom officiated his wedding.[1] He accompanied Friedman in his numerous tours of China, and was present when Friedman met with Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang to discuss economic reforms.
Cheung was also an avid photographer. He took the most iconic photo of Milton Friedman, which was featured on the cover of Friedman's treatise Capitalism and Freedom.[1]
Criticism[edit]
Nobel Prize winners like Ronald Coase[4] and Joseph E. Stiglitz[5] have acknowledged intellectual provocation by Cheung in their respective Nobel lectures. [Coase citation missing]. While referring to Cheung's 'brilliant, valiant attempt' to prove that sharecropping does not matter to the incentives of the workers, Stiglitz credited Cheung's 'unreasonable assumptions, especially concerning information' for motivating him to develop the theories of the role of information in economics.
Practical research[edit]
Steven Cheung is highly respected for his deep devotion to his research. In order to understand real life phenomena, he personally engaged in numerous economic activities, such as fish farming, selling citrus fruit, inspecting the petroleum industry, and haggling over the price of antiques. He has criticized the isolation of most economists from real life problems.
Contribution to economics and China's economic development[edit]
Cheung's contribution to economics and China's economic development can be roughly grouped in the following areas,
- New Institutional Economics
- how different kinds of contractual arrangement affect transaction costs, which are often ignored by neoclassical economists
- realizing the importance of transaction costs (as Cheung often mentions in his writings, if there is no transaction costs (the original starting point assumption by Coase), there is no difference in using different institutional arrangements (e.g. market or government)).
- the nature of the firm (a government, to a certain extent, is a firm and can be more efficient than the market in some areas),
- Methodology
- emphasis on economic explanation (according to Cheung, economic explanation is the ONLY objective of the study of economics);
- the analysis of relevant and observable real world constraints: Adam Smith's tradition,
- downward sloping demand curve: Neoclassical tradition,
- theories must be potentially refutable but not yet refuted (Cheung considers many mainstream concepts not observable, leading to the non-refutable nature of many theories (such as utilities, welfare))
- focus on capturing the underlying and relevant constraints to explain economic phenomena that might seem odd and strange on the surface.
- China's economic development
- Considerable influence among the Chinese speaking population (most of his works after 1982 are written in Chinese);
- Prediction of China's institutional reform (which, in general, has been quite accurate)
- Analysis of the deficiencies in the Chinese state owned enterprises
Comments on China's modernization[edit]
He wrote many books (in Chinese) commenting on China's modernization programs from an economic point of view. In the 1980s, Cheung predicted and strongly supported an economic transformation of China as a market economy. However, in that decade, China went through serious inflation, leading to strong economic, political and social tensions.
However, after 1992, China continued to reform economically. Steven Cheung claimed that most of his predictions have come true. One of his major ideas, the replacing of state-owned enterprises by private enterprises, turns out to be very consistent with the direction taken by Chinese political leaders and policy makers.
Later on, after the leaders of Shanghai began economic reforms, he predicted that it would immediately become one of the financial centers of the world, surpassing Hong Kong. The prediction was met with heavy skepticism, but turned out to be correct in some respect. As of 31 January 2015, Shanghai Stock Exchange overtook the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. However, Shanghai has yet to catch up with Hong Kong in terms of financial infrastructure, and Shanghai's dream of overtaking Hong Kong has yet to be fully fulfilled.
Legal troubles[edit]
On January 28, 2003, Cheung was indicted on thirteen counts by a US federal grand jury. The charges consisted of six counts of filing a false income tax return, six counts of filing false foreign bank account reports, and one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. Cheung was accused of failing to report incomes from Hong Kong parking lots and other business. As a U.S. citizen, Cheung is obliged to report incomes from anywhere in the world, even if he does not reside in the United States. The law is uncommon in other countries. Cheung insists that he relied on the advice of his tax consultant, and did not know he was supposed to report the income in question.[6]
Experts have said that ignorance of the U.S. tax policy is common among U.S. expatriates; the U.S. government generally does not pursue investigations of failures to report overseas income for non-residents. When discovered, offenders are often simply requested to turn in the unpaid tax. It is unknown why the U.S. government chose to investigate Cheung, and further to pursue a federal grand jury indictment; journalists have suspected ulterior motives.[7]
Originally a professor at University of Hong Kong, because of the extradition agreements between the US and Hong Kong, Cheung has since stayed in mainland China, a country that has no such agreements with America. He now writes books and works as a columnist for the China website ifeng.com. Occasionally, he pays visits to various universities in mainland China.
From 1998 to 2003, Steven Cheung's company, Steven N. S. Cheung Inc. had a subsidiary in Seattle called Thesaurus Fine Arts, which specialized in Asian antique pieces. The store closed when a series of investigative reports in the Seattle Times alleged that many of the antiques were fake. [source needed] In 2004, the Washington State Attorney General filed consumer fraud charges against Thesaurus Fine Arts. In 2005, Thesaurus Fine Arts settled for up to $550,000 in fines, attorney fees, and restitution. Cheung was dropped from the case as a result. Cheung has denied ownership of Thesaurus. Thesaurus is a subsidiary of Steven N. S. Cheung Inc., but it is claimed that Cheung is 'not an officer, director or shareholder' of Thesaurus.
Notable works[edit]
Doctoral thesis[edit]
- 1969 The Theory of Share Tenancy, University of Chicago Press. Reprinted in June 2000 by Arcadia Press.
Selected books for general audiences[edit]
- 1988 Orange Sellers Say, Sichuan People 's Publishing House
- 2001 Economic Explanation, Arcadia Press, Reprinted in December 2002 by Arcadia Press
- Book I, The Science of Demand
- Book II, The Behavior of Supply
- Book III, The Choice of Institutional Arrangements
- 2007 The Economic Structure of China, Arcadia Press
- 2010 Currency Strategy Thesis, Arcadia Press
- 2010 New Orange Sellers Say, Arcadia Press, Reprinted in May 2011 by Arcadia Press
- 2011 Economic Explanation (2nd ed.), Arcadia Press
- Book I, The Science of Demand
- Book II, Income and Cost
- Book III, Price Taking and Price Searching
- Book IV, The Choice of Institutional Arrangements
- 2014 Economic Explanation (3rd ed.), Arcadia Press
- 2017 Economic Explanation (4th ed.), Arcadia Press
- Book I, The Science of Demand
- Book II, Income and Cost
- Book III, Price Taking and Price Searching
- Book IV, The General Theory of Contract
- Book V, The State Theory and the Theoretical Structure of Economic Explanation
Selected journal articles[edit]
- 1968 'Private property rights and sharecropping', Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 76, Issue 6, pp. 1107–1122.
- 1969 Transaction Costs, Risk Aversion, and the Choice of Contractual Arrangements, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 12, Issue 1, pp. 23–42.
- 1970 The Structure of a Contract and the Theory of a Non-Exclusive Resource, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 13, Issue 1, pp. 49–70.
- 1972 Enforcement of Property Rights in Children, and the Marriage Contract, Economic Journal, Vol. 82, Issue 326, pp. 641–57.
- 1973 The Fable of the Bees: An Economic Investigation, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp. 11–33.
- 1974 A Theory of Price Control, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 53–71.
- 1975 Roofs or Stars: The Stated Intents and Actual Effects of a Rents Ordinance, Economic Inquiry, Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 1–21.
- 1977 Why are better seats 'underpriced' , Economic Inquiry, Volume 15, Issue 4, pp. 513–522.
- 1982 Property Rights in Trade Secrets, Economic Inquiry, Volume 20, Issue 1, pp. 40–53.
- 1983 The Contractual Nature of The Firm, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 26, Issue 1, pp. 1–26.
- 1995 Economic Interactions: China vis-a-vis Hong Kong, Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 13, Issue 1, pp. 1–9.
- 1996 A Simplistic General Equilibrium Theory of Corruption, Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 14, Issue 3, pp. 1–5.
- 1998 Deng Xiaoping's Great Transformation, Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 125–35.
- 1998 The Curse of Democracy as an Instrument of Reform in Collapsed Communist Economies, Contemporary Economic Policy, Volume 16, Issue 2, pp. 247–49.
References[edit]
- ^ abcCheung, Steven N.S. (2016). 'Steven N.S. Cheung's Reminiscence of Himself - A Reply to Ning Wang'. Man and the Economy. 3 (1): 1–21.
- ^'Steven N.S. Cheung: My father 张五常:我的父亲'.
- ^Cheung, Steven (1968). 'Private property rights and sharecropping'. Journal of Political Economy. 76 (6): 107–122. doi:10.1086/259477. JSTOR1830153.
- ^'Ronald Coase's Nobel prize lecture' from nobelprize.org
- ^'Joseph Stiglitz's Nobel prize lecture' (page 2/Footnote 2) from nobelprize.org
- ^'Local News | Economist tied to fake art faces tax charges | Seattle Times Newspaper'. community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
- ^'index'. economicexplanation.tripod.com. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_N._S._Cheung&oldid=894486447'
Various depictions of meditation. The HinduSwami Vivekananda, the Buddhist monk Hsuan Hua, Taoist Baduanjin Qigong, the Christian St Francis, the Stoic sage Epictetus and Muslim Sufis in Dhikr.
Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.[1]:228–29[2]:180[3]:415[4]:107[5][6] Scholars have found meditation difficult to define, as practices vary both between traditions and within them.
Some of the earliest written records of meditation (Dhyana), come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism. Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in numerous religious traditions and beliefs, often as part of the path towards enlightenment and self realization. Since the 19th century, it has spread from its origins to other cultures where it is commonly practiced in private and business life.
Meditation may be used with the aim of reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and increasing peace, perception,[7]self-concept, and well-being.[8][9][10][11] Meditation is under research to define its possible health (psychological, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other effects.
- 2Forms and techniques
- 3Religious and spiritual meditation
- 3.1Indian religions
- 3.2East Asian religions
- 3.3Abrahamic religions
- 4Secular applications
- 5History
- 13Bibliography
Etymology[edit]
The English meditation is derived from Old Frenchmeditacioun, in turn from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari, meaning 'to think, contemplate, devise, ponder'.[12][13] The use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to the 12th century monk Guigo II.[13][14]
Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices, referred to as dhyānain Hinduism and Buddhism and which comes from the Sanskrit root dhyai, meaning to contemplate or meditate.[15][16] The term 'meditation' in English may also refer to practices from Islamic Sufism,[17] or other traditions such as Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Hesychasm.[4]
Forms and techniques[edit]
Classifications[edit]
In the West, meditation techniques have sometimes been thought of in two broad categories: focused (or concentrative) meditation and open monitoring (or mindfulness) meditation.[18]
One style, Focused Attention (FA) meditation, entails the voluntary focusing of attention on a chosen object, breathing, image, or words. The other style, Open Monitoring (OM) meditation, involves non-reactive monitoring of the content of experience from moment to moment.[18]
Direction of mental attention... A practitioner can focus intensively on one particular object (so-called concentrative meditation), on all mental events that enter the field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation), or both specific focal points and the field of awareness.[19]:130[20]
Focused methods include paying attention to the breath, to an idea or feeling (such as mettā (loving-kindness)), to a kōan, or to a mantra (such as in transcendental meditation), and single point meditation.[21][22]
Open monitoring methods include mindfulness, shikantaza and other awareness states.[23]
Practices using both methods[24][25][26] include vipassana (which uses anapanasati as a preparation), samatha/calm-abiding,[27][28] and Headspace.[29]
In 'No thought' methods, 'the practitioner is fully alert, aware, and in control of their faculties but does not experience any unwanted thought activity.'[30] This is in contrast to the common meditative approaches of being detached from, and non-judgmental of, thoughts, but not of aiming for thoughts to cease.[31] In the meditation practice of the Sahaja yoga spiritual movement, the focus is on thoughts ceasing.[32]Clear light yoga also aims at a state of no mental content, as does the no thought (wu nian) state taught by Huineng,[33] and the teaching of Yaoshan Weiyan.
One proposal is that transcendental meditation and possibly other techniques be grouped as an 'automatic self-transcending' set of techniques.[34] Other typologies include dividing meditation into concentrative, generative, receptive and reflective practices.[35]
Frequency[edit]
The transcendental meditation technique recommends practice of 20 minutes twice per day.[36] Some techniques suggest less time,[24] especially when starting meditation,[37] and Richard Davidson has quoted research saying benefits can be achieved with a practice of only 8 minutes per day.[38] Some meditators practice for much longer,[39][40] particularly when on a course or retreat.[41] Some meditators find practice best in the hours before dawn.[42]
Posture[edit]
Young children practicing meditation in a Peruvian school
Asanas and positions such as the full-lotus, half-lotus, Burmese, Seiza, and kneeling positions are popular in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism,[43] although other postures such as sitting, supine (lying), and standing are also used. Meditation is also sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin, or while doing a simple task mindfully, known as samu.[44]
Use of prayer beads[edit]
Some religions have traditions of using prayer beads as tools in devotional meditation.[45][46][47] Most prayer beads and Christian rosaries consist of pearls or beads linked together by a thread.[45][46] The Roman Catholic rosary is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. The Hindu japa mala has 108 beads (the figure 108 in itself having spiritual significance, as well as those used in Jainism and Buddhist prayer beads.[48] Each bead is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala.[48] The Muslim misbaha has 99 beads.
Striking the meditator[edit]
The Buddhist literature has many stories of Enlightenment being attained through disciples being struck by their masters. According to T. Griffith Foulk professor of Religion at Sarah Lawrence College the encouragement stick was an integral part of the Zen practice:
In the Rinzai monastery where I trained in the mid-1970s, according to an unspoken etiquette, monks who were sitting earnestly and well were shown respect by being hit vigorously and often; those known as laggards were ignored by the hall monitor or given little taps if they requested to be hit. Nobody asked about the 'meaning' of the stick, nobody explained, and nobody ever complained about its use.[49]
Using a narrative[edit]
Richard Davidson has expressed the view that having a narrative can help maintenance of daily practice.[38] For instance he himself prostrates to the teachings, and meditates 'not primarily for my benefit, but for the benefit of others.'[38]
Religious and spiritual meditation[edit]
Indian religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]
A statue of Patañjali practicing dhyana in the Padma-asana at Patanjali Yogpeeth.
There are many schools and styles of meditation within Hinduism.[50] In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism, Yoga and Dhyana are practised to realize union of one's eternal self or soul, one's ātman. In Advaita Vedanta this is equated with the omnipresent and non-dualBrahman. In the dualistic Yoga school and Samkhya, the Self is called Purusha, a pure consciousness separate from matter. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is named moksha, vimukti or kaivalya.
The earliest clear references to meditation in Hindu literature are in the middle Upanishads and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita).[51][52] According to Gavin Flood, the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is describing meditation when it states that 'having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (ātman) within oneself'.[50]
One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali's Yoga sutras (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya, which outlines eight limbs leading to kaivalya ('aloneness'). These are ethical discipline (yamas), rules (niyamas), physical postures (āsanas), breath control (prāṇāyama), withdrawal from the senses (pratyāhāra), one-pointedness of mind (dhāraṇā), meditation (dhyāna), and finally samādhi.
Later developments in Hindu meditation include the compilation of Hatha Yoga (forceful yoga) compendiums like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the development of Bhakti yoga as a major form of meditation and Tantra. Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga Yajnavalkya, which makes use of Hatha Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy.
Jainism[edit]
The āsana in which Mahavira is said to have attained omniscience
Jain meditation and spiritual practices system were referred to as salvation-path. It has three parts called the Ratnatraya 'Three Jewels': right perception and faith, right knowledge and right conduct.[53] Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attaining salvation, and taking the soul to complete freedom.[54] It aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which is believed to be pure consciousness, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer (Gyata-Drashta). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized to Dharmya Dhyana and Shukla Dhyana.[clarification needed]
Jainism uses meditation techniques such as pindāstha-dhyāna, padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, and savīrya-dhyāna. In padāstha dhyāna one focuses on a mantra.[55] A mantra could be either a combination of core letters or words on deity or themes. There is a rich tradition of Mantra in Jainism. All Jain followers irrespective of their sect, whether Digambara or Svetambara, practice mantra. Mantra chanting is an important part of daily lives of Jain monks and followers. Mantra chanting can be done either loudly or silently in mind.[56]
Contemplation is a very old and important meditation technique. The practitioner meditates deeply on subtle facts. In agnya vichāya, one contemplates on seven facts – life and non-life, the inflow, bondage, stoppage and removal of karmas, and the final accomplishment of liberation. In apaya vichāya, one contemplates on the incorrect insights one indulges, which eventually develops right insight. In vipaka vichāya, one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of karma. In sansathan vichāya, one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of the soul.[55]
Buddhism[edit]
Bodhidharma practicing zazen
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism. Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana.[57] The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā,[58]jhāna/dhyāna,[59] and vipassana.
Buddhist meditation techniques have become popular in the wider world, with many non-Buddhists taking them up. There is considerable homogeneity across meditative practices – such as breath meditation and various recollections (anussati) – across Buddhist schools, as well as significant diversity. In the Theravāda tradition, there are over fifty methods for developing mindfulness and forty for developing concentration, while in the Tibetan tradition there are thousands of visualization meditations.[60] Most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school-specific.[61]
According to the Theravada and Sarvastivada commentatorial traditions, and the Tibetan tradition,[62] the Buddha identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice:
- 'serenity' or 'tranquility' (Pali: samatha) which steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates the mind;
- 'insight' (Pali: vipassana) which enables one to see, explore and discern 'formations' (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates).[63]
Through the meditative development of serenity, one is able to weaken the obscuring hindrances and bring the mind to a collected, pliant and still state (samadhi). This quality of mind then supports the development of insight and wisdom (Prajñā) which is the quality of mind that can 'clearly see' (vi-passana) the nature of phenomena. What exactly is to be seen varies within the Buddhist traditions.[62] In Theravada, all phenomena are to be seen as impermanent, suffering, not-self and empty. When this happens, one develops dispassion (viraga) for all phenomena, including all negative qualities and hindrances and lets them go. It is through the release of the hindrances and ending of craving through the meditative development of insight that one gains liberation.[64]
In the modern era, Buddhist meditation saw increasing popularity due to the influence of Buddhist modernism on Asian Buddhism, and western lay interest in Zen and the Vipassana movement. The spread of Buddhist meditation to the Western world paralleled the spread of Buddhism in the West. Buddhist meditation has also influenced Western Psychology, especially through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn who founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in 1979.[65] The modernized concept of mindfulness (based on the Buddhist term sati) and related meditative practices have in turn led to several mindfulness based therapies.
Sikhism[edit]
Sikhs gather in Gurdwara's and recite ShabadKirtan, a vocal meditation
In Sikhism, simran (meditation) and good deeds are both necessary to achieve the devotee's Spiritual goals;[66] without good deeds meditation is futile. When Sikhs meditate, they aim to feel God's presence and immerge in the divine light.[67] It is only God's divine will or order that allows a devotee to desire to begin to meditate.[68]Nām Japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God.[69]
East Asian religions[edit]
Taoism[edit]
'Gathering the Light', Taoist meditation from The Secret of the Golden Flower
Taoist meditation has developed techniques including concentration, visualization, qi cultivation, contemplation, and mindfulness meditations in its long history. Traditional Daoist meditative practices were influenced by Chinese Buddhism from around the 5th century, and influenced Traditional Chinese medicine and the Chinese martial arts.
Livia Kohn distinguishes three basic types of Taoist meditation: 'concentrative', 'insight', and 'visualization'.[70]Ding定 (literally means 'decide; settle; stabilize') refers to 'deep concentration', 'intent contemplation', or 'perfect absorption'. Guan觀 (lit. 'watch; observe; view') meditation seeks to merge and attain unity with the Dao. It was developed by Tang Dynasty (618–907) Taoist masters based upon the Tiantai Buddhist practice of Vipassanā 'insight' or 'wisdom' meditation. Cun存 (lit. 'exist; be present; survive') has a sense of 'to cause to exist; to make present' in the meditation techniques popularized by the Taoist Shangqing and Lingbao Schools. A meditator visualizes or actualizes solar and lunar essences, lights, and deities within their body, which supposedly results in health and longevity, even xian 仙/仚/僊, 'immortality'.
The (late 4th century BCE) Guanzi essay Neiye 'Inward training' is the oldest received writing on the subject of qi cultivation and breath-control meditation techniques.[71] For instance, 'When you enlarge your mind and let go of it, when you relax your vital breath and expand it, when your body is calm and unmoving: And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances. ... This is called 'revolving the vital breath': Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly.'[72]
The (c. 3rd century BCE) Taoist Zhuangzi records zuowang or 'sitting forgetting' meditation. Confucius asked his disciple Yan Hui to explain what 'sit and forget' means: 'I slough off my limbs and trunk, dim my intelligence, depart from my form, leave knowledge behind, and become identical with the Transformational Thoroughfare.'[73]
Taoist meditation practices are central to Chinese martial arts (and some Japanese martial arts), especially the qi-related neijia 'internal martial arts'. Some well-known examples are daoyin 'guiding and pulling', qigong 'life-energy exercises', neigong 'internal exercises', neidan 'internal alchemy', and taijiquan 'great ultimate boxing', which is thought of as moving meditation. One common explanation contrasts 'movement in stillness' referring to energetic visualization of qi circulation in qigong and zuochan 'seated meditation',[26] versus 'stillness in movement' referring to a state of meditative calm in taijiquan forms.
Abrahamic religions[edit]
Judaism[edit]
Judaism has made use of meditative practices for thousands of years.[74][75] For instance, in the Torah, the patriarch Isaac is described as going 'לשוח' (lasuach) in the field – a term understood by all commentators as some type of meditative practice (Genesis 24:63).[76] Similarly, there are indications throughout the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) that the prophets meditated.[77] In the Old Testament, there are two Hebrew words for meditation: hāgâ (Hebrew: הגה), to sigh or murmur, but also to meditate, and sîḥâ (Hebrew: שיחה), to muse, or rehearse in one's mind.[78]
Classical Jewish texts espouse a wide range of meditative practices, often associated with the cultivation of Kavanah or intention. The first layer of rabbinic law, the Mishnah describes ancient sages 'waiting' for an hour before their prayers, 'in order to direct their hearts to the Omnipresent One (MishnahBerakhot 5:1). Other early rabbinic texts include instructions for visualizing the Divine Presence (B. TalmudSanhedrin 22a) and breathing with conscious gratitude for every breath (Genesis Rabba 14:9).[79]
Some meditative traditions have been encouraged in Kabbalah, and some Jews have described Kabbalah as an inherently meditative field of study.[80][81][82]Aryeh Kaplan has argued that, for the Kabbalist, the ultimate purpose of meditative practice is to understand and cleave to the Divine.[78] Classic methods include the mental visualisation of the supernal realms that the soul navigates through to achieve certain ends. One of the best known types of meditation in early Jewish mysticism was the work of the Merkabah, from the root /R-K-B/ meaning 'chariot' (of God).[78]
Meditation has been of interest to a wide variety of modern Jews. In modern Jewish practice, one of the best known meditative practices is called 'hitbodedut' (התבודדות, alternatively transliterated as 'hisbodedus'), and is explained in Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and Mussar writings, especially the Hasidic method of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav. The word derives from the Hebrew word 'boded' (בודד), meaning the state of being alone.[83] Another Hasidic system is the Habad method of 'hisbonenus', related to the Sephirah of 'Binah', Hebrew for understanding.[84] This practice is the analytical reflective process of making oneself understand a mystical concept well, that follows and internalises its study in Hasidic writings. The Musar Movement, founded by Rabbi Israel Salanter in the middle of the nineteenth-century, emphasized meditative practices of introspection and visualization that could help to improve moral character.[85]Jewish Buddhists have adopted Buddhist styles of meditation.[86]
Christianity[edit]
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina stated: 'Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him.'[87]
Christian meditation is a term for a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to get in touch with and deliberately reflect upon the revelations of God.[88] The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditari, which means to concentrate. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (e.g. a biblical scene involving Jesus and the Virgin Mary) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.[89]
The Rosary is a devotion for the meditation of the mysteries of Jesus and Mary.[90][91] “The gentle repetition of its prayers makes it an excellent means to moving into deeper meditation. It gives us an opportunity to open ourselves to God’s word, to refine our interior gaze by turning our minds to the life of Christ. The first principle is that meditation is learned through practice. Many people who practice rosary meditation begin very simply and gradually develop a more sophisticated meditation. The meditator learns to hear an interior voice, the voice of God”.[92]
Christian meditation contrasts with Eastern forms of meditation as radically as the portrayal of God the Father in the Bible contrasts with depictions of Krishna or Brahman in Indian teachings.[93] Unlike Eastern meditations, most styles of Christian meditations do not rely on the repeated use of mantras, and yet are also intended to stimulate thought and deepen meaning. Christian meditation aims to heighten the personal relationship based on the love of God that marks Christian communion.[94][95]
In Aspects of Christian meditation, the Catholic Church warned of potential incompatibilities in mixing Christian and Eastern styles of meditation.[96] In 2003, in A Christian reflection on the New Age the Vatican announced that the 'Church avoids any concept that is close to those of the New Age'.[97][98][99]
Christian meditation is sometimes taken to mean the middle level in a broad three stage characterization of prayer: it then involves more reflection than first level vocal prayer, but is more structured than the multiple layers of contemplation in Christianity.[100]
Islam[edit]
Salah is a mandatory act of devotion performed by Muslims five times per day. The body goes through sets of different postures, as the mind attains a level of concentration called khushu'.
A second optional type of meditation, called dhikr, meaning remembering and mentioning God, is interpreted in different meditative techniques in Sufism or Islamic mysticism.[101][102] This became one of the essential elements of Sufism as it was systematized traditionally. It is juxtaposed with fikr (thinking) which leads to knowledge.[103] By the 12th century, the practice of Sufism included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words.[104]
Sufism uses a meditative procedure like Buddhist concentration, involving high-intensity and sharply focused introspection. In the Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi Sufi order, for example, muraqaba takes the form of tamarkoz, 'concentration' in Persian.[105]
Tafakkur or tadabbur in Sufism literally means reflection upon the universe: this is considered to permit access to a form of cognitive and emotional development that can emanate only from the higher level, i.e. from God. The sensation of receiving divine inspiration awakens and liberates both heart and intellect, permitting such inner growth that the apparently mundane actually takes on the quality of the infinite. Muslim teachings embrace life as a test of one's submission to God.[106]
Bahá'í Faith[edit]
In the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, meditation is a primary tool for spiritual development,[107] involving reflection on the words of God.[108] While prayer and meditation are linked, where meditation happens generally in a prayerful attitude, prayer is seen specifically as turning toward God,[109] and meditation is seen as a communion with one's self where one focuses on the divine.[108]
In Bahá'í teachings the purpose of meditation is to strengthen one's understanding of the words of God, and to make one's soul more susceptible to their potentially transformative power,[108] more receptive to the need for both prayer and meditation to bring about and maintain a spiritual communion with God.[110]
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, never specified any particular form of meditation, and thus each person is free to choose their own form.[107] However, he did state that Bahá'ís should read a passage of the Bahá'í writings twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening, and meditate on it. He also encouraged people to reflect on one's actions and worth at the end of each day.[108] During the Nineteen Day Fast, a period of the year during which Bahá'ís adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast, they meditate and pray to reinvigorate their spiritual forces.[111]
Pagan and occult[edit]
Movements which use magic, such as Wicca, Thelema, Neopaganism, and occultism, often require their adherents to meditate as a preliminary to the magical work. This is because magic is often thought to require a particular state of mind in order to make contact with spirits, or because one has to visualize one's goal or otherwise keep intent focused for a long period during the ritual in order to see the desired outcome. Meditation practice in these religions usually revolves around visualization, absorbing energy from the universe or higher self, directing one's internal energy, and inducing various trance states. Meditation and magic practice often overlap in these religions as meditation is often seen as merely a stepping stone to supernatural power, and the meditation sessions may be peppered with various chants and spells.[citation needed]
Modern spirituality[edit]
Mantra meditation, with the use of a japa mala and especially with focus on the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is a central practice of the Gaudiya Vaishnava faith tradition and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. Other popular New Religious Movements include the Ramakrishna Mission, Vedanta Society, Divine Light Mission, Chinmaya Mission, Osho, Sahaja Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Oneness University, Brahma Kumaris and Vihangam Yoga.
New Age[edit]
New Age meditations are often influenced by Eastern philosophy, mysticism, yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism, yet may contain some degree of Western influence. In the West, meditation found its mainstream roots through the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when many of the youth of the day rebelled against traditional religion as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of Christianity to provide spiritual and ethical guidance.[112]New Age meditation as practised by the early hippies is regarded for its techniques of blanking out the mind and releasing oneself from conscious thinking. This is often aided by repetitive chanting of a mantra, or focusing on an object.[113] New Age meditation evolved into a range of purposes and practices, from serenity and balance to access to other realms of consciousness to the concentration of energy in group meditation to the supreme goal of samadhi, as in the ancient yogic practice of meditation.[114]
Secular applications[edit]
Clinical applications[edit]
The US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine states that 'Meditation may be practiced for many reasons, such as to increase calmness and physical relaxation, to improve psychological balance, to cope with illness, or to enhance overall health and well-being.'[115][10] Meditation techniques have been used in Western counseling and psychotherapy. Relaxation training works toward achieving mental and muscle relaxation to reduce daily stresses. Sahaja (mental silence) meditators scored above control group for emotional well-being and mental health measures on SF-36 ratings.[116][117]
Progressive Muscle Relaxation was developed by American physician Edmund Jacobson in the early 1920s. In this practice one tenses and then relaxes muscle groups in a sequential pattern while concentrating on how they feel. The method has been seen to help people with many conditions, especially extreme anxiety.[118] These techniques are used in conjunction with others, originally systematic desensitization but now with techniques such as hypnosis and biofeedback-induced relaxation.
One of the eight essential phases of EMDR, developed by Francine Shapiro, bringing adequate closure to the end of each session, also entails the use of relaxation techniques, including meditation. Multimodal therapy, a technically eclectic approach to behavioral therapy, uses meditation in individual therapy.[119]
Over the past 20 years, mindfulness and mindfulness-based programs have been used to assist people, whether they be clinically sick or healthy.[120]Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program in 1979, has defined mindfulness as 'moment to moment non-judgmental awareness.'[121] Several methods are used during time set aside specifically for mindfulness meditation, such as body scan techniques or letting thought arise and pass, and also during our daily lives, such as being aware of the taste and texture of the food that we eat.[122]
Meditation in the workplace[edit]
A 2010 review of the literature on spirituality and performance in organizations found an increase in corporate meditation programs.[123]
As of 2016 around a quarter of U.S. employers were using stress reduction initiatives.[124][125] The goal was to help reduce stress and improve reactions to stress. Aetna now offers its program to its customers. Google also implements mindfulness, offering more than a dozen meditation courses, with the most prominent one, 'Search Inside Yourself', having been implemented since 2007.[125]General Mills offers the Mindful Leadership Program Series, a course which uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, yoga and dialog with the intention of developing the mind's capacity to pay attention.[125]
Sound-based meditation[edit]
Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School conducted a series of clinical tests on meditators from various disciplines, including the Transcendental Meditation technique and Tibetan Buddhism. In 1975, Benson published a book titled The Relaxation Response where he outlined his own version of meditation for relaxation.[126] Also in the 1970s, the American psychologist Patricia Carrington developed a similar technique called Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM).[127] In Norway, another sound-based method called Acem Meditation developed a psychology of meditation and has been the subject of several scientific studies.[128]
Biofeedback has been used by many researchers since the 1950s in an effort to enter deeper states of mind.[129]
History[edit]
Man Meditating in a Garden Setting
From ancient times[edit]
The history of meditation is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced.[130] Some authors have even suggested the hypothesis that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation,[131] may have contributed to the latest phases of human biological evolution.[132] Some of the earliest references to meditation are found in the HinduVedas of India.[130] Wilson translates the most famous Vedic mantra 'Gayatri' as: 'We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri, who influences our pious rites' (Rigveda : Mandala-3, Sukta-62, Rcha-10). Around the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, other forms of meditation developed via Confucianism and Taoism in China as well as Hinduism, Jainism, and early Buddhism in Nepal and India.[130]
In the Roman Empire, by 20 BCE Philo of Alexandria had written on some form of 'spiritual exercises' involving attention (prosoche) and concentration[133] and by the 3rd century Plotinus had developed meditative techniques.
The Pāli Canon from the 1st century BCE considers Buddhist meditation as a step towards liberation.[134] By the time Buddhism was spreading in China, the Vimalakirti Sutra which dates to 100 CE included a number of passages on meditation, clearly pointing to Zen (known as Chan in China, Thiền in Vietnam, and Seon in Korea).[135] The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced meditation to other Asian countries, and in 653 the first meditation hall was opened in Singapore.[136] Returning from China around 1227, Dōgen wrote the instructions for zazen.[137][138]
Medieval[edit]
The Islamic practice of Dhikr had involved the repetition of the 99 Names of God since the 8th or 9th century.[101][102] By the 12th century, the practice of Sufism included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words.[104] Interactions with Indians, Nepalese or the Sufis may have influenced the Eastern Christian meditation approach to hesychasm, but this can not be proved.[139][140] Between the 10th and 14th centuries, hesychasm was developed, particularly on Mount Athos in Greece, and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer.[141]
Western Christian meditation contrasts with most other approaches in that it does not involve the repetition of any phrase or action and requires no specific posture. Western Christian meditation progressed from the 6th century practice of Bible reading among Benedictine monks called Lectio Divina, i.e. divine reading. Its four formal steps as a 'ladder' were defined by the monk Guigo II in the 12th century with the Latin terms lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio (i.e. read, ponder, pray, contemplate). Western Christian meditation was further developed by saints such as Ignatius of Loyola and Teresa of Avila in the 16th century.[142][143][144][145]
Modern dissemination in the West[edit]
Meditation has spread in the West since the late 19th century, accompanying increased travel and communication among cultures worldwide. Most prominent has been the transmission of Asian-derived practices to the West. In addition, interest in some Western-based meditative practices has been revived,[146] and these have been disseminated to a limited extent to Asian countries.[147]
Ideas about Eastern meditation had begun 'seeping into American popular culture even before the American Revolution through the various sects of European occult Christianity',[148]:3 and such ideas 'came pouring in [to America] during the era of the transcendentalists, especially between the 1840s and the 1880s.'[148]:3 The following decades saw further spread of these ideas to America:
The World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893, was the landmark event that increased Western awareness of meditation. This was the first time that Western audiences on American soil received Asian spiritual teachings from Asians themselves. Thereafter, Swami Vivekananda... [founded] various Vedanta ashrams... Anagarika Dharmapala lectured at Harvard on Theravada Buddhist meditation in 1904; Abdul Baha ... [toured] the US teaching the principles of Bahai, and Soyen Shaku toured in 1907 teaching Zen...[148]:4
Meditating in Madison Square Park, New York City
More recently, in the 1960s, another surge in Western interest in meditative practices began. The rise of communist political power in Asia led to many Asian spiritual teachers taking refuge in Western countries, oftentimes as refugees.[148]:7 In addition to spiritual forms of meditation, secular forms of meditation have taken root. Rather than focusing on spiritual growth, secular meditation emphasizes stress reduction, relaxation and self-improvement.[149][150]
Historiography[edit]
Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers a wide range of dissimilar practices in different traditions. In popular usage, the word 'meditation' and the phrase 'meditative practice' are often used imprecisely to designate practices found across many cultures.[4][151] These can include almost anything that is claimed to train the attention or to teach calm or compassion.[152] Dictionaries give both the original Latin meaning of 'think[ing] deeply about (something)';[6] as well as the popular usage of 'to focus one's mind for a period of time,'[6] 'the act of giving your attention to only one thing,'[153] and 'to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.'[5] In 1971, Claudio Naranjo noted that 'The word 'meditation' has been used to designate a variety of practices that differ enough from one another so that we may find trouble in defining what meditation is.'[154]:6 There remains no definition of necessary and sufficient criteria for meditation that has achieved universal or widespread acceptance within the modern scientific community, as one study recently noted a 'persistent lack of consensus in the literature' and a 'seeming intractability of defining meditation'.[19]:135
Scholarly criteria for defining a practice as meditation were identified by Bond et al. (2009) as the use of a defined technique, logic relaxation, and a self-induced state or mode.[155] Other criteria deemed important but not essential were a state of psychophysical relaxation, the use of a self-focus skill or anchor, the presence of a state of suspension of logical thought processes, a religious/spiritual/philosophical context, or a state of mental silence.[19]:135 The study concluded that meditation may best be thought of as a natural category of techniques with certain family resemblances or similarity to some 'prototype' model of concepts, rather than something that can be defined precisely.[19]:135 Other scholars across multiple traditions have attempted their own definitions; the following have been cited frequently in the psychological literature.[156] Walsh & Shapiro (2006) state that 'Meditation refers to a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and/or specific capacities such as calm, clarity, and concentration'[1]:228–29 Cahn & Polich (2006) argue that the term meditation 'is used to describe practices that self-regulate the body and mind, thereby affecting mental events by engaging a specific attentional set.... regulation of attention is the central commonality across the many divergent methods'[2]:180 Jevning et al. (1992) define meditation 'as a stylized mental technique... repetitively practiced for the purpose of attaining a subjective experience that is frequently described as very restful, silent, and of heightened alertness, often characterized as blissful'.[3]:415 Goleman (1988) states that 'the need for the meditator to retrain his attention, whether through concentration or mindfulness, is the single invariant ingredient in... every meditation system'.[4]:107
In modern psychological research, definitions of meditation often emphasize the role of attention.[4][1][2][3] Scientific reviews have urged better definition to make studies easier to evaluate.[157]:499 One review of the field provides a detailed set of questions as a starting point.[152] The practitioner of meditation attempts to get beyond the reflexive, 'thinking' mind[158] (sometimes called 'discursive thinking'[159] or 'logic'[160]). This may be to achieve a deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been in recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions;[157] and theories and practice can differ within a tradition.[161] Taylor noted that even within a faith such as 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist', schools and individual teachers may teach distinct types of meditation.[148]:2Ornstein noted that 'Most techniques of meditation do not exist as solitary practices but are only artificially separable from an entire system of practice and belief.'[162]:143 For instance, while monks meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage the codified rules and live together in monasteries in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices.
Research[edit]
Research on the processes and effects of meditation is a subfield of neurological research.[9] Modern scientific techniques, such as fMRI and EEG, were used to observe neurological responses during meditation.[163] Since the 1950s, hundreds of studies on meditation have been conducted, though the overall methological quality of meditation research is poor, yielding unreliable results.[164] Concerns have been raised on the quality of much meditation research,[165][166] including the particular characteristics of individuals who tend to participate.[167]
Since the 1970s, clinical psychology and psychiatry have developed meditation techniques for numerous psychological conditions.[168] Mindfulness practice is employed in psychology to alleviate mental and physical conditions, such as reducing depression, stress, and anxiety.[9][169][170] Mindfulness is also used in the treatment of drug addiction.[171] Studies demonstrate that meditation has a moderate effect to reduce pain.[9] There is insufficient evidence for any effect of meditation on positive mood, attention, eating habits, sleep, or body weight.[9]
According to Bret Stetka, 'many psychologists, neuroscientists and meditation experts are afraid that hype is outpacing the science.'[172][173]Richard J. Davidson, director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, cautions against expecting too much of meditation for the treatment of illness:
With respect to physical illness I would say that the data there really are not very strong and certainly do not show that meditation is better than any other method for any disease. I don’t think there is a shred of evidence to suggest that. And with respect to psychiatric illness as we talked about earlier there is some evidence for depression, but for the most part, except for this limited case of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy with depressive relapse, the evidence suggests again that mindfulness based interventions are no better than any other empirically well validated treatment. So, while someone may prefer a mindfulness based approach, it’s not necessarily going to be any better. And this is a sobering reminder that these practices were not originally designed for treating psychopathology or treating physical illness.[174]
Evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that the categories of meditation, as defined by how they direct attention, appear to generate different brainwave patterns.[18][34] Evidence also suggests that using different focus objects during meditation may generate different brainwave patterns.[175]
A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of meditation on empathy, compassion, and prosocial behaviors found that meditation practices had small to medium effects on self-reported and observable outcomes, concluding that such practices can 'improve positive prosocial emotions and behaviors'.[176] Mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving kindness meditations have been found to provide cognitive benefits such as relaxation and decentering. With training in meditation, depressive rumination can be decreased and overall peace of mind can flourish. Different techniques have shown to work better for different people.[177] Preliminary studies showed a potential relationship between meditation and job performance, resulting from cognitive and social effects.[178][179]
Some studies offer evidence that mindfulness practices are beneficial for the brain's self-regulation by increasing activity in the anterior cingulate cortex.[180] A shift from using the right prefrontal cortex is claimed to be associated with a trend away from depression and anxiety, and towards happiness, relaxation, and emotional balance.[181]
From the point of view of psychology and physiology, meditation can induce an altered state of consciousness.[182] Such altered states of consciousness may correspond to altered neuro-physiologic states.[183]
Meditation has been correlated with unpleasant experiences in some people.[184][185][186][187] More than a quarter of meditators report negative experiences such as anxiety, fear, and distorted emotions and thoughts. Meditators with high levels of repetitive negative thinking and those who only engage in deconstructive meditation are more likely to report unpleasant side effects. Adverse effects are less frequently reported in women and religious meditators.[188]
The 2012 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (n = 34,525), found 8.0% of US adults used meditation,[189] with lifetime and 12-month prevalence of meditation use of 5.2% and 4.1% respectively.[190] In the 2017 survey meditation use among workers was 9.9% (up from 8.0% in 2002).[191]
Criticisms[edit]
The psychologist Thomas Joiner argues that modern mindfulness meditation has been 'corrupted' for commercial gain by self-help celebrities, and suggests that it encourages unhealthy narcissistic and self-obsessed mindsets.[192][193]
Buddhist traditions have not been immune from sexual abuse scandals, with victims coming forward in several Zen and Tibetan schools.[194] The Tibetan Guru Sogyal Rinpoche was similarly accused.[195] “There are huge cover ups in the Catholic church, but what has happened within Tibetan Buddhism is totally along the same lines,” says Mary Finnigan, an author and journalist who has been chronicling such alleged misdemeanours since the mid-80s. [196]
Meditation, religion and drugs[edit]
Many major traditions in which meditation is practiced, such as Buddhism[197] and Hinduism,[198] advise members not to consume intoxicants, while others, such as the Rastafarian movements and Native American Church, view drugs as integral to their religious lifestyle.
The fifth of the five precepts of the Pancasila, the ethical code in the Theravada and MahayanaBuddhist traditions, states that adherents must: 'abstain from fermented and distilled beverages that cause heedlessness.'[199]
On the other hand, the ingestion of psychoactives has been a central feature in the rituals of many religions, in order to produce altered states of consciousness. In several traditional shamanistic ceremonies, drugs are used as agents of ritual. In the Rastafari movement, cannabis is believed to be a gift from Jah and a sacred herb to be used regularly, while alcohol is considered to debase man. Native Americans use peyote, as part of religious ceremony, continuing today.[200] In India, the soma drink has a long history of use alongside prayer and sacrifice, and is mentioned in the Vedas.
During the 1960s and 70s, both eastern meditation traditions and psychedelics, such as LSD, became popular in America, and it was suggested that LSD use and meditation were both means to the same spiritual/existential end.[201] Many practitioners of eastern traditions rejected this idea, including many who had tried LSD themselves. In The Master Game, Robert S de Ropp writes that the 'door to full consciousness' can be glimpsed with the aid of substances, but to 'pass beyond the door' requires yoga and meditation. A study at Johns Hopkins University found that psilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences brought more lasting positive changes to traits including altruism, gratitude, forgiveness and feeling close to others when they were combined with a regular meditation practice and an extensive spiritual practice support programme.[202][203] Other authors, such as Rick Strassman, believe that the relationship between religious experiences reached by way of meditation and through the use of psychedelic drugs deserves further exploration.[204][205]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcWalsh, Roger; Shapiro, Shauna L. (2006). 'The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue'. American Psychologist. 61 (3): 227–239. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.227. PMID16594839.
- ^ abcB. Rael Cahn; John Polich (2006). 'Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies'. Psychological Bulletin. 132 (2): 180–211. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.180. PMID16536641.
- ^ abcR. Jevning; R.K. Wallace; M. Beidebach (1992). 'The physiology of meditation: A review: A wakeful hypometabolic integrated response'. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 16 (3): 415–24. doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(05)80210-6. PMID1528528.
- ^ abcdeGoleman, Daniel (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. New York: Tarcher. ISBN978-0-87477-833-5.
- ^ ab'Definition of meditate'. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
- ^ abc'meditate'. Oxford Dictionaries – English.
- ^For the 14th Dalai Lama the aim of meditation is 'to maintain a very full state of alertness and mindfulness, and then try to see the natural state of your consciousness.'
- ^'Meditation: In Depth'. NCCIH.
- ^ abcdeGoyal, M.; Singh, S.; Sibinga, E. M.; Gould, N. F.; Rowland-Seymour, A.; Sharma, R.; Berger, Z.; Sleicher, D.; Maron, D. D.; Shihab, H. M.; Ranasinghe, P. D.; Linn, S.; Saha, S.; Bass, E. B.; Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2014). 'Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis'. JAMA Internal Medicine. 174 (3): 357–368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018. PMC4142584. PMID24395196.
- ^ abShaner, Lynne; Kelly, Lisa; Rockwell, Donna; Curtis, Devorah (2016). 'Calm Abiding'. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 57: 98. doi:10.1177/0022167815594556.
- ^Campos, Daniel; Cebolla, Ausiàs; Quero, Soledad; Bretón-López, Juana; Botella, Cristina; Soler, Joaquim; García-Campayo, Javier; Demarzo, Marcelo; Baños, Rosa María (2016). 'Meditation and happiness: Mindfulness and self-compassion may mediate the meditation–happiness relationship'. Personality and Individual Differences. 93: 80–85. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.040. hdl:10234/157867.
- ^An universal etymological English dictionary 1773, London, by Nathan Bailey ISBN1-002-37787-0.
- ^ ab'Meditation'. Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper. 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^The Oblate Life by Gervase Holdaway, 2008 ISBN0-8146-3176-2 p. 115
- ^Feuerstein, Georg. 'Yoga and Meditation (Dhyana).' Moksha Journal. Issue 1. 2006. OCLC21878732
- ^ The verb root 'dhyai' is listed as referring to 'contemplate, meditate on' and 'dhyāna' is listed as referring to 'meditation; religious contemplation' on page 134 of Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1971) [1929]. A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation and etymological analysis throughout. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^Mirahmadi, Sayyid Nurjan; Naqshbandi, Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani; Kabbani, Muhammad Hisham; Mirahmadi, Hedieh (2005). The healing power of sufi meditation. Fenton, MI: Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order of America. ISBN978-1-930409-26-2.
- ^ abcLutz, Antoine; Slagter, Heleen A.; Dunne, John D.; Davidson, Richard J. (April 2008). 'Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation'. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 12 (4): 163–69. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005. PMC2693206. PMID18329323.
The term ‘meditation’ refers to a broad variety of practices...In order to narrow the explanandum to a more tractable scope, this article uses Buddhist contemplative techniques and their clinical secular derivatives as a paradigmatic framework (see e.g., 9,10 or 7,9 for reviews including other types of techniques, such as Yoga and Transcendental Meditation). Among the wide range of practices within the Buddhist tradition, we will further narrow this review to two common styles of meditation, FA and OM (see box 1–box 2), that are often combined, whether in a single session or over the course of practitioner's training. These styles are found with some variation in several meditation traditions, including Zen, Vipassanā and Tibetan Buddhism (e.g. 7,15,16)....The first style, FA meditation, entails voluntary focusing attention on a chosen object in a sustained fashion. The second style, OM meditation, involves non-reactively monitoring the content of experience from moment to moment, primarily as a means to recognize the nature of emotional and cognitive patterns
- ^ abcdKenneth Bond; Maria B. Ospina; Nicola Hooton; Liza Bialy; Donna M. Dryden; Nina Buscemi; David Shannahoff-Khalsa; Jeffrey Dusek; Linda E. Carlson (2009). 'Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for 'meditation''. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 1 (2): 129–137. doi:10.1037/a0015736.
- ^The full quote from Bond, Ospina et al. (2009, p. 130) reads: 'The differences and similarities among these techniques is often explained in the Western meditation literature in terms of the direction of mental attention (Koshikawa & Ichii, 1996; Naranjo, 1971; Orenstein, 1971): A practitioner can focus intensively on one particular object (so-called concentrative meditation), on all mental events that enter the field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation), or both specific focal points and the field of awareness (Orenstein, 1971).'
- ^Easwaran, Eknath (2018). The Bhagavad Gita: (Classics of Indian Spirituality). Nilgiri Press. ISBN978-1-58638-019-9.
- ^'Single-pointed concentration (samadhi) is a meditative power that is useful in either of these two types of meditation. However, in order to develop samadhi itself we must cultivate principally concentration meditation. In terms of practice, this means that we must choose an object of concentration and then meditate single-pointedly on it every day until the power of samadhi is attained.' lywa (2 April 2015). 'Developing Single-pointed Concentration'.
- ^'Site is under maintenance'. meditation-research.org.uk.
- ^ ab'Mindful Breathing (Greater Good in Action)'. ggia.berkeley.edu.
- ^Shonin, Edo; Van Gordon, William (2016). 'Experiencing the Universal Breath: A Guided Meditation'. Mindfulness. 7 (5): 1243. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0570-4.
- ^ abPerez-De-Albeniz, Alberto; Jeremy Holmes (March 2000). 'Meditation: concepts, effects and uses in therapy'. International Journal of Psychotherapy. 5 (1): 49–59. doi:10.1080/13569080050020263. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^'Deepening Calm-Abiding – The Nine Stages of Abiding'. terebess.hu.
- ^Dorje, Ogyen Trinley. 'Calm Abiding'.
- ^'What kind of meditation is Headspace?'. Help Center.
- ^Manocha, Ramesh; Black, Deborah; Wilson, Leigh (10 September 2018). 'Quality of Life and Functional Health Status of Long-Term Meditators'. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2012: 350674. doi:10.1155/2012/350674. PMC3352577. PMID22611427.
- ^'There might be a depth of meditation where thinking ceases. This is a refined, refreshing and nourishing state of consciousness. But it is not the goal.' Kirsten Kratz, 'Calm and kindness' talk, Gaia House, 03/2013
- ^'Meditation'. 21 June 2011.
- ^'Huineng (Hui-neng) (638–713)'. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ abTravis, Fred; Shear, Jonathan (2010). 'Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending: Categories to organize meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese traditions'. Consciousness and Cognition. 19 (4): 1110–1118. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2010.01.007. PMID20167507.
- ^'Religions – Buddhism: Meditation'. BBC.
- ^'The Daily Habit Of These Outrageously Successful People'. Huffington Post. 5 July 2013.
- ^Mindfulness#Meditation method
- ^ abc'Neuroscientist Says Dalai Lama Gave Him 'a Total Wake-Up Call''. ABC News. 27 July 2016.
- ^'How Humankind Could Become Totally Useless'. Time magazine. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^Kaul, P.; Passafiume, J; Sargent, C.R.; O'Hara, B.F. (2010). 'Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need'. Behavioral and Brain Functions. 6: 47. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-6-47 (inactive 2019-06-02). PMC2919439. PMID20670413.
- ^'Questions & Answers – Dhamma Giri – Vipassana International Academy'. www.giri.dhamma.org.
- ^'Brahmamuhurta: The best time for meditation'. Times of India.
- ^Mallinson, James; Singleton, Mark (2017). Roots of Yoga. Penguin Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN978-0-241-25304-5. OCLC928480104.
- ^Ng, Teng-Kuan (2018). 'Pedestrian Dharma: Slowness and Seeing in Tsai Ming-Liang's Walker'. Religions. 9 (7): 200. doi:10.3390/rel9070200.
- ^ abMysteries of the Rosary by Stephen J. Binz 2005 ISBN1-58595-519-1 p. 3
- ^ abThe everything Buddhism book by Jacky Sach 2003 ISBN978-1-58062-884-6 p. 175
- ^For a general overview see Beads of Faith: Pathways to Meditation and Spirituality Using Rosaries, Prayer Beads, and Sacred Words by Gray Henry, Susannah Marriott 2008 ISBN1-887752-95-1
- ^ abMeditation and Mantras by Vishnu Devananda 1999 ISBN81-208-1615-3 pp. 82–83
- ^Foulk, Griffith. 'The Encouragement Stick: 7 Views'. Tricycle. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ abFlood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN978-0-521-43878-0.
- ^Alexander Wynne, The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. Routledge 2007, p. 51. The earliest reference is actually in the Mokshadharma, which dates to the early Buddhist period.
- ^The Katha Upanishad describes yoga, including meditation. On meditation in this and other post-Buddhist Hindu literature see Randall Collins, The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, p. 199.
- ^Acharya Mahapragya (2004). 'Foreword'. Jain Yog. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh.
- ^Acharya Tulsi (2004). 'blessings'. Sambodhi. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh.
- ^ abDr. Rudi Jansma; Dr. Sneh Rani Jain Key (2006). '07 Yoga and Meditation (2)'. Introduction To Jainism. Prakrit Bharti Academy, Jaipur, India. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^Dr. Rudi Jansma; Dr. Sneh Rani Jain Key (2006). '07 Yoga and Meditation (2)'. Introduction To Jainism. Prakrit Bharti Academy, Jaipur, India. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation 'includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim.' Likewise, Bodhi (1999) writes: 'To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye ... shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana....' A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: 'Meditation – general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.' Kamalashila (2003) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are 'of a more preparatory nature' (p. 4).
- ^The Pāli and Sanskrit word bhāvanā literally means 'development' as in 'mental development.' For the association of this term with 'meditation,' see Epstein (1995), p. 105; and, Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of the Pali Canon, in 'The Greater Exhortation to Rahula' (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62), Ven. Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.): ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.Thanissaro (2006) translates this as: 'Rahula, develop the meditation [bhāvana] of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing.' (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)
- ^See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), entry for 'jhāna1'[permanent dead link]; Thanissaro (1997); as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word 'zen' from Sanskrit 'dhyāna'. Pāli Text Society Secretary Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:
- [T]here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ([Skt.:] dhyāna / [Pali:] jhāna) or 'concentrations' (samādhi); the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world. (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)
- ^Goldstein (2003) writes that, in regard to the Satipatthana Sutta, 'there are more than fifty different practices outlined in this Sutta. The meditations that derive from these foundations of mindfulness are called vipassana..., and in one form or another – and by whatever name – are found in all the major Buddhist traditions' (p. 92). The forty concentrative meditation subjects refer to Visuddhimagga's oft-referenced enumeration. Regarding Tibetan visualizations, Kamalashila (2003), writes: 'The Tara meditation ... is one example out of thousands of subjects for visualization meditation, each one arising out of some meditator's visionary experience of enlightened qualities, seen in the form of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas' (p. 227).
- ^Examples of contemporary school-specific 'classics' include, from the Theravada tradition, Nyanaponika (1996) and, from the Zen tradition, Kapleau (1989).
- ^ abReginald Ray (2004), What is Vipashyana?
- ^These definitions of samatha and vipassana are based on the 'Four Kinds of Persons Sutta' (AN 4.94). This article's text is primarily based on Bodhi (2005), pp. 269–70, 440 n. 13. See also Thanissaro (1998d).
- ^See, for instance, AN 2.30 in Bodhi (2005), pp. 267–68, and Thanissaro (1998e).
- ^'Mindfulness-Based Programs'. University of Massachusetts Medical School. 2015-12-03.
- ^Sharma, Suresh (2004). Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Sikhism. Mittal Publications. p. 7. ISBN978-81-7099-961-4.
- ^Parashar, M. (2005). Ethics And The Sex-King. AuthorHouse. p. 592. ISBN978-1-4634-5813-3.
- ^Duggal, Kartar (1980). The Prescribed Sikh Prayers (Nitnem). Abhinav Publications. p. 20. ISBN978-81-7017-377-9.
- ^Singh, Nirbhai (1990). Philosophy of Sikhism: Reality and Its Manifestations. Atlantic Publishers & Distribution. p. 105.
- ^Kohn, Livia (2008), 'Meditation and visualization,' in The Encyclopedia of Taoism, ed. by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 118.
- ^Harper, Donald; Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (2007) [First published in 1999]. The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 880. ISBN978-0-521-47030-8.
- ^Roth, Harold D. (1999), Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism, Columbia University Press, p. 92.
- ^Mair, Victor H., tr. (1994), Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu, Bantam Books, p. 64.
- ^The history and varieties of Jewish meditation by Mark Verman 1997 ISBN978-1-56821-522-8 p. 1
- ^Jacobs, L. (1976) Jewish Mystical Testimonies, Jerusalem, Keter Publishing House Jerusalem.
- ^Kaplan, A. (1978) Meditation and the Bible, Maine, Samuel Weiser, p. 101.
- ^The history and varieties of Jewish meditation by Mark Verman 1997 ISBN978-1-56821-522-8 p. 45
- ^ abcKaplan, A. (1985) Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide, New York Schocken Books.
- ^Buxbaum, Y. (1990) Jewish Spiritual Practices, New York, Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 108-10, 423-35.
- ^Scholem, Gershom Gerhard (1961). Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. Schocken Books. p. 34. ISBN978-0-8052-1042-2.
- ^Kaplan, A. (1982) Meditation and Kabbalah, Maine, Samuel Weiser.
- ^Matt, D.C. (1996) The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism, San Francisco, HarperCollins.
- ^Kaplan, A. (1978) op cit p. 2
- ^Kaplan, (1982) op cit, p. 13
- ^Claussen, Geoffrey. 'The Practice of Musar'. Conservative Judaism 63, no. 2 (2012): 3–26. Retrieved June 10, 2014
- ^Michaelson, Jay (June 10, 2005). 'Judaism, Meditation and The B-Word'. The Forward.
- ^The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer by Liz Kelly 2004 ISBN0-8294-2024-X pp. 79, 86
- ^Christian Meditation for Beginners by Thomas Zanzig, Marilyn Kielbasa 2000, ISBN0-88489-361-8 p. 7
- ^An introduction to Christian spirituality by F. Antonisamy, 2000 ISBN81-7109-429-5 pp. 76–77
- ^'Home'. Archived from the original on 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ^'The Holy Rosary'. www.theholyrosary.org.
- ^'The Rosary as a Tool for Meditation by Liz Kelly'. www.loyolapress.com.
- ^Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 ISBN1-57383-227-8 p. 12
- ^Christian Meditation by Edmund P. Clowney, 1979 ISBN1-57383-227-8 pp. 12–13
- ^The encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3 by Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley 2003 ISBN90-04-12654-6 p. 488
- ^EWTN: Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithLetter on certain aspects of Christian meditation (in English), October 15, 1989]
- ^Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2003, New Age Beliefs Aren't Christian, Vatican Finds
- ^'Vatican sounds New Age alert'. 4 February 2003 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^'Prersentation of Holy See's Document on New Age'. www.vatican.va.
- ^Simple Ways to Pray by Emilie Griffin 2005 ISBN0-7425-5084-2 p. 134
- ^ abPrayer: a history by Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski 2005 ISBN0-618-15288-1 pp. 147–49
- ^ abGlobal Encyclopaedia of Education by Rama Sankar Yadav & B.N. Mandal 2007 ISBN978-81-8220-227-6 p. 63
- ^Sainthood and revelatory discourse by David Emmanuel Singh 2003 ISBN81-7214-728-7 p. 154
- ^ abSpiritual Psychology by Akbar Husain 2006 ISBN81-8220-095-4 p. 109
- ^Dwivedi, Kedar Nath (2016). 'Book Reviews'. Group Analysis. 22 (4): 434. doi:10.1177/0533316489224010.
- ^Khalifa, Rashad (2001). Quran: The Final Testament. Universal Unity. p. 536. ISBN978-1-881893-05-9.
- ^ ab'Prayer, Meditation, and Fasting'. Bahá'í International Community. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ abcdSmith, Peter (2000). 'Meditation'. A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 243–44. ISBN978-1-85168-184-6.
- ^Smith, Peter (2000). 'Prayer'. A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 274. ISBN978-1-85168-184-6.
- ^Effendi, Shoghi (1983). Hornby, Helen (ed.). Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File. New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 506. ISBN978-81-85091-46-4.
- ^Effendi, Shoghi (1973). Directives from the Guardian. Hawaii Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 28.
- ^Time Magazine, 'Youth: The Hippies' Jul. 7, 1967
- ^Barnia, George (1996). The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators. Dallas, Texas: Word Publishing.
- ^Lash, John (1990). The Seeker's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Spiritual Pathfinding. New York: Harmony Books. p. 320. ISBN978-0-517-57797-4.
- ^'Meditation: An Introduction'. NCCIH. February 2006.
- ^Manocha, Ramesh; Black, Deborah; Wilson, Leigh (2012). 'Quality of Life and Functional Health Status of Long-Term Meditators'. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2012: 1. doi:10.1155/2012/350674. PMC3352577. PMID22611427.
- ^Manocha, Ramesh (2014). 'Meditation, mindfulness and mind-emptiness'. Acta Neuropsychiatrica. 23: 46. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5215.2010.00519.x.
- ^see Progressive muscle relaxation from where these two references were taken showing that this method reduces extreme anxiety, 1) Craske; Barlow (2006). Worry. Oxford University Press. p. 53. ISBN978-0-19-530001-7. and 2) Chen, Wen-Chun; Chu, Hsin; Lu, Ru-Band; Chou, Yuan-Hwa; Chen, Chung-Hua; Chang, Yue-Cune; o'Brien, Anthony Paul; Chou, Kuei-Ru (2009). 'Efficacy of progressive muscle relaxation training in reducing anxiety in patients with acute schizophrenia'. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 18 (15): 2187–96. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02773.x. PMID19583651.
- ^Corey, G. (March 2000). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (6th ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing. p. 550. ISBN978-0-534-34823-6.
- ^'In the last 20 years, mindfulness has become the focus of considerable attention for a large community of clinicians and, to a lesser extent, empirical psychology.' – Mindfulness: A Proposed Operation Definition
- ^Jon Kabat-Zinn; Elizabeth Wheeler; Timothy Light; Anne Skillings; Mark J. Scharf; Thomas G. Cropley; David Hosmer; Jeffrey D. Bernhard (1998). 'Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (uvb) and photochemotherapy (puva)'. Psychosomatic Medicine (Submitted manuscript). 60 (5): 625–32. doi:10.1097/00006842-199809000-00020. PMID9773769.:626
- ^Kabat-Zinn gives the body scan and food meditations in 'Mindfulness for Beginners' the 2CD set, and Matthieu Ricard gives the letting thoughts arise and pass away in his 2CD set 'Happiness: A Guide to Cultivating Life's Most Important Skill'
- ^Karakas, Fahri (2009). 'Spirituality and Performance in Organizations: A Literature Review'. Journal of Business Ethics. 94: 89. CiteSeerX10.1.1.466.9171. doi:10.1007/s10551-009-0251-5.
- ^'The mind business'. Financial Times. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
- ^ abc'Why Google, Target, and General Mills Are Investing in Mindfulness'. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
- ^Herbert Benson; Miriam Z. Klipper (1992). The Relaxation Response. William Morrow Paperbacks, Exp Upd edition (February 8, 2000). ISBN978-0-517-09132-6.
- ^Patricia Carrington (1977). Freedom in meditation. Anchor Press. ISBN978-0-385-11392-2.
- ^Lagopoulos, Jim; Xu, Jian; Rasmussen, Inge-Andre; Vik, Alexandra; Malhi, Gin S.; Eliassen, Carl Fredrik; Arntsen, Ingrid Edith; Sæther, Jardar G; Saether, JG; Hollup, Stig Arvid; Holen, Are; Davanger, Svend; Ellingsen, Øyvind (2009). 'Increased Theta and Alpha EEG Activity During Nondirective Meditation'. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 15 (11): 1187–92. doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0113. PMID19922249.
- ^Rubin, Jeffrey B. (2001). 'A New View of Meditation'. Journal of Religion and Health. 40 (1): 121–28. doi:10.1023/a:1012542524848.
- ^ abcA clinical guide to the treatment of human stress response by George S. Everly, Jeffrey M. Lating 2002 ISBN0-306-46620-1 pp. 199–202
- ^Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace has argued that focused attention is a basis for the practice of mindfulness. He writes that 'Truly effective meditation is impossible without focused attention... the cultivation of attentional stability has been a core element of the meditative traditions throughout the centuries' (p. xi) in Wallace, B. Alan (2006). The attention revolution: Unlocking the power of the focused mind. Boston: Wisdom. ISBN978-0-86171-276-2.
- ^Matt J. Rossano (2007). 'Did meditating make us human?'. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 17 (1): 47–58. Bibcode:2008CArcJ..18..327P. doi:10.1017/S0959774307000054. This paper draws on various lines of evidence to argue that 'Campfire rituals of focused attention created Baldwinian selection for enhanced working memory among our Homo sapiens ancestors.... this emergence was [in part] caused by a fortuitous genetic mutation that enhanced working memory capacity [and] a Baldwinian process where genetic adaptation follows somatic adaptation was the mechanism for this emergence' (p. 47).
- ^Hadot, Pierre; Arnold I. Davidson (1995) Philosophy as a way of lifeISBN0-631-18033-8 pp. 83–84
- ^Zen Buddhism : a History: India and China by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter 2005 ISBN0-941532-89-5 p. 15
- ^Zen Buddhism : a History: India and China by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter 2005 ISBN0-941532-89-5 p. 50
- ^Zen Buddhism : a History: Japan by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter 2005 ISBN0-941532-90-9 p. 5
- ^Soto Zen in Medieval Japan by William Bodiford 2008 ISBN0-8248-3303-1 p. 39
- ^The Cambridge History of Japan: Medieval Japan by Kōzō Yamamura, John Whitney Hall 1990 ISBN0-521-22354-7
- ^An introduction to the Christian Orthodox churches by John Binns 2002 ISBN0-521-66738-0 p. 128
- ^'Hesychasm'. OrthodoxWiki. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^Archived from the originalArchived July 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine on February 11, 2014.
- ^Christian Spirituality: A Historical Sketch by George Lane 2005 ISBN0-8294-2081-9 p. 20
- ^Christian spirituality: themes from the tradition by Lawrence S. Cunningham, Keith J. Egan 1996 ISBN0-8091-3660-0 p. 38
- ^The Oblate Life by Gervase Holdaway, 2008 ISBN0-8146-3176-2 p. 109
- ^After Augustine: the meditative reader and the text by Brian Stock 2001 ISBN0-8122-3602-5 p. 105
- ^Gustave Reininger, ed. (1997). Centering prayer in daily life and ministry. New York: Continuum. ISBN978-0-8264-1041-2.
- ^The organization Contemplative OutreachArchived 2011-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, which teaches Christian Centering Prayer, has chapters in non-Western locations in Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea (accessed 5 July 2010)
- ^ abcdeEugene Taylor (1999). Michael Murphy; Steven Donovan; Eugene Taylor (eds.). 'Introduction'. The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931–1996: 1–32.
- ^A clinical guide to the treatment of human stress response by George S. Everly, Jeffrey M. Lating 2002 ISBN0-306-46620-1 page 200
- ^Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion by David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden, Stanton Marlan 2009 ISBN page 559
- ^Carroll, Mary (2005). 'Divine therapy: Teaching reflective and meditative practices'. Teaching Theology and Religion. 8 (4): 232–38. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9647.2005.00249.x.
- ^ abLutz, A.; Dunne, J. D.; Davidson, R. J. (2007). Zelazo, P.; Moscovitch, M.; Thompson, E. (ed.). 'Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: an Introduction in Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness'(PDF). Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^'meditation – Meaning'. Cambridge English Dictionary.
- ^Claudio Naranjo (1972) [1971], in: Naranjo and Orenstein, On the Psychology of Meditation. New York: Viking.
- ^'kundalini yoga, Transcendental Meditation, relaxation response, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and vipassana meditation' (Bond, Ospina et al., 2009, p. 131.
- ^Number of citations in PsycINFO: 254 for Walsh & Shapiro, 2006 (26 August 2018); 561 for Cahn & Polich, 2006 (26 August 2018); 83 for Jevning et al. (1992) (26 August 2018).
- ^ abLutz, Dunne and Davidson, 'Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: An Introduction' in The Cambridge handbook of consciousness by Philip David Zelazo, Morris Moscovitch, Evan Thompson, 2007 ISBN0-521-85743-0 pp. 499–551 (proof copy) (NB: pagination of published was 499–551 proof was 497–550). Archived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^This does not mean that all meditation seeks to take a person beyond all thought processes, only those processes that are sometimes referred to as 'discursive' or 'logical' (see Shapiro, 1982/1984; Bond, Ospina, et al., 2009; Appendix B, pp. 279–82 in Ospina, Bond, et al., 2007).
- ^An influential definition by Shapiro (1982) states that 'meditation refers to a family of techniques which have in common a conscious attempt to focus attention in a nonanalytical way and an attempt not to dwell on discursive, ruminating thought' (p. 6, italics in original); the term 'discursive thought' has long been used in Western philosophy, and is often viewed as a synonym to logical thought (Rappe, Sara (2000). Reading neoplatonism : Non-discursive thinking in the texts of Plotinus, Proclus, and Damascius. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-65158-5.)
- ^Bond, Ospina et al. (2009) – see fuller discussion elsewhere on this page – report that 7 expert scholars who had studied different traditions of meditation agreed that an 'essential' component of meditation 'Involves logic relaxation: not 'to intend' to analyze the possible psychophysical effects, not 'to intend' to judge the possible results, not 'to intend' to create any type of expectation regarding the process' (p. 134, Table 4). In their final consideration, all 7 experts regarded this feature as an 'essential' component of meditation; none of them regarded it as merely 'important but not essential' (p. 234, Table 4). (This same result is presented in Table B1 in Ospina, Bond, et al., 2007, p. 281)
- ^'John Dunne's speech'. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012.
- ^Robert Ornstein (1972) [1971], in: Naranjo and Orenstein, On the Psychology of Meditation. New York: Viking. LCCN76-149720
- ^Fox, Kieran C.R.; Nijeboer, Savannah; Dixon, Matthew L.; Floman, James L.; Ellamil, Melissa; Rumak, Samuel P.; Sedlmeier, Peter; Christoff, Kalina (2014). 'Is meditation associated with altered brain structure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of morphometric neuroimaging in meditation practitioners'. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 43: 48–73. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.03.016. PMID24705269.
- ^Ospina, M.; Bond, T. (2007-01-06). 'Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 155'(PDF). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- ^Van Dam, N. T. et al. (January 2018). 'Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation'. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 13 (1): 36–61. doi:10.1177/1745691617709589. PMC 5758421 . PMID29016274.
- ^Stetka B (October 2017). 'Where's the Proof That Mindfulness Meditation Works?'. Scientific American.
- ^Van Dam, Nicholas T.; van Vugt, Marieke K.; Vago, David R.; Schmalzl, Laura; Saron, Clifford D.; Olendzki, Andrew; Meissner, Ted; Lazar, Sara W.; Gorchov, Jolie; Fox, Kieran C.R.; Field, Brent A.; Britton, Willoughby B.; Brefczynski-Lewis, Julie A.; Meyer, David E. (10 October 2017). 'Reiterated Concerns and Further Challenges for Mindfulness and Meditation Research: A Reply to Davidson and Dahl'. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 13 (1): 66–69. doi:10.1177/1745691617727529. PMC5817993. PMID29016240.
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- ^Stetka, Bret. 'Where's the Proof That Mindfulness Meditation Works?'. Scientific American. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
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Bibliography[edit]
- Austin, James H. (1999) Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999, ISBN0-262-51109-6
- Azeemi, Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi (2005) Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation. Houston: Plato, 2005, ISBN0-9758875-4-8
- Bennett-Goleman, T. (2001) Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart, Harmony Books, ISBN0-609-60752-9
- Benson, Herbert and Miriam Z. Klipper. (2000 [1972]). The Relaxation Response. Expanded Updated edition. Harper. ISBN0-380-81595-8
- Bond, Kenneth; Maria B. Ospina; Nicola Hooton; Liza Bialy; Donna M. Dryden; Nina Buscemi; David Shannahoff-Khalsa; Jeffrey Dusek & Linda E. Carlson (2009). 'Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for 'meditation''. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 1 (2): 129–37. doi:10.1037/a0015736.(NB: Bond, Ospina et al., 2009, has substantial overlap with the full report by Ospina, Bond et al., 2007, listed below. Overlap includes the first 6 authors of this paper, and the equivalence of Table 3 on p. 134 in this paper with Table B1 on p. 281 in the full report)
- Craven, J. L. (October 1989). 'Meditation and psychotherapy'. Can J Psychiatry. 34 (7): 648–53. doi:10.1177/070674378903400705. PMID2680046.
- Goleman, Daniel (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. New York: Tarcher. ISBN978-0-87477-833-5.
- Hayes, S. C.; Strosahl, K. D.; Wilson, K. G. (1999) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New York: Guilford Press.
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- Lutz, Antoine; Richard J. Davidson; et al. (2004). 'Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 101 (November 16): 16369–73. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10116369L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0407401101. PMC526201. PMID15534199.
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- MirAhmadi, As Sayed Nurjan (2005) Healing Power of Sufi Meditation. Islamic Supreme Council of America.
- Nirmalananda Giri, Swami (2007) Om Yoga: Its Theory and Practice In-depth study of the classical meditation method of the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the Upanishads.
- Ospina Maria B.; Kenneth Bond; Mohammad Karkhaneh; Lisa Tjosvold; Ben Vandermeer; Yuanyuan Liang; Liza Bialy; Nicola Hooton; Nina Buscemi; Donna M. Dryden; Terry P. Klassen (June 2007). 'Meditation practices for health: state of the research'(PDF). Evidence Report / Technology Assessment (Full Report), Prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center Under Contract No. 290-02-0023) (155): 1–263. PMC4780968. PMID17764203. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-02-25.
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Further reading[edit]
- Ajahn Brahm, Mindfulness Bliss and Beyond. ISBN978-0-86171-275-5
- Meditation & The References From Various Religions – What is Meditation.
- Baba, Meher (1995). Discourses. Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation. ISBN978-1-880619-09-4.
- Cooper, David. A. The Art of Meditation: A Complete Guide. ISBN81-7992-164-6
- Easwaran, Eknath. Meditation (see article). ISBN0-915132-66-4 new edition: Passage Meditation. ISBN978-1-58638-026-7. The Mantram HandbookISBN978-1-58638-028-1
- Glickman, Marshall (2002) Beyond the Breath: Extraordinary Mindfulness Through Whole-Body Vipassana. ISBN1-58290-043-4
- Goenka, S. N.. Meditation Now: Inner Peace through Inner Wisdom, ISBN1-928706-23-1, 978-1-928706-23-6
- Hanson, Rick; Mendius, Richard (2009). Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. New Harbinger Publications. ISBN978-1-57224-695-9.
- Hart, William. Art of Living, Vipassana Meditation, ISBN0-06-063724-2, ISBN978-0-06-063724-8
- Krishnamurti, Jiddu. This Light in Oneself: True Meditation, 1999, Shambhala Publications. ISBN1-57062-442-9
- Heller, Rick. Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy – A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard, 2015, New World Library. ISBN978-1-60868-369-7
- Levin, Michal. Meditation, Path to the Deepest Self, Dorling Kindersley, 2002. ISBN978-0-7894-8333-1
- Long, Barry. Meditation: A Foundation Course – A Book of Ten Lessons. ISBN1-899324-00-3
- Meditation for Beginners without Religion – Meditation for Beginners.
- Meiche, Michele. Meditation for Everyday Living. ISBN0-9710374-6-9
- Monaghan, Patricia and Eleanor G. Viereck. Meditation: The Complete Guide. ISBN1-57731-088-8
- Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. Understanding Confucianism, Duncan Baird, 2003. ISBN1-904292-12-7.
- Saraydarian, Torkom (1976). The Science of Meditation. TSG Publishing Foundation. ISBN978-0-911794-29-8.
- Shankarananda, Swami. Happy For No Good Reason, Shaktipat Press, 2004. ISBN978-0-9750995-1-3
- Vethathiri Maharishi. Yoga for Modern life.
- Wood, Ernest. Concentration – An Approach to Meditation.Theosophical Publishing House 1949. ISBN0-8356-0176-5.
- Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi.
External links[edit]
- Meditation at Curlie
- Meditation at Encyclopædia Britannica
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