Asian Traditions of Meditation

by Halvor Eifring

  8. Perez de Albeniz and Holmes, “Meditation.”

  9. Walsh and Shapiro, “Meeting of Meditative Disciplines,” 229.

  10. Most probably, a similar distinction applies to psychotherapy, with cognitive therapies leaning toward a directive content orientation, and psychodynamic therapies leaning toward a nondirective process orientation.

  11. The following are descriptions of “concentration” or “focused attention”: “focus attention on a singular external object” (Shapiro, “Overview”); “sustaining the attention directly to a single object, point or focus” (Goleman, “Meditation and Consciousness”); “focusing attention on a single-target percept” (Davidson and Goleman, “Role of Attention”); “attention … focused on an intended object in a sustained fashion” (Manna et al., “Neural Correlates”); “the concentration of attention on a particular external, corporal or mental object while ignoring all irrelevant stimuli” (Sperduti et al., “Neurocognitive Model”); “sustaining selective attention moment by moment on a chosen object” (Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation”); “focuses on a particular item, thought, or object” (Colzato et al., “Meditate to Create”); and “focusing on a specific sensory or mental stimulus to the exclusion of anything else” (Dakwar and Levin, “Emerging Role of Meditation”). The following are descriptions of “insight,” “mindfulness,” or “open monitoring”: “cultivate an objective openness to whatever comes into awareness” (Ospina et al., “Meditation Practices for Health”); “maintaining a specific cognitive perception related to the contents that would spontaneously come to mind” (Goleman, “Meditation and Consciousness”); “maintenance of a particular attentional stance toward all objects of awareness” (Davidson and Goleman, “Role of Attention”); “the non-reactive monitoring of the content of experience from moment to moment, primarily as a means to recognize the nature of emotional and cognitive patterns” (Manna et al., “Neural Correlates”); “enlarge the attentional focus to all incoming sensations, emotions and thoughts from moment to moment without focusing on any of them” (Sperduti et al., “Neurocognitive Model”); “attentive moment by moment to anything that occurs in experience without focusing on any explicit object” (Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation”); “open to perceive and observe any sensation or thought without focusing on a concept in the mind or a fixed item” (Colzato et al., “Meditate to Create”); and “allowing thoughts, feelings, and sensations to arise while maintaining a non-judgmental, detached, and accepting attitude to them, as well as a heightened perceptual stance attentive to the entire field of perception” (Dakwar and Levin, “Emerging Role of Meditation”).

  12. Davidson and Goleman, “Role of Attention.”

  13. Dakwar and Levin, “Emerging Role of Meditation,” 257; cf. Cahn and Polich, “Meditation States and Traits”; Raffone and Srinivasan, “Exploration of Meditation.”

  14. Shapiro, “Overview,” 6.

  15. Travis and Shear, “Focused Attention.”

  16. Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation.” Ospina et al. also note that “some [mindfulness] practices … have phases where concentration is used, and for which certain techniques such as counting or concentrating on a mantra are employed, while at other stages broad spaced mindful attention is encouraged” (“Meditation Practices for Health,” 48).

  17. Ospina et al., “Meditation Practices for Health,” 48.

  18. Naranjo, “Meditation,” 7ff.; Conze, Buddhist Meditation, 13ff.; Koshikawa and Ichii, “Experiment on Classification Methods,” 213–224; Holen, “Acem Meditation.”

  19. Conze (Buddhist Meditation, 19ff.) makes a similar distinction but uses the term “concentration” for both types.

  20. Cáo and Kǒng, Hānshān lǎorén mèngyóu jí. Translations are mine.

  21. Hodgson, Cloud of Unknowing; translations from Wolters, Cloud of Unknowing.

  22. Hodgson, Cloud of Unknowing, 87; Wolters, Cloud of Unknowing, 114.

  23. Hodgson, Cloud of Unknowing, 62; Wolters, Cloud of Unknowing, 95.

  24. “Attention Regulation and Monitoring in Meditation,” 164.

  25. Orig. “Tā qǐ tā de niàn, wǒ niàn wǒ de fó.” From Wùkāi, “Jìngyè zhījīn.”

  26. Guǎngguì, “Liánbāng shīxuǎn.”

  27. See Casiday, “Images of Salvation.”

  28. Palmer et al., Philokalia, 165.

  29. Müller, Atthasālinī, 118; translation from Tin, Expositor, 157.

  30. Cáo and Kǒng, Hānshān lǎorén mèngyóu jí, 2.

  31. Palmer et al., Philokalia, 164.

  32. Eifring, “Spontaneous Thoughts in Meditative Traditions,” 210ff.

  33. Holen, Inner Strength.

  34. Kohn, Meditation Works, 4.

  35. Craven, “Meditation and Psychotherapy”; Cardoso et al., “Meditation in Health”; Ospina et al., “Meditation Practices for Health,” 28.

  36. Rönnegård, “Melétē in Early Christian Ascetic Texts.”

  37. Cf. Elias, “Sufi Dhikr”; Bashir, “Movement and Stillness.”

  38. A separate list of 1,531 “excluded and nonobtained studies” does include a considerable number of studies of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic practices, but apart from a few “nonobtained” cases, the quality of these studies was deemed insufficient according to the criteria for inclusion in Ospina et al.’s review.

  39. Ospina et al., “Meditation Practices for Health,” 47–48.

  40. West, Psychology of Meditation, quoted from Ospina et al., “Meditation Practices for Health,” 196.

  41. Sarah Shaw’s contribution to this volume shows how strongly many apparently technical objects of “insight meditation” are tied to Buddhist doctrine.

  42. Cf. Madhu Khanna’s and Geoffrey Samuel’s contributions to this volume, as well as Baker, “Cinnabar-Field Meditation in Korea”; Rydell-Johnsén, “Early Jesus Prayer”; Elias, “Sufi Dhikr”; and Bashir, “Movement and Stillness.”

  43. Cf. Eifring, “Meditative Pluralism in Hānshān Déqīng.” See also Morten Schlütter’s contribution to this volume.

  44. On meditations on death in Buddhism, see Shaw’s contribution to this volume, as well as Dessein, “Contemplation of the Repulsive.” On meditations on death in Christianity, see Rönnegård, “Melétē in Early Christian Ascetic Texts.”

  45. Cf. Harold D. Roth’s contribution to this volume, as well as Seppälä, “Meditation in the East Syrian Tradition.”

  46. For the two opposite views of mysticism, see Katz, Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis, and Forman, Problem of Pure Consciousness.

  47. Naranjo, “Meditation.”

  48. Kohn, Meditation Works, 4.

  49. Bäumer, “Creative Contemplation.”

  50. Lindquist, Methoden des Yoga.

  51. Dasgupta, Yoga Philosophy, 352ff.

  52. Eliade, Yoga, 78f., 99f.

  53. Davanger, “Natural Science of Meditation.”

  54. Brown, “Model for Concentrative Meditation,” 243.

  55. Lagopoulos, “Increased Theta and Alpha EEG Activity”; Travis and Shear, “Focused Attention.”

  56. Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation”; Manna et al., “Neural Correlates”; Davanger et al., “Meditation-Specific Prefrontal Cortical Activation.”

  57. Cahn and Polich, “Meditation States and Traits”; Lutz et al., “Attention Regulation”; Davidson and Goleman, “Role of Attention.”

  58. Cahn and Polich, “Meditation States and Traits”; Colzato et al., “Meditate to Create.”

  59. Xu et al., “Nondirective Meditation.”

  Glossary

  bào yī 抱一

  dāntián 丹田

  fǎ-yǔ 法語

  Hānshān Déqīng 憨山德清

  huǎnhuǎn 緩緩

  jíjí 急急

  jílì 極力

  Lǎozǐ 老子

  niàn 念

  qì 氣

  sànluàn 散亂

  shǒu yī 守一

  sǐshǒu huàtóu 死守話頭

 
“Tā qǐ tā de niàn, wǒ niàn wǒ de fó” 他起他的念， 我念我的佛

  wàng-niàn 妄念

  wàng-xiǎng 妄想

  yí niàn 一念

  Yùfēng Gǔkūn 玉峯古崑

  zá-niàn 雜念

  zhí yī 執一

  zhuólì 著力

  zuò-wàng 坐忘

  Bibliography

  Baker, Don. “Cinnabar-Field Meditation in Korea.” In Eifring, Meditation and Culture, 162–171.

  Bashir, Shahzad. “Movement and Stillness: The Practice of Sufi Dhikr in Fourteenth-Century Central Asia.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 201–211.

  Bäumer, Bettina. “‘Creative Contemplation’ (Bhāvanā) in the Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra.” In Eifring, Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Meditation, 57–67.

  Beary, John F., and Herbert Benson. “A Simple Psychophysiologic Technique Which Elicits the Hypometabolic Changes of the Relaxation Response.” Psychosomatic Medicine 36, no. 2 (March–April 1974): 115–120.

  Benson, Herbert. With Miriam Z. Klipper. The Relaxation Response. 1975. Updated and expanded ed. New York: HarperTorch, 2000.

  Brown, Daniel P. “A Model for the Levels of Concentrative Meditation.” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 25, no. 4 (1977): 236–273.

  Cahn, B. Rael, and John Polich. “Meditation States and Traits: EEG, ERP, and Neuroimaging Studies.” Psychological Bulletin 132, no. 2 (2006): 180–211.

  Cáo Yuè 曹越, and Kǒng Hóng 孔宏, eds. Hānshān lǎorén mèngyóu jí 憨山老人夢遊集. Originally 17th century. Beijing: Běijīng dàxué chūbǎnshè, 2005.

  Cardoso, Roberto, Eduardo de Souza, Luiz Camano, and José Roberto Leite. “Meditation in Health: An Operational Definition.” Brain Research Protocols 14 (2004): 58–60.

  Casiday, Augustine. “Imageless Prayer and Imagistic Meditation in Orthodox Christianity.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 173–185.

  Colzato, Lorenza S., Ayca Ozturk, and Bernhard Hommel. “Meditate to Create: The Impact of Focused-Attention and Open-Monitoring Training on Convergent and Divergent Thinking.” Frontiers in Psychology 3 (April 2012): 116.

  Conze, Edward. Buddhist Meditation. 1956. Reprint, Mineola, NY: Dover, 2003.

  Craven, J. L. “Meditation and Psychotherapy.” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 34, no. 7 (1989): 648–653.

  Dakwar, Elias, and Frances R. Levin. “The Emerging Role of Meditation in Addressing Psychiatric Illness: With a Focus on Substance Use Disorders.” Harvard Review of Psychiatry 17 (2009): 254–267.

  Dasgupta, S. N. Yoga Philosophy in Relation to Other Systems of Indian Thought. 1930. Reprint, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1974.

  Davanger, Svend. “The Natural Science of Meditation: A Black Box Perspective.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 227–236.

  Davanger, Svend, Are Holen, Øyvind Ellingsen, and Kenneth Hugdahl. “Meditation-Specific Prefrontal Cortical Activation during Acem Meditation: An fMRI Study.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 111, no. 1 (2010): 291–306.

  Davidson, Richard J., and Daniel J. Goleman. “The Role of Attention in Meditation and Hypnosis: A Psychobiological Perspective on Transformations of Consciousness.” International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 25, no. 4 (1977): 291–308.

  Dessein, Bart. “Contemplation of the Repulsive: Bones and Skulls as Objects of Meditation.” In Eifring, Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Meditation, 117–147.

  Eifring, Halvor, ed. Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Meditation: Cultural Histories. Oslo: Hermes, 2014.

  ———, ed. Meditation and Culture: The Interplay of Practice and Context. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.

  ———, ed. Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Cultural Histories. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

  ———. “Meditative Pluralism in Hānshān Déqīng.” In Eifring, Meditation and Culture, 102–127.

  ———. “Spontaneous Thoughts in Meditative Traditions.” In Eifring, Meditation and Culture, 200–215.

  Eliade, Mircea. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Translated by Willard R. Trask. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.

  Elias, Jamal. “Sufi Dhikr between Meditation and Prayer.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 189–200.

  Ferrer, Jorge N., and Jacob H. Sherman. “Introduction: The Participatory Turn in Spirituality, Mysticism, and Religious Studies.” In The Participatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religious Studies, edited by Jorge N. Ferrer and Jacob H. Sherman, 1–80. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008.

  Forman, Robert K. C. The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

  Goleman, Daniel. “Meditation and Consciousness: An Asian Approach to Mental Health.” American Journal of Psychotherapy 30 (1976): 41–54.

  Guǎngguì 廣貴 (fl. ca. 1600). “Liánbāng shīxuǎn” 蓮邦詩選, Xùzàngjīng 續藏經 62, no. 1207. Accessed December 20, 2012. http://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/X62/1207_001.htm.

  Hodgson, Phyllis, ed. The Cloud of Unknowing and The Book of Privy Counselling. Originally 14th century. 1944. Reprint, London: Oxford University Press, 1973.

  Holen, Are. “Acem Meditation and Other Meditation Practices.” In Acem Meditation: An Introductory Companion, edited by Are Holen and Halvor Eifring, 59–66. 2nd ed. Oslo: Dyade Press, 2013.

  ———. Inner Strength: The Free Mental Attitude in Acem Meditation. 2nd ed. Oslo: Acem Publishing, 2007.

  Katz, Steven T., ed. Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.

  Kohn, Livia. “The Daoist Adaptation of Buddhist Insight Meditation.” In Eifring, Meditation and Culture, 11–23.

  ———. Meditation Works: In the Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Traditions. Magdalena, NM: Three Pines Press, 2008.

  ———. “Taoist Insight Meditation: The Tang Practice of Neiguan.” In Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, edited by Livia Kohn, 191–222. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

  Koshikawa, F., and M. Ichii. “An Experiment on Classification Methods of Meditation Methods: On Procedures, Goals and Effects.” In Comparative and Psychological Study on Meditation, edited by Y. Haruki, Y. Ishii, and M. Suzuki, 213–224. Delft: Eburon, 1996.

  Lagopoulos, Jim, Jian Xu, Inge Rasmussen, Alexandra Vik, Gin S. Malhi, Carl F. Eliassen, Ingrid E. Arntsen, Jardar G. Sæther, Stig Hollup, Are Holen, Svend Davanger, and Øyvind Ellingsen. “Increased Theta and Alpha EEG Activity during Nondirective Meditation.” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 15, no. 11 (2009): 1187–1192.

  Lindquist, Sigurd. Die Methoden des Yoga. Lund: Håkan Ohlssons Buchdruckerei, 1932.

  Lutz, A., H. A. Slagter, J. D. Dunne, and R. J. Davidson. “Attention Regulation and Monitoring in Meditation.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 12, no. 4 (April 2008): 163–169.

  Manna, A., A. Raffone, M. G. Perrucci, D. Nardo, A. Ferretti, A. Tartaro, A. Londei, C. Del Gratta, M. O. Belardinelli, and G. L. Romani. “Neural Correlates of Focused Attention and Cognitive Monitoring in Meditation.” Brain Research Bulletin 82, nos. 1–2 (March 2010): 46–56.

  Müller, Edward, ed. The Atthasālinī: Buddhaghosa’s Commentary on the “Dhammasaṅgaṇi.” London: Oxford University Press, 1897.

  Naranjo, Claudio. “Meditation: Its Spirit and Techniques.” In On the Psychology of Meditation, edited by Claudio Naranjo and Robert E. Ornstein, 1–132. New York: The Viking Press, 1971.

  Nesvold, Anders, Morten W. Fagerland, Svend Davanger, Øyvind Ellingsen, Erik E. Solberg, Are Holen, Knut Sevre, and Dan Atar. “Increased Heart Rate Variability during Nondirective Meditation.” European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 19 (2012): 773–780.

  Ospina, Maria B., Kenneth Bond, Mohammad Karkhaneh, Lisa Tjosvold, Ben Vandermeer, Yuanyuan Liang, Liza Bialy, Nicola Hooton, Nina Buscemi, Donna M. Dryden, and Terry P. Klassen. “Meditation Practices for Health: State of t
he Research.” Evidence Report / Technology Assessment no. 155. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

  Palmer, G. E. H., Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, transl. and eds. Philokalia: The Complete Text Compiled by St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of Corinth. London: Faber and Faber, 1979–1999.

  Perez de Albeniz, A., and J. Holmes. “Meditation: Concepts, Effects and Uses in Therapy.” International Journal of Psychotherapy 5, no. 1 (2000): 49–58.

  Raffone, A., and N. Srinivasan. “The Exploration of Meditation in the Neuroscience of Attention and Consciousness.” Cognitive Processing 11 (2010): 1–7.

  Rönnegård, Per. “Melétē in Early Christian Ascetic Texts.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 79–92.

  Rydell-Johnsén, Henrik. “The Early Jesus Prayer and Meditation in Greco-Roman Philosophy.” In Eifring, Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, 93–106.

  Seppälä, Serafim. “Meditation in the East Syrian Tradition.” In Eifring, Meditation in the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Traditions, 107–121.

  Shapiro, Deane H., Jr. “Overview: Clinical and Physiological Comparison of Meditation with Other Self-Control Strategies.” In Meditation: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., and Roger N. Walsh, 5–12. New York: Aldine, 1984.

  Sperduti, Marco, Pénélope Martinelli, and Pascale Piolino. “A Neurocognitive Model of Meditation Based on Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) Meta-Analysis.” Consciousness and Cognition 21 (2012): 269–276.

  Tin, Maung, transl. The Expositor (Atthasālinī): Buddhaghosa’s Commentary on the “Dhammsangaṇi,” the First Book of the “Abhidhamma Piṭaka.” Vol. 1. London: Oxford University Press, 1920.

  Travis, Fred, and Jonathan Shear. “Focused Attention, Open Monitoring and Automatic Self-Transcending: Categories to Organize Meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese Traditions.” Consciousness and Cognition 19 (2010): 1110–1118.

  Walsh, R., and S. L. Shapiro. “The Meeting of Meditative Disciplines and Western Psychology.” American Psychologist 61, no. 3 (2006): 227–239.

  West, Michael A., ed. The Psychology of Meditation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.