The concern of this investigation is to explore a range of contemporary experiences of the Buddhist Meditation Practice of three South Africans of Western origin and to understand what factors were involved in their meditation practice. The number of people practising Buddhist Meditation in this country is gradually increasing and retreat centres for the meditation practice are emerging at various places in this country. A wide range of experiences accompany the meditation practice but very little research has been done amongst adults to study this phenomenon. Initially, in this study, the researcher practised Buddhist Meditation by participating in a meditation programme at the Buddhist Retreat in Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal, for twenty-one days, to familiarize herself with the experiential knowledge of Buddhist Meditation. This was done by the researcher compiling a detailed diary of the meditative experiences and various themes were drawn from it. The data collected was compared and validated with contemporary research findings on Buddhist Meditation. This data was then used to formulate some of the questions for the semi-structured interviews that were conducted subsequently. Three adult subjects of Western origin, one male and two females were interviewed. Each subject had been meditating for an average period of ten years and can therefore be regarded as long-term meditators. They had practised Buddhist meditation in groups at various retreat centres around the country and also individually at home. The average age of the subjects was forty-five years, with the youngest subject being forty years old and the oldest being fifty-three years old. All three subjects were professional people employed at a university in South Africa and all were able to articulate their meditative experiences very well. Since the research project involved the study and exploration of the human experience related to Buddhist Meditation, it was more appropriate to use the phenomenological case-study approach rather than a measurement orientated procedure. The descriptive, phenomenological perspective is more appropriate for the elucidation of the data collected. It gives greater and clearer meaning to the human experience of meditation that is being investigated. The results of the study can best be summarised by stating that all three subjects undertook the Buddhist Meditation Practice because of their awareness of an existential conflict in their lives. Another reason for practising meditation was for personal development. The study also shows that a variety of effects of the meditation practice was experienced by the subjects. These included experiencing feelings of calmness, peace and relaxation, transformation of consciousness, heightened or increased awareness of certain external and internal stimuli, conscious of the changing nature of experience and experiences of objective consciousness.

published_or_final_version / Buddhist Studies / Master / Master of Buddhist Studies

published_or_final_version / Buddhist Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Buddhist Studies / Master / Master of Buddhist Studies

This study concerns the investigation of the mind training method called Lojong, as portrayed by the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The emphasis is placed on the practical application of the philosophical tenets underlying this set of routines. Some of the issues to be addressed are: the use of imagery in the process of emotional healing, the ethical concerns that arise in regards to interpreting key concepts pertaining to the Mahayana Buddhist world view, the importance of individuality and the problem of selflessness in practices that deal with alleviating negative emotions, and the suitability of the specific practices for the contemporary western female practitioner. In consideration of the pragmatic nature of this study, conclusions have been drawn towards the possible changes that might be made, when a form of training devised for a distinct group of practitioners, is extended to a more diversified population.

No description available.

This thesis is composed of two parts, one a translation, the other a commentary on the material that has been translated---a set of three well known identically entitled works by the famous Indian Buddhist scholar, Kamalasila (c. 740--795 C.E.). The Bhavanakramas are here translated from both Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. The commentary takes the form of an extended critical Prologue to the texts and is centred around an examination of the notions of meditation and insight as found therein. The first chapter of the commentary examines the various terms for meditation found in the texts and argues for a specific way of translating them that regards as normative only one of these, that is, bhavana . The argument is made that if one is to take the basic Buddhist distinction between intellectual and experiential wisdom seriously, no other concept of meditation will prove satisfactory. The concept of bhavana is contrasted with that of dhyana, and explained in light of other important terms, notably samadhi, samatha and vipasyana. Two different conceptions of samadhi are identified as existing within the texts, one corresponding with dhyana and one with bhavana. The latter is identified as predominant. This conception holds that meditation is not to be principally identified as non-conceptual in nature, but rather encompasses both nonconceptual states and conceptual processes. These latter, however, are not to be identified with ordinary reasoning processes (cintamayi prajna) but rather with a form of experiential knowing (bhavanamayi prajna, vipasyana) that is conceptual in nature. It is in accordance with this conception that the actual translation of the texts has been undertaken. / The second chapter of the commentary examines the concept of insight (vipasyana) in light of the earlier findings. Here the text is analyzed for its explanations of its insight, understood in terms of the important technical term bhutapratyavekṣa . Here an argument is made for translating this term in a particular manner consistent with the conception of meditation outlined in Chapter 1. The term is explored in light of key passages containing descriptions of the cultivation of wisdom as well as in light of other important technical terms appearing in the texts, notably dharmapravicaya, smṛti and manasikara. Chapter 2 closes with a discussion of Kamalasila's ideas of sravaka insight meditation (vipasyana) and how it differs from that of the Mahayana. Most notable in this regard is the suggestion that Kamalasila may have regarded sravaka insight practices (vipasyana) as instances of samatha meditation. In the third chapter the suggestion is made that such considerations could lead to the development of an important area of future research into the differences among diverse Indian Buddhist traditions. The concluding section of Chapter 3 contains a summary of the concrete findings of this analysis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed September 18, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Studies in Religion, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

D.Litt et Phil. / The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a contemplation meditation intervention aimed at developing great compassion on the psychological well-being of a group of adolescents. A supporting aim of this study was to elucidate conceptualisations of psychological well-being and contemplation meditation (Mahayana Buddhist analytical meditation and placement meditation) theory. The subjects of happiness and well-being have been focused upon in the East for thousands of years in philosophical theorisation and methodology (e.g. Buddhism) (Gyatso, 1995, 2000, 2001a, 2002a, 2005, 2007, 2010). In the West, although comparatively lagging behind, there has been increased interest in these topics since the advent of positive psychology (Compton, 2005; Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Ryff & Singer, 2008). In the past two decades, Eastern wisdom has also become more incorporated into Western psychology. For example, mindfulness meditation has been extensively integrated into Western stress reduction and clinical therapies (e.g. Kabat-Zinn, 1982, 2003, 2009; Schroevers & Brandsma, 2010). Less is known, however, about other forms of meditation, particularly contemplation meditation. Specifically, Mahayana Buddhist theory explains that contemplation and meditation on compassion and wisdom leads to permanent inner peace and optimal happiness, which has largely been overlooked in psychology. Furthermore, regarding Western positive mental health interventions, there is still limited research on how to foster well-being specifically in adolescents. Moreover, Huebner and Diener (2008) have noted that subjective well-being research in adults exceeds subjective well-being research in youth. Additionally, there is minimal research on psychological well-being as understood from the eudaimonic perspective, in comparison to hedonic subjective well-being (Keyes, 2009). The present study thus attempts to expand knowledge on increasing psychological well-being in adolescents by also drawing on Eastern theorisation and methodology.

No description available.