Doktorat--Philosophische Fakultät 1--Universität Zürich, [1992?].

Västerländsk mindfulnessmeditation har sina rötter i tusenårig buddhistisk tradition, främst genom vipassana- och zentraditionerna. Senaste tiden har mindfulness ökat i popularitet och blivit en accepterad klinisk metod i former som mindfulness based stress reduction. Möjligheten att undersöka dess effekter genom neurovetenskapliga metoder bidrar med intressant och viktig forskning om mänskligt välbefinnande. Dock har tidigare studier visat på bristande samstämmighet vad gäller resultat och metod. Uppsatsen är en litteraturstudie där det huvudsakliga syftet är att utifrån nyare studier undersöka de tydligaste effekterna på hjärnfunktion och struktur av långvarigt praktiserande av mindfulness utifrån vipassana- och zenmeditation. Uppsatsen syftar även till att redogöra för samstämmigheten i dessa nyare studier. Detta gäller resultat men också metod. Studierna tyder på minskad aktivitet i prefrontala cortex (PFC), posteriora cingulum cortex (PCC) och minskad aktivitet mellan PFC och regioner inom default mode network(DMN) som anteriora cingulum cortex (ACC). Studier visar även ökad aktivitet från parietala-occipitala området. Resultaten tyder på förbättrad kroppsmedvetenhet och ökad sensorisk klarhet, ökad förmåga till uppmärksamhetsreglering och inhibition av automatiska responser samt minskning av och ökad kontroll över det spontana flödet av tankar och en förändrad självuppfattning. Jag finner att resultaten var samstämmiga beträffande minskat involverande av frontala och parietala områden, samt svagare förbindelser mellan dessa (dlPFC-IPL, PFC-dACC). Gemensamt för studierna är också att mindfulnessmeditation tycks påverka DMN och områden kopplade till det självrefererande processandet. Det är dock inte klart hur predispositioner inverkat på resultaten och det är något för framtida forskning att klargöra.

The aim of this dissertation is to reflect on technologies of the self, a term coined by Michel Foucault to study western practices of self-formation. Influenced by his work on subjectivity and by Science and Technology Studies (STS), I explore two forms of meditation – Vipassana meditation in the tradition of S.N. Goenka and Thich Nhat Hanh’s practices of mindfulness – in order to analyze the entanglements between technologies, associations and subjectivity. Two research questions guided this study. First, how do Vipassana and Zen assemblages bring forth subjective transformations? Second, what are the politics of meditation practice, considering that Vipassana and Zen perform particular paradigms of subjectivity and aim at transforming the “social”? In order to address these questions, I relied on qualitative research methods, developing a multifaceted methodology that included participant observation at four meditation retreats, semi-structured interviews with meditators, the analysis of relevant literature and my own personal experiences as a beginner. I argue that the mechanisms of subjectification employed by meditation rely on two main devices: the transformation of habitual webs of associations, including couplings between selves, other humans, nonhumans and spaces and the installation of new automatisms. Vipassana and Zen technologies invite subjects to become aware of particular automatisms – regular ways of eating, sitting, walking and breathing - and to direct their attention towards them in novel ways, installing specific ways of managing their selves (stopping and breathing whenever they hear the sounds of bells; developing an attitude of equanimity when they are looking for sensations in their bodies). Vipassana and Zen are mediators that generate new experiences and ways of being informed by meditation, as well as a number of social applications that rely on the paradigmatic changes enacted by these practices. Informed by the dualism between modern and nonmodern, I argue that Zen and Vipassana can be understood as technologies of the nonmodern self (Pickering, 3 2010), suspending the dualism between body and mind, self and others, humans and nonhumans, contributing towards the establishment of nondual paradigms of selfhood and innovative forms of social organization that include new ways of performing human reformation, social action and humanenvironment couplings. The theoretical contributions of this dissertation are threefold. First, I want to extend current STS scholarly work on the self. Second, I want to contribute towards a post-humanist understanding of meditation assemblages. Finally, I am informed by Michel Foucault’s insights on technologies of the self to study meditation, but instead of focusing on the history or genealogy of the western self, I analyze a number of devices of subjectification mobilized to operate subjective changes and to transform the social.

In the past decade the healing potential of mindfulness and its practice has gained widespread recognition across various health disciplines and institutions, especially mental health. Past and current research on mindfulness interventions have focused almost exclusively on the beneficial effects for clients. However, there is a serious shortage of research on how mindfulness practice influences therapists and their work. The current study looked specifically at how the influence of mindfulness meditation (MM) was experienced by therapists in the context of their work. An interpretive description methodology was used to guide the research process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six therapists who practiced MM regularly. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted commonalities and differences among participants’ perceptions of the influence of MM on their work. Eleven themes emerged from the data analysis. Thematic findings were considered in relation to key issues in psychotherapy, master therapist traits and other contemporary qualitative research addressing the influence of MM on practitioners. The results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications for future research, therapist training and clinical practice.

In the past decade the healing potential of mindfulness and its practice has gained widespread recognition across various health disciplines and institutions, especially mental health. Past and current research on mindfulness interventions have focused almost exclusively on the beneficial effects for clients. However, there is a serious shortage of research on how mindfulness practice influences therapists and their work. The current study looked specifically at how the influence of mindfulness meditation (MM) was experienced by therapists in the context of their work. An interpretive description methodology was used to guide the research process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six therapists who practiced MM regularly. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted commonalities and differences among participants’ perceptions of the influence of MM on their work. Eleven themes emerged from the data analysis. Thematic findings were considered in relation to key issues in psychotherapy, master therapist traits and other contemporary qualitative research addressing the influence of MM on practitioners. The results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications for future research, therapist training and clinical practice.

In the past decade the healing potential of mindfulness and its practice has gained widespread recognition across various health disciplines and institutions, especially mental health. Past and current research on mindfulness interventions have focused almost exclusively on the beneficial effects for clients. However, there is a serious shortage of research on how mindfulness practice influences therapists and their work. The current study looked specifically at how the influence of mindfulness meditation (MM) was experienced by therapists in the context of their work. An interpretive description methodology was used to guide the research process. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six therapists who practiced MM regularly. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts highlighted commonalities and differences among participants’ perceptions of the influence of MM on their work. Eleven themes emerged from the data analysis. Thematic findings were considered in relation to key issues in psychotherapy, master therapist traits and other contemporary qualitative research addressing the influence of MM on practitioners. The results are discussed with an emphasis on the practical implications for future research, therapist training and clinical practice. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Syftet med studien var att undersöka varför människor söker sig till Vipassanakurser, vad de upplever under kursen samt om och i så fall hur livet påverkats efter kursen. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta deltagare som medverkat i minst en tiodagars Vipassanakurs. Gunnar Karlssons (1995) Empirical Phenomenology Psychological Method (EPP) användes som analysmetod. Genom analysen framkom fem teman som belyser drömmen om förändring, processen deltagarna genomgår under kursen med tre underteman: (1) obehagliga och behagliga upplevelser, (2) förändring och (3) förhållningssätt i form av motstånd/strävan samt acceptans, reflektioner, insikter efter kursen samt paradoxen. Resultatet visar att de som söker sig till en Vipassanakurs har en dröm om förändring, att antingen komma bort från något, ändra något i sin verklighet eller att uppnå något nytt. Deltagarna går igenom en process under kursen som innefattar obehagliga och behagliga upplevelser. Förhållningssätten till upplevelserna är motstånd/strävan som ofta leder till ett lidande och acceptans som karaktäriseras av frid och lugn. I alla delar av studien är förändring en röd tråd genom deltagarnas berättelser. Deltagarna gör reflektioner om de förhållningssätt och regler som råder på kursen, bland annat över hur tystanden upplevs och jämförelser med sekter. Insikter efter kursen ger både nya insikter om livet i stort och nya livsstilsvanor. Det sista temat är paradoxen som beskriver flertalet deltagares svårigheter att upprätthålla meditationen efter kursen trots erfarenheten av de goda effekter de märkt av meditationen under kursen. / The purpose of this study was to investigate why people attend to silent meditation courses, what they experience and if their lives are affected after the course. The data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with eight participants who had attended at least one ten days Vipassana course. The Empirical Phenomenology Psychological Method (EPP) of Gunnar Karlsson (1995) was used for analysis method. From the analysis, five themes emerged: dream of change, the process that they go through with three under themes: unpleasant and pleasant experience, change and approach either in form of resistance/striving and acceptance, reflections, insights after the course and the paradox. The result shows that those who attend in a Vipassana course have a dream of change, either to get away from something, change something or to reach something new. The participants are going through a process during the course that involves unpleasant and pleasant experiences. The approaches that emerge are resistance/striving that leads to suffering and acceptance that is characterised by peace. Through the study change is a returning theme in the participants stories. The participants are making reflections about approaches and rules that need to be applied during the course, e.g. how silence is experienced and comparisons to cults. Insights after the course arise about life in general and new life styles. The last theme is the paradox that describes the majority of the participant’s difficulties to maintain the meditation after the course despite the experience of the positive effects they noticed from the meditation during the course.

The claims of the traditional texts and teachers of Buddhist meditation include the enhancement of mental health. Twenty five meditators sitting a ten day retreat in Vipassana and Metta meditation were measured on a compassion scale and an androgyny index. The androgyny index was used to measure mental health. Compassion scores for all meditators increased slightly after the retreat. Experienced meditators had significantly higher scores than inexperienced meditators. Regardless of previous experience, meditators with high compassion scores significantly increased in androgyny after the retreat. The traditional claims for the enhancement of mental health are therefore supported by these results.

This thesis aims to explore the doctrine of sukkhavipassaka (“dry-insight practitioner”) in Pāli Buddhism. The focus of the thesis is to utilize the canonical and commentarial sources of the various Buddhist schools to evaluate the position of this doctrine in the history of early Buddhism. Since the early 20th century the sukkhavipassaka doctrine and its practice have been reemphasized by eminent meditation monks in Burma, and later they spread to other Buddhist countries in Asia and beyond. Some scholars, nevertheless, have cast doubts on the authenticity of the sukkhavipassaka doctrine. They argue that it is a later development, not recorded in the Pāli Nikāyas since the form-sphere jhāna (Skt. dhyāna) is always necessary for the realization of arahantship, or even for stream-entry, the first stage of enlightenment. The first part of this thesis investigates the concept of the sukkhavipassaka in the four Nikāyas. Many suttas in the Pāli Nikāyas imply an acknowledgement of noble beings who lack form-sphere jhānas; also many meditative techniques described in the suttas can be practised in the so-called dry-insight way. However, it is in the Pāli commentarial literature, which is discussed in the second part of this thesis that the sukkhavipassaka doctrine appears in a full-fledged form. The Pāli commentaries not only specify the concentration that dry-insight practitioners use to develop insight knowledge, but also reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the dry-insight meditative approach. In the third part of this thesis, the canonical and commentarial materials related to the Susīma Sutta which are preserved in schools other than the Theravāda are investigated. This thesis reveals that the concept of arahants who lack the first form-sphere jhāna is accepted not only by the Theravāda but also by the Sarvāstivāda, the *Satyasiddhisāstra, and the Yogacārabhūmiśāstra. Since various Buddhist schools in India unanimously advocate the idea that there are arahants who have not achieved the form-sphere jhāna, this research concludes that the dry-insight meditative approach and dry-insight arahants are not an invention by Theravādin commentators, but a common heritage which was most probably handed down from the time of the Buddha and then shared by various Buddhist schools.

In this bachelor’s thesis I have focused on the question why people who live in secular societies use insight or vipassana meditation. The study is based on the rational choice theory developed by Rodney Stark. I have used an inductive qualitative method including e-mail interviews with practitioners of vipassana meditation. The study has shown why some people start the practice and how people’s expectations of vipassana meditation can differ in what they wanted from their practice. The study showed that practitioners and the society that surrounds them influenced each other. The study highlighted the way vipassana meditation was practiced on a secular basis.