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Meditation

Various depictions of : Vivekananda, the Buddhist , Taoist Baduanjin , the Christian St Francis, the Stoic sage Epictetus, and Muslim Sufis in .

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as or focusing the 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 elusive to define, as practices vary both between traditions and within them.

Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions. The earliest records of meditation (dhyana) are found in the , and meditation exerts a salient role in and .[7] Since the 19th century, Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have also found application in non- spiritual contexts, such as business and health.

Meditation may significantly reduce stress, , , and [8] and enhance peace, ,[9] self-concept, and well-being.[10][11][12][13] Research is ongoing to better understand the on health (psychological, neurological, and cardiovascular) and other areas. Etymology

The English meditation is derived from Old French meditation, from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari, meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder."[14][15] The use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise meditation process goes back to the 12th-century monk Guigo II.[15][16]

Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices, referred to as dhyāna in Hinduism and Buddhism and which comes from the root dhyai, meaning to contemplate or meditate.[17][18] The term "meditation" in English may also refer to practices from Islamic ,[19] or other traditions such as Jewish and Christian .[4]

Definitions

Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers a wide range of different 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][20] These can include almost anything claimed to train the attention of mind or teach calm or .[21] There remains no definition of necessary and sufficient criteria for meditation that has achieved universal or widespread acceptance within the modern scientific community. 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."[22]:6 A 2009 study noted a "persistent lack of consensus in the literature" and a "seeming intractability of defining meditation."[23]:135

Dictionary definitions

Dictionaries give both the original Latin meaning of "think[ing] deeply about (something)";[6] as well as the popular usage of " focusing one's mind for a while," [6] "the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed," [24] and "to engage in mental (such as concentrating on one's or repetition of a ) to reach a heightened level of spiritual awareness."[5]

Scholarly definitions

In modern psychological research, meditation has been defined and characterized in a variety of ways. Many of these emphasize the role of attention[4][1][2][3] and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "discursive thinking"[note 1] or "logic"[note 2] mind[note 3] to achieve a deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state.

Bond et al. (2009) identified criteria for defining practice as meditation "for use in a comprehensive of the therapeutic use of meditation," using "a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research" who were also trained in diverse but empirically highly studied (Easternderived or clinical) forms of meditation[note 4]:

three main criteria [...] as essential to any meditation practice: using a defined technique, logic relaxation,[note 5] and a self-induced state/mode.

Other criteria deemed important [but not essential] involve 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.[23]:135

[...] It is plausible that meditation is best thought of as a natural category of techniques best captured by 'family resemblances' [...] or by the related 'prototype' model of concepts."[23]:135[note 6]

Several other definitions of meditation have been used by influential modern reviews of research on meditation across multiple traditions:[note 7]

Walsh & Shapiro (2006): "[M]editation refers to a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness 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): "[M]editation 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): "We define meditation... as a stylized mental technique... repetitively practiced to attain a subjective that is frequently described as very restful, silent, and of heightened alertness, often characterized as blissful"[3]:415 Goleman (1988): "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

Separation of technique from tradition

Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions;[27] and theories and practice can differ within a tradition.[28] Taylor noted that even within a such as "Hindu" or "Buddhist," schools and individual teachers may teach distinct meditation types.[29]:2 Ornstein noted that "Most techniques of meditation do not exist as solitary practices but are only artificially separable from an entire system of practice and ."[30]:143 For instance, while meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage the codified rules and live together in in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices.

Forms and techniques

Classifications

In the West, meditation techniques have sometimes been thought of in two broad categories: focused (or concentrative) meditation and open monitoring (or mindfulness) meditation.[31]

The 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.[23]:130[note 8]

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.[32][33]

Open monitoring methods include mindfulness, , and other awareness states.[34]

Practices using both methods[35][36][37] include vipassana (which uses as a preparation) and (calm-abiding).[38][39]

In "No thought" methods, "the practitioner is fully alert, aware, and in control of their faculties but does not experience any unwanted thought activity."[40] This contrasts with the common meditative approaches of being detached from, and non-judgmental of, thoughts, but not of aiming for thoughts to cease.[41] In the meditation practice of the spiritual movement, the focus is on thoughts stopping.[42] Clear light yoga also aims at a state of no mental content, as does the no thought ( nian) state taught by [43] and Yaoshan Weiyan.

One proposal is that transcendental meditation and possibly other techniques be grouped as an "automatic self-transcending" set of techniques.[44] Different typologies include dividing meditation into concentrative, generative, receptive, and reflective practices.[45] Frequency

The Transcendental Meditation technique recommends the practice of 20 minutes twice per day.[46] Some techniques suggest less time,[35] especially when starting meditation,[47] and has quoted research saying benefits can be achieved with a practice of only 8 minutes per day.[48] Research shows improvement in meditation time with simple oral and video training.[49] Some meditators practice for much longer,[50][51], particularly when on a course or .[52] Some meditators find practice best in the hours before .[53]

Posture

Asanas and positions such as the full-lotus, half-lotus, Burmese, Seiza, and kneeling positions are popular in Buddhism, , and Hinduism,[54] although other postures such as , supine (lying), and standing are also used. Meditation is also sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin while doing a simple task mindfully, known as , or while lying down, known as savasana.[55][56]

Use of Young children practicing meditation Some have traditions of using as tools in a Peruvian school devotional meditation.[57][58][59] Most prayer beads and Christian consist of pearls or beads linked together by a thread.[57][58] The Roman Catholic is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. The Hindu mala has 108 beads (the figure 108 in itself having spiritual significance) and those used in Gaudiya , the Hare tradition, Jainism, and Buddhist prayer beads.[60][61] Each is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala.[61] The Muslim misbaha has 99 beads. There is also quite a variance when it comes to materials used for beads. Beads made from seeds of trees are considered sacred by devotees of Siva, while followers of revere the that comes from the tulsi plant.[62]

Striking the meditator

The Buddhist literature has many stories of Enlightenment being attained through disciples being struck by their masters. According to T. Griffith Foulk, the encouragement stick was an integral part of the practice:

According to an unspoken etiquette in the Rinzai where I trained in the mid-1970s, 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.[63]

Using a narrative

Richard Davidson has expressed the that having a narrative can help the maintenance of daily practice.[48] For instance, he prostrates to the teachings and meditates "not primarily for my benefit, but for the benefit of others."[48] Religious and spiritual meditation

Indian religions

Hinduism

There are many schools and styles of meditation within Hinduism.[64] In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism, Yoga and Dhyana are practiced to realize the union of one's eternal self or , one's . In Advaita , this is equated with the omnipresent and non-dual . In the dualistic Yoga school and , the Self is called

Purusha, a pure separate from matter. Depending on the

A statue of Patañjali practicing The earliest clear references to meditation in Hindu literature are in dhyana in the Padma- the middle and the (including the at Yogpeeth. ).[65][66] According to , the earlier is describing meditation when it states that "having tradition, the liberation event is named , vimukti, or . become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (ātman) within oneself".[64]

One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali's Yoga (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya, which outlines eight limbs leading to kaivalya ("aloneness"). These are ethical discipline (), rules (), 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 (forceful yoga) compendiums like the , the development of yoga as a major form of meditation, and . Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga , which uses Hatha Yoga and Vedanta .

Jainism

Jain meditation and spiritual practices system were referred to as -path. It has three parts called the "Three Jewels": right perception and faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.[67] Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attaining salvation, and taking the soul to complete freedom.[68] It aims to reach and remain in the pure state of the soul, which is believed to be pure consciousness, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower- seer (Gyata-Drashta). can be broadly categorized as Dharmya Dhyana and Shukla Dhyana.

Jainism uses meditation techniques such as pindāstha-dhyāna, padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, and savīryadhyāna. In padāstha dhyāna, one focuses on a mantra.[69] A mantra could be either a combination of core letters or words on or themes. There is a rich tradition of Mantra in Jainism. All Jain followers, irrespective of their , whether or The āsana in which is said Svetambara, practice mantra. Mantra chanting is an important part to have attained omniscience of the daily lives of Jain monks and followers. Mantra chanting can be done either loudly or silently in mind.[69] Contemplation is a very old and important meditation technique. The practitioner meditates deeply on subtle facts. In agnya vichāya, one contemplates seven points – life and non-life, the inflow, bondage, stoppage, removal of , and the final accomplishment of liberation. In papaya vichāya, one contemplates the incorrect insights one indulges, which eventually develops the right understanding. In vipaka vichāya, one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of . In sansathan vichāya, one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of the soul.[69]

Buddhism

Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the and philosophy of Buddhism. Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and .[note 9] The closest words for meditation in the classical of Buddhism are bhāvanā,[note 10] jhāna/dhyāna,[note 11] 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 () – 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 .[note 12] practicing Most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school- specific.[note 13] According to the and commentatorial traditions and the Tibetan tradition,[70] the Buddha identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice:

"serenity" or "tranquility" (: 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).[71] Through the meditative development of serenity, one can weaken the obscuring hindrances and bring the mind to a collected, pliant, and still state (). This quality of mind then supports the development of insight and wisdom (), which is the quality of the mind that can "clearly see" (vipassana) the of phenomena. What exactly is to be seen varies within the Buddhist traditions.[70] 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. Through the release of the hindrances and ending of craving through the meditative development of insight, one gains liberation.[72]

Buddhist meditation saw increasing popularity due to on Asian Buddhism and western lay interest in Zen and the . The spread of Buddhist meditation to the paralleled the spread of . The modernized concept of mindfulness (based on the Buddhist term ) and related meditative practices have led to mindfulness-based therapies.

Sikhism

In , (meditation) and good deeds are necessary to achieve the devotee's Spiritual goals;[73] without good deeds, meditation is futile. When meditate, they aim to feel 's presence and emerge in the .[74] God's divine will or order allows a devotee to desire to begin to meditate.[75]Nām Japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God.[76]

East Asian religions

Taoism

Taoist meditation has developed techniques including concentration, visualization, cultivation, contemplation, and mindfulness meditations in its long history. Traditional Daoist meditative practices were influenced by from around the 5th century and influenced Traditional Chinese medicine and the .

Livia Kohn distinguishes three basic types of : "concentrative," "insight," and "visualization."[77] 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 (618–907) Taoist masters based upon the "Gathering the Light," Buddhist practice of Vipassanā "insight" or "wisdom" meditation. Cun 存 (lit. Taoist meditation from "exist; be present; survive") has a sense of "to cause to exist; to make The Secret of the Golden present" in the meditation techniques popularized by the Taoist Shangqing Flower and Lingbao Schools. A meditator visualizes or actualizes solar and lunar , lights, and within their body, which supposedly results in health and longevity, even 仙/ 仚/僊, "."

The (late 4th century BCE) essay "Inward training" is the oldest received writing on qi cultivation and breath-control meditation techniques.[78] 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 various disturbances. ... This is called "revolving the vital breath": Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly."[79] The (c. 3rd century BCE) Taoist records or "sitting forgetting" meditation. asked his disciple 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."[80]

Taoist meditation practices are central to Chinese martial arts (and some Japanese martial arts), especially the qi-related "internal martial arts." Some well-known examples are "guiding and pulling," qigong "life- ," "internal exercises," "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" [37] versus "stillness in movement" referring to a state of meditative calm in taijiquan forms. Also, the unification or middle road forms such as Wuxingheqidao seek to unify internal alchemical forms with more external forms.

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

Judaism has made use of meditative practices for thousands of years.[81][82] For instance, in the , the lasuach) in the field – a term understood by all commentators) "לשוח" patriarch Isaac is described as going as some type of meditative practice (Genesis 24:63).[83] Similarly, there are indications throughout the Tanakh (the Hebrew ) that the prophets meditated.[84] In the Old Testament, there are two Hebrew ש י ח ה :to sigh or murmur, but also to meditate, and sîḥâ (Hebrew ,( הגה :words for meditation: hāgâ (Hebrew ), to muse or rehearse in one's mind.[85]

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 , " to direct their hearts to the Omnipresent One (Mishnah Berakhot 5:1). Other early rabbinic texts include instructions for visualizing the Divine Presence (B. Talmud Sanhedrin 22a) and breathing with conscious gratitude for every breath (Genesis Rabba 14:9).[86] One of the best-known types of meditation in early Jewish was the Merkabah work, from the root /R-K-B/ meaning "chariot" (of God).[85] Some meditative traditions have been encouraged in Kabbalah, and some have described Kabbalah as an inherently meditative study field.[87][88][89] Kabbalistic meditation often involves the mental visualization of the supernal realms. has argued that Kabbalistic meditation's ultimate purpose is to understand and cleave to the Divine.[85]

Meditation has been of interest to a wide variety of modern Jews. In modern Jewish practice, one of the best ,("alternatively transliterated as "hisbodedus , התבודדות) "known meditative practices is called "hitbodedut and is explained in Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and Mussar writings, especially the Hasidic method of Rabbi Nachman [meaning the state of being alone.[90 ,( ב ו ד ד) "of Breslav. The word derives from the Hebrew word "boded Another Hasidic system is the Habad method of "hisbonenus," related to the Sephirah of "Binah," Hebrew for understanding.[91] This practice is the analytical, reflective process of understanding a mystical concept that follows and internalizes 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 to improve moral character.[92] Conservative rabbi Alan Lew has emphasized meditation playing an important role in the process of teshuvah (repentance).[93][94] Jewish Buddhists have adopted Buddhist styles of meditation.[95]

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 of God.[97] The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditari, which means to concentrate. is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (e.g., a biblical scene involving and the Virgin Mary) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the .[98] 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.[99] The Rosary is a devotion to the meditation of the mysteries of Jesus and Mary.[100][101] “The gentle repetition of its prayers makes it an excellent means of moving into deeper meditation. It allows us to open ourselves to God’s word, to refine our interior gaze by turning our to Pio of Pietrelcina the life of Christ. The first principle is that meditation is learned through stated: "Through the practice. Many people who practice rosary meditation begin very simply and study of books one seeks gradually develop a more sophisticated meditation. The meditator learns to God; by meditation one hear an interior voice, the voice of God”.[102] finds him."[96] According to Edmund P. Clowney, Christian meditation contrasts with Eastern forms of meditation as radically as the Bible contrasts with Krishna or Brahman in Indian teachings.[103] Unlike some Eastern styles, most Christian meditation styles do not rely on the repeated use of 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.[104][105] In Christian meditation, the warned of potential incompatibilities in mixing Christian and Eastern styles of meditation.[106] In 2003, in A Christian reflection on the , the Vatican announced that the "Church avoids any concept that is close to those of the New Age." [107][108][109]

Islam

Salah is a mandatory act of devotion performed by 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.[110][111] This became one of the essential elements of Sufism as it was systematized traditionally. It is juxtaposed with fikr (thinking), which leads to knowledge.[112] By the 12th century, Sufism's practice included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words.[113]

Sufism uses a meditative procedure like Buddhist concentration, Whirling dervishes involving high-intensity and sharply focused introspection. In the Oveyssi- Shahmaghsoudi Sufi order, for example, muraqaba takes the form of tamarkoz, "concentration" in Persian.[114] 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 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.[115]

Dervishes of certain Sufi orders practice whirling, a form of physically active meditation.[116]

Baháʼí Faith

In the teachings of the Baháʼí Faith, meditation is a primary tool for ,[117] involving reflection on the words of God.[118] While prayer and meditation are linked, where meditation generally happens in a prayerful attitude, prayer is seen specifically as turning toward God,[119] and meditation is seen as a communion with oneself where one focuses on the divine.[118]

In Baháʼí 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,[118] more receptive to the need for both prayer and meditation to bring about and maintain a spiritual communion with God.[120]

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.[117] However, he did state that Baháʼís should read a passage of the Baháʼí writings twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening, and meditate on it. He also encouraged people to reflect on their actions and worth at the end of each day.[118] During the Nineteen Day Fast, a period of the year during which Baháʼís adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast, they meditate and pray to reinvigorate their spiritual forces.[121]

Neo-pagan and

Movements that use magic, such as , , 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 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 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 states. Meditation and magic practice often overlap in these religions as meditation is often seen as merely a stepping stone to power, and the meditation sessions may be peppered with various and spells.

Modern

Mantra meditation, with the use of a Japa mala and especially with a focus on the 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 Mission, , , , Osho, , Transcendental Meditation, Oneness University, Kumaris, and Vihangam Yoga.

New Age

New Age meditations are often influenced by , mysticism, traditional religion as a yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism, yet may contain Western influence. In the reaction against what West, meditation found its mainstream roots through the social revolution some perceived as the of the 1960s and 1970s, when many of the youth of the day rebelled against failure of Christianity to provide spiritual and ethical guidance.[122] New Age meditation, as practiced by the early , is regarded as 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.[123] 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.[124]

Secular applications

Psychotherapy

Meditation. Alexej von Jawlensky, oil on cardboard, 1918

Carl Jung (1875-1961) was an early western explorer of eastern religious practices.[125][126] He clearly advocated ways to increase the conscious awareness of an individual. Yet, he expressed some caution concerning a westerner's direct immersion in eastern practices without some prior appreciation of the different spiritual and cultural contexts.[127][128] Also, Erich Fromm (1900-1980) later explored the spiritual practices of the east.[129]

Clinical applications

The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states that "Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being."[130][12] A 2014 review found that mindfulness meditation practice for two to six months by people undergoing long-term psychiatric or medical therapy could produce small improvements in anxiety, pain, or depression.[131] In 2017, the American Heart Association issued a scientific statement that meditation may be a reasonable adjunct practice to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular , with the qualification that meditation needs to be better defined in higher-quality of these disorders.[132]

Low-quality evidence indicates that meditation may help with irritable bowel syndrome,[130] ,[130] cognitive decline in the elderly,[133] and post-traumatic stress disorder.[134][135]

Meditation in the workplace

A 2010 review of the literature on spirituality and performance in organizations found an increase in corporate meditation programs.[136]

As of 2016, around a quarter of U.S. employers were using stress reduction initiatives.[137][138] The goal was to help reduce stress and improve reactions to stress. Aetna now offers its program to its customers. Google also implements mindfulness, more than a dozen meditation courses, with the most prominent one, "Search Inside Yourself," having been implemented since 2007.[138] General Mills offers the Mindful Leadership Program Series, a course that uses mindfulness meditation, yoga, and dialogue to develop the mind's capacity to pay attention.[138]

Sound-based meditation

Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School conducted a series of clinical tests on meditators from various disciplines, including the Transcendental Meditation technique and . In 1975, Benson published a book titled , where he outlined his own meditation version for relaxation.[139] In the 1970s, the American psychologist Patricia Carrington developed a similar technique called Clinically Standardized Meditation (CSM).[140] In Norway, another sound-based method called Acem Meditation developed a of meditation and has been the subject of several scientific studies.[141]

Biofeedback has been used by many researchers since the 1950s to enter deeper states of mind.[142]

History

From ancient times

The is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced.[143] Some authors have even suggested that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many meditation methods,[144] may have contributed to the latest phases of biological evolution.[145] Some of the earliest references to meditation are found in the pre-Hindu Vedas of .[143] Wilson translates the most famous Vedic mantra "" as: "We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri, who influences our pious rites" (: -3, Sukta-62, Rcha-10). Around the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, other forms of meditation developed via and Taoism in as well as Hinduism, Jainism, and in India.[143] Man Meditating in a Garden Setting In the Roman Empire, by 20 BCE, of Alexandria had written on some form of "spiritual exercises" involving attention (prosoche) and concentration[146], and by the 3rd century, had developed meditative techniques.

The Pāli Canon from the 1st century BCE considers Buddhist meditation as a step towards liberation.[147] By the time Buddhism spread in China, the , which dates to 100 CE, included many passages on meditation, clearly pointing to Zen (known as Chan in China, Thiền in Vietnam, and Seon in Korea).[148] The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced meditation to other Asian countries, and in 653, the first meditation hall was opened in .[149] Returning from China around 1227, wrote the instructions for zazen.[150][151]

Medieval

The Islamic practice of Dhikr had involved the repetition of the 99 since the 8th or 9th century.[110][111] By the 12th century, Sufism's practice included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words.[113] Interactions with Indians or the Sufis may have influenced the Eastern Christian meditation approach to hesychasm, but this can not be proved.[152][153] Between the 10th and 14th centuries, hesychasm was developed, particularly on Mount Athos in Greece, and involves repeating the .[154] 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 , 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 such as and Teresa of Avila in the 16th century.[155][156][157][158]

Modern dissemination in the West

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. Also, interest in some Western-based meditative practices has been revived [159], and these have been disseminated to a limited extent to Asian countries.[160]

Ideas about Eastern meditation had begun "seeping into American popular culture even before the American Revolution through the various of European occult Christianity",[29]:3 and such ideas "came pouring in [to America] during the era of the transcendentalists, especially between the 1840s and the 1880s."[29]: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. After that, ... [founded] various Vedanta ... Anagarika lectured at Harvard on Theravada Buddhist meditation in 1904; Abdul Baha ... [toured] the US teaching the principles of Bahai [sic], and toured in 1907 teaching Zen...[29]:4

More recently, in the 1960s, another surge in Western interest in meditative practices began. The rise of communist political power in Asia led many Asian spiritual teachers to take in Western countries, frequently as refugees.[29]: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.[161][162]

The 2012 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (34,525 subjects) found 8% of US adults used meditation,[163] with lifetime and 12-month prevalence of meditation use of 5.2% and 4.1%, respectively.[164] In the 2017 NHIS survey, meditation use among workers was 10% (up from 8% in 2002).[165]

Effects

Research on the processes and effects of meditation is a subfield of neurological research.[11] Modern scientific techniques, such as fMRI and EEG, were used to observe neurological responses during meditation.[166] Concerns have been raised on the quality of meditation research,[11][167][168] including the particular characteristics of individuals who tend to participate.[169]

Since the 1970s, clinical psychology and psychiatry have developed meditation techniques for numerous psychological conditions.[170] Mindfulness practice is employed in psychology to alleviate mental and physical conditions, such as reducing depression, stress, and anxiety.[11][171][172] Mindfulness is also used in the treatment of drug addiction, although the quality of research has been poor.[168][173] Studies demonstrate that meditation has a moderate effect on reducing pain.[11] There is insufficient evidence for any effect of meditation on positive mood, attention, eating habits, sleep, or body weight.[11] Moreover, a 2015 study, including subjective and objective reports and brain scans, has shown that meditation can improve controlling attention, as well as self-awareness.[174]

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."[175] However, a meta-review published on Nature showed that the evidence is very weak and "that the effects of meditation on compassion were only significant compared to passive control groups suggests that other forms of active interventions (like watching a nature video) might produce similar outcomes to meditation."[176]

Potential adverse effects

Meditation has been correlated with unpleasant in some people.[177][178][179][180]

In one study, published in 2019, of 1,232 regular meditators with at least two months of meditation experience, about a quarter reported having had particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences (such as anxiety, fear, distorted emotions or thoughts, altered sense of self or the world), which they thought may have been caused by their meditation practice. Meditators with high levels of repetitive negative thinking and those who only engage in deconstructive meditation were more likely to report unpleasant side effects. Adverse effects were less frequently reported in women and religious meditators.[181]

Difficult experiences encountered in meditation are mentioned in traditional sources. Some may be considered to be just an expected part of the process: for example, of purification mentioned in Theravāda Buddhism, or possible “unwholesome or frightening visions” mentioned in a practical manual on vipassanā meditation.[182]

Notes

1. 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 and is often viewed as a synonym to logical thought (Rappe, Sara (2000). Reading : Non-discursive thinking in the texts of plotinus, proclus, and damascius (https://books.google.com/books?id=_ DrXt-7UGkkC). Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-65158- 5.). 2. Bond, Ospina et al. (2009) 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) 3. 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). 4. "members were chosen based on their publication record of research on the therapeutic use of meditation, their knowledge of and training in traditional or clinically developed meditation techniques, and their affiliation with universities and research centers. Each member had specific expertise and training in at least one of the following meditation practices: yoga, Transcendental Meditation, relaxation response, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and vipassana meditation" (Bond, Ospina, et al., 2009, p. 131); their views were combined using "the Delphi technique [...] a method of eliciting and refining group judgments to address complex problems with a high level of uncertainty" (p. 131). 5. Bond et al. 2009: "Logic relaxation is defined by the authors as “not ‘to intend’ to analyzing (not trying to explain) the possible psychophysi"cal effects,” “not ‘to intend’ to judging (good, bad, right, wrong) the possible psychophysical [effects],” and “not ‘to intend’ to creating any type of expectation regarding the process.” (Cardoso et al., 2004, p. 59)" 6. The full quotation from Bond, Ospina et al. (2009, p. 135) reads: "It is plausible that meditation is best thought of as a natural category of techniques best captured by 'family resemblances' (Wittgenstein, 1968) or by the related 'prototype' model of concepts (Rosch, 1973; Rosch & Mervin, 1975)." 7 Regarding influential reviews encompassing multiple methods of meditation: Walsh & Shapiro (2006), Cahn & Polich (2006), and Jevning et al. (1992), are cited >80 times in PsycINFO. 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). Goleman's book has 33 editions listed in WorldCat: 17 editions as The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience[25] and 16 editions as The varieties of meditative experience[26]. Citation and edition counts are as of August 2018 and September 2018, respectively. 8. The full quote from Bond, Ospina et al. (2009, p. 130) reads: "The differences and similarities among these techniques are 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)." 9. 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 , 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 the slightly broader definition is provided by FischerSchreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: "Meditation – the 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). 10. 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 " (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62), Ven.

Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.) (http://www.tipitaka.org/romn/cscd/s020 2m.mul1.xml): ānāpānassatiṃ, , bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Thanissaro (2006) (http://www.acc esstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html) 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.) 11. See, for example, Thanissaro (1997) (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/one tool.html); 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.)

12. Goldstein (2003) writes that, in regard to the 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 's oft-referenced enumeration. Regarding Tibetan visualizations, Kamalashila (2003), writes: "The 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 " (p. 227). 13 Examples of contemporary school-specific "classics" include, from the Theravada tradition, Nyanaponika (1996) and, from the Zen tradition, Kapleau (1989).

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20. Carroll, Mary (October 2005). "Divine Therapy: Teaching Reflective and Meditative Practices". Teaching and Religion. 8 (4): 232–238. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9647.2005.00249.x (http s://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9647.2005.00249.x). 21. Lutz, Antoine; Dunne, John D.; Davidson, Richard J. (2007). "Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: An Introduction". In Zelazo, Philip David; Moscovitch, Morris; Thompson, Evan (eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness. pp. 499–552. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511816789.020 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511816789.020). ISBN 9780511816789. 22. Claudio Naranjo (1972) [1971], in: Naranjo and Orenstein, On the Psychology of Meditation. New York: Viking. 23. Bond, Kenneth; Ospina, Maria B.; Hooton, Nicola; Bialy, Liza; Dryden, Donna M.; Buscemi, Nina; Shannahoff-Khalsa, David; Dusek, Jeffrey; Carlson, Linda E. (2009). "Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for 'meditation'". and Spirituality. 1 (2): 129–137. doi:10.1037/a0015736 (https://doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0015736). 24. "meditation – Meaning" (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/meditation). Cambridge English Dictionary. 25. worldcat.org: , The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience (htt ps://www.worldcat.org/title/meditative-mind-the-varieties-of-meditative-experience-daniel- golem an//868744343/editions?editionsView=true) 26. worldcat.org: Daniel Goleman, The varieties of meditative experience (https://www.worldcat.or g/title/varieties-of-the-meditative-experience/oclc/636007220/editions?editionsView=true). 27. Lutz, Dunne and Davidson, "Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: An Introduction" in The Cambridge handbook of consciousness by Philip David Zelazo, Morris Moscovitch, , 2007 ISBN 0-521-85743-0 pp. 499–551 (proof copy) (http://comp assion.stanford.edu/pdf/Dunne_Ch%2019%20Lutz%20Dunne%20Davidson-1.pdf) (NB: pagination of published was 499–551 proof was 497–550). Archived (https://web.archive.org/w eb/20120303102034/http://compassion.stanford.edu/pdf/Dunne_Ch%2019%20Lutz%20Dunn e%20Davidson-1.pdf) March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine 28 "John Dunne's " (https://web.archive.org/web/20121120171057/http://ccare.stanford.ed u/node/21). Archived from the original (http://ccare.stanford.edu/node/21) on November 20, 2012. 29 Taylor, Eugene (1999). Murphy, Michael; Donovan, Steven; Taylor, Eugene (eds.). "Introduction" (http://library.noetic.org/library/publication-bibliographies/physical-and- psycholog ical-effects-meditation). The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931–1996: 1–32. 30. Robert Ornstein (1972) [1971], in: Naranjo and Orenstein, On the Psychology of Meditation. New York: Viking. LCCN 76-149720 (https://lccn.loc.gov/76149720) 31. Lutz, Antoine; Slagter, Heleen A.; Dunne, John D.; Davidson, Richard J. (April 2008). "Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC26932 06). Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 12 (4): 163–69. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 (https://doi.or g/10.1016%2Fj.tics.2008.01.005). PMC 2693206 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P MC2693206). PMID 18329323 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18329323). "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 (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" 32. Easwaran, (2018). The Bhagavad Gita: (Classics of Indian Spirituality) (https://books.go ogle.com/books?id=bcnJAAAAQBAJ&q=bhagavad+gita). Nilgiri Press. ISBN 978-1-58638019-9. 33. "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" (https://w ww.lamayeshe.com/article/developing-single-pointed-concentration). 34. "Site is under maintenance" (http://meditation-research.org.uk/2013/07/advanced-tibetan- budd hist-meditation-practice-raises-body-temperature-part-2/). meditation-research.org.uk. 19 July 2013. 35. "Mindful Breathing (Greater Good in Action)" (https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathi ng#data-tab-how). ggia.berkeley.edu. 36. Shonin, Edo; Van Gordon, William (October 2016). "Experiencing the Universal Breath: a ". Mindfulness. 7 (5): 1243–1245. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0570-4 (https://do i.org/10.1007%2Fs12671-016-0570-4). S2CID 147845968 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Cor pusID:147845968). 37. Perez-De-Albeniz, Alberto; Holmes, Jeremy (March 2000). "Meditation: Concepts, effects and uses in therapy". International Journal of Psychotherapy. 5 (1): 49–58. doi:10.1080/13569080050020263 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13569080050020263). 38. "Deepening Calm-Abiding – The Nine Stages of Abiding" (https://terebess.hu/english/oxherd27 a.html). terebess.hu. 39. Dorje, Ogyen Trinley. "Calm Abiding" (https://tricycle.org/magazine/calm-abiding/). 40 Manocha, Ramesh; Black, Deborah; Wilson, Leigh (10 September 2018). "Quality of Life and Functional Health Status of Long-Term Meditators" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P MC3352577). Evidence-Based Complementary and . 2012: 350674. doi:10.1155/2012/350674 (https://doi.org/10.1155%2F2012%2F350674). PMC 3352577 (http s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352577). PMID 22611427 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nl m.nih.gov/22611427). 41. "Dharma Seed - Kirsten Kratz's Talks" (https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/387/). www.dharmaseed.org. 42. "Meditation" (https://sahajayogaarmenia.wordpress.com/meditation-armenia/). 21 June 2011. 43. "Huineng (Hui-neng) (638–713)" (http://www.iep.utm.edu/huineng/#SSH4aiii). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018. 44. Travis, Fred; Shear, Jonathan (December 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 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.concog.2010.01.007). PMID 20167507 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20167507). S2CID 11036572 (https://api.se manticscholar.org/CorpusID:11036572). 45. "Religions – Buddhism: Meditation" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/customs/ meditation_1.shtml). BBC. 46. "The Daily Habit Of These Outrageously Successful People" (https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ entry/business-meditation-executives-meditate_n_3528731). Huffington Post. 5 July 2013. 47. Mindfulness Meditation Method

48. "Neuroscientist Says Gave Him 'a Total Wake-Up Call'" (https://abcnews.go.com/H ealth/neuroscientist-richie-davidson-dalai-lama-gave-total-wake/story?id=40859233). ABC News. 27 July 2016. 49. Strait, Julia Englund; Strait, Gerald Gill; McClain, Maryellen Brunson; Casillas, Laurel; Streich, Kristin; Harper, Kristina; Gomez, Jocelyn (2020-01-27). "Classroom Mindfulness Effects on Meditation Frequency, Stress, and Self-Regulation:" (https://journals.sagepub.com/d oi/10.1177/0098628320901386). Teaching of Psychology. doi:10.1177/0098628320901386 (ht tps://doi.org/10.1177%2F0098628320901386). 50. "How Humankind Could Become Totally Useless" (http://time.com/4672373/yuval-noah- hararihomo-deus-interview/). Time magazine. Retrieved 17 March 2018. 51. Kaul, P.; Passafiume, J; Sargent, C.R.; O'Hara, B.F. (2010). "Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl es/PMC2919439). Behavioral and Brain Functions. 6: 47. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-6-47 (https:// doi.org/10.1186%2F1744-9081-6-47). PMC 2919439 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article s/PMC2919439). PMID 20670413 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20670413). 52. "Questions & Answers – Dhamma Giri – Vipassana International Academy" (http://www.giri.dha mma.org/qanda). www.giri.dhamma.org. 53. "Brahmamuhurta: The best time for meditation" (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/brahmamuh urta-the-best-time-for- meditation/articleshow/4659848.cms?). Times of India. 54. Mallinson, James; Singleton, Mark (2017). . Penguin Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5. OCLC 928480104 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/928480104). 55. "Meditation (savasana)" (https://mindworks.org/blog/meditation-positions-lying-down/). 14 August 2017. 56. Ng, Teng-Kuan (2018). "Pedestrian Dharma: Slowness and Seeing in Tsai Ming-Liang's Walker" (https://doi.org/10.3390%2Frel9070200). Religions. 9 (7): 200. doi:10.3390/rel9070200 (https://doi.org/10.3390%2Frel9070200). 57. Mysteries of the Rosary by Stephen J. Binz 2005 ISBN 1-58595-519-1 p. 3 58. The everything Buddhism book by Jacky Sach 2003 ISBN 978-1-58062-884-6 p. 175 59 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 ISBN 1887752-95-1 60 "Chanting Hare Krishna on Japa Beads" (https://krishna.org/chanting-hare-krishna-on-beads/). Krishna.org – Real Krishna Consciousness. 2019-09-29. Retrieved 2020-07-08. 61. Meditation and Mantras by Vishnu Devananda 1999 ISBN 81-208-1615-3 pp. 82–83 62. Simoons, Frederick J. (1998). Plants of life, plants of death. Univ of Wisconsin Press. pp. 7–40. ISBN 978-0-299-15904-7. 63. Foulk, T. Griffith (1998). "The Encouragement Stick: 7 Views" (https://tricycle.org/magazine/enc ouragement-stick-7-views/). Tricycle (Winter). Retrieved 6 May 2020. 64. Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism (https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi000 0floo). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 94 (https://archive.org/details/introductionto hi0000floo/page/94)–95. ISBN 978-0-521- 43878-0. 65. 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. 66. The describes yoga, including meditation. On meditation in this and other post-Buddhist Hindu literature see Randall Collins, The Sociology of : A Global Theory of Intellectual Change. Harvard University Press, 2000, p. 199.

67. Mahapragya, (2004). "Foreword". Jain Yog. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. 68. Tulsi, Acharya (2004). "". Sambodhi. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. 69. Jansma, Rudi; Key, Sneh Rani Jain (2006). "Yoga and Meditation" (http://www.herenow4u.net/i ndex.php?id=66251). Introduction To Jainism. Bharti Academy, Jaipur, India. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 70. Reginald Ray (2004), What is Vipashyana? (https://www.lionsroar.com/dharma-dictionary-vipas hyana/) 71. 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) (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.094.than.html). 72. See, for instance, AN 2.30 in Bodhi (2005), pp. 267–68, and Thanissaro (1998e) (http://www.ac cesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an02/an02.030.than.html). 73. Sharma, Suresh (2004). Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Sikhism. Mittal Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-81-7099-961-4. 74. Parashar, M. (2005). Ethics And The Sex-King. AuthorHouse. p. 592. ISBN 978-1-4634-5813-3. 75. Duggal, Kartar (1980). The Prescribed Sikh Prayers (Nitnem). Abhinav Publications. p. 20. ISBN 978-81-7017-377-9. 76. Singh, Nirbhai (1990). Philosophy of Sikhism: and Its Manifestations (https://archive.or g/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb). Atlantic Publishers & Distribution. p. 105 (https://archive.or g/details/philosophyofsikh0000nirb/page/105). 77. Kohn, Livia (2008), "Meditation and visualization," in The Encyclopedia of Taoism, ed. by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 118. 78. 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 (https://boo ks.google.com/books?id=cHA7Ey0-pbEC&q=cambridge++history+of+ancient+china). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 880. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8. 79. Roth, Harold D. (1999), Original : Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism, Columbia University Press, p. 92. 80. Mair, Victor H., tr. (1994), Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu, Bantam Books, p. 64. 81. The history and varieties of by Mark Verman 1997 ISBN 978-1-56821-522-8 p. 1 82 Jacobs, L. (1976) Jewish Mystical Testimonies, Jerusalem, Keter Publishing House Jerusalem. 83. Kaplan, A. (1978) Meditation and the Bible, Maine, Samuel Weiser, p. 101. 84. The history and varieties of Jewish meditation by Mark Verman 1997 ISBN 978-1-56821-522-8 p. 45 85. Kaplan, A. (1985) Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide, New York Schocken Books. 86. Buxbaum, Y. (1990) Jewish Spiritual Practices, New York, Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 108-10, 423-35. 87. Scholem, Gershom Gerhard (1961). Major Trends in (https://books.google.co m/books?id=kD2y4wMOlAoC&pg=PA34). Schocken Books. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8052-1042-2. 88. Kaplan, A. (1982) Meditation and Kabbalah, Maine, Samuel Weiser. 89. Matt, D.C. (1996) The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism, San Francisco, HarperCollins. 90. Kaplan, A. (1978) op cit p. 2 91. Kaplan, (1982) op cit, p. 13 92. Claussen, Geoffrey. "The Practice of Musar" (https://www.academia.edu/1502958/The_Practice _of_Musar). Conservative Judaism 63, no. 2 (2012): 3–26. Retrieved June 10, 2014

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