Encountering the Psychological Research Paradigm: How Buddhist Practice Has Fared in the Most Recent Phase of Its Western Migration

Puhakka, Kaisa

作者

Puhakka, Kaisa

出處題名

Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness

出版日期

2015.08.28

頁次

217 - 242

出版者

Springer

出版者網址

https://link.springer.com/

出版地

Switzerland [瑞士]

叢書名

Mindfulness in Behavioral Health

資料類型

專題研究論文=Research Paper

使用語言

英文=English

附註項

Author Affiliations: Department of Clinical Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, USA

關鍵詞

A priori assumptions; Buddhism; Constructivism; Cross-cultural migration; Dependent co-arising; Elementism; Empiricism; Mahayana; Methodological assumptions; Mechanistic model; Methodological restrictions; Mindfulness practice; Ontological inquiry; Psychological inquiry; Randomized controlled trial design; Research paradigm; Theravada; Zen

摘要

Does the power of Buddhist mindfulness practice diminish when it is adapted into forms suitable for psychological research and evidence-supported clinical practice? The answer, from the viewpoint of Buddhist scholarship and practice traditions, is a qualified “yes.” After a brief review of the migration of Buddhism across cultures and the methods and aims of Buddhist practice in the larger context of Buddhist teachings, this chapter traces the reasons for the unwillingness or inability of most research so far done to mine the full potential of Buddhist mindfulness practice to a divergence between some philosophical and methodological assumptions underlying the scientific endeavor, on the one hand, and those embraced by Buddhism, on the other. The assumptions that shape the research paradigm necessitate various requirements for any subject matter to be fit for being researched. These requirements are shown to marginalize or altogether rule out research, which would address the ontological inquiry that is at the heart of Buddhist mindfulness practice. These requirements also create a strong bias in favor of beginning-level mindfulness practice, which makes ignoring such ontological inquiry easier. How these biases and restrictions work in practice is illustrated in terms of the randomized controlled trial design, which sets the gold standard for research. A pathway forward is outlined which calls for suspension of some of the a priori restrictions and a return to the open stance of empiricism in which phenomena determine method of study rather than the other way round.

11.1 Introduction 217
11.2 Migration of Buddhism Across Cultures 218
11.2.1 First Phase of Migration to the West: The Scholar–Explorers 219
11.2.2 Second Phase of Migration to the West: The Awakening of Popular Interest 219
11.2.3 Third Phase of Migration to the West: Empirical Research and Clinical Application of Mindfulness 220
11.3 “Essential Buddhism” Amidst Diverse Transmissions 221
11.4 Buddhist Practices in Psychological Research and Clinical Practice: An Overview 224
11.5 Major Adaptations of Buddhist Meditation Techniques 224
11.5.1 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 225
11.5.2 Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy 225
11.5.3 Dialectical Behavior Therapy 226
11.5.4 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 226
11.6 Central Theoretical and Methodological Concerns 227
11.7 Two Levels of Inquiry: Psychological and Ontological 228
11.8 The Psychological–Ontological Distinction in Buddhism 229
11.9 Foundational Assumptions: Buddhism and Psychological Research 230
11.10 What Can Be Studied and How It Must Be Studied: Requirements Specific to the Research Design 232
11.10.1 RCT: The Gold Standard of Scientific Research 232
11.10.2 The Quantifiability Requirement 233
11.10.3 The Requirement of Representative Samples and Standardized Scales for Measurement 235
11.10.4 The Conditionality Requirement 236
11.11 A Path Forward 237
References 240

ISBN

9783319185903; 9783319185910

DOI

10.1007/978-3-319-18591-0_11

點閱次數

215

建檔日期

2020.11.13

更新日期

2020.11.19