Meditation as an Extension of a Specific Way of Life
Nikāya Buddhism and Early Chan - A Different Meditative Paradigm - Grzegorz Polak
Grzegorz Polak [+ ]
Maria Curie Skłodowska University
Grzegorz Polak is Associate Professor in the Institute of Philosophy at the Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin.
Description
Chapter six considers the possibility that mental calm and intense spiritual feelings characterizing altered meditative states arise as a result of a specific lifestyle and mindset and are not produced by meditation itself. It points out that various forms of mental movement are a result of psychological adaptive mechanisms which drive human behavior. The chapter argues that the Buddhist renunciate way of life can lead to the attenuation of these mechanisms, thus removing important sources of mental movement. The final part of the chapter focuses on the significance of renunciate livelihood and right speech for removing the psychological roots of verbal thinking and mental monologue.