Methods

This paper provides a reanalysis of data from the VCE project, a mixed-methods study of Buddhist meditation practitioners and meditation experts in the West who have experienced meditation-related challenges (see Lindahl et al. for details[44]). Previous analyses from the VCE project identified a broad range of meditation-related challenges, individual and social factors that influence their nature and trajectory,[45] and heuristics used in establishing a differential diagnosis or need for intervention.[46] The present project draws upon and extends those initial findings through further analyzing qualitative data within and beyond these themes in order to identify instantiations of religious and scientific frameworks employed within practitioners’ and experts’ narratives.

Participants

Participants in the original VCE study were 60 practitioners of Buddhist meditation who reported that they had experienced meditation-related challenges, as well as 32 meditation experts (comprising mental health practitioners and meditation teachers who have helped others to address meditation-related challenges). Meditation practitioners were sampled equally across Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. The current analysis also includes data from a replication study of an additional eight practitioners and one expert from the tradition of vipassanā meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka. See table 1 for participant demographics including age and gender, as well as religion of origin.

Table 1. Participant Characteristics

Characteristic

Number of Participants

Practitioners

Sex (M, F)

37, 31

Age (M (SD))

46.34 (13.97)

Education (Completed Degree)

     High School

3

     Bachelor’s

25

     Master’s

25

     Doctorate (PhD, PsyD, or MD)

15

Religious Upbringing

     Buddhist

2

     Catholic

13

     Protestant

18

     Orthodox Christian

1

     Jewish

12

     None

14

     Other

2

     Not known/missing

4

Practice Tradition

     Theravāda (including Goenka practitioners)

28

     Zen

20

     Tibetan Buddhism

20

Experts

Sex (M, F)

25, 8

Type of Expertise

     Theravāda (including Goenka experts)

14

     Zen

8

     Tibetan Buddhism

6

     Clinical

5

Note. This table represents demographic and background characteristics of study participants. Practitioners = participants who reported their own meditation-related challenges. Experts = participants, either Buddhist meditation teachers or clinicians or both, who described how they guide and advise meditation practitioners undergoing challenges.