The Ethical Framework for Buddhist Meditation Practice

The main objective of this GIF-funded joint research project is to improve the understanding of the relation between ethics and meditation in historical Buddhist contexts. Although from an ideological perspective the connection is stated clearly, explanations for the way that morality influences meditation are solely lacking. Close examination of this issue will not only provide a deeper comprehension of the underlying logic of Buddhist practice in its historical context; it will also make a valuable contribution to interdisciplinary research including psychology and psychotherapy.

Our project  has the following goals to achieve:

1.              Discovering multiple antidotes against the disturbing factors of concentration (samādhi) in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions.

2.              Examining the Buddhist theory of metaphor in terms of ethics, and illustrating multiple models and paths for the sake of concentration (samādhi).

3.              Comparing our historical researches on Buddhist ethics and meditation with the living Buddhist tradition like Dzogchen and other practices.

4.              Building bridge between Buddhist philologists and modern psychologists & psychotherapists on the topics of mindfulness and meditation.

Our group from the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the Universität Hamburg

buddhismuskunde@uni-hamburg.de

Our group from the Depatment of Comperative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

buddhiststudies@mail.huji.ac.il