Buddhist Meditation: Culture, Mindfulness, and Rationality

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of Religions that explores the multifaceted dimensions of Buddhist meditation, focusing on its cultural contexts, psychological mechanisms, and philosophical foundations. Buddhist meditation has long been a subject of scholarly interest across disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, psychology, and cognitive science. In recent decades, practices such as mindfulness have gained prominence in both clinical and secular settings, yet the cultural, doctrinal, and rational underpinnings of these practices are often simplified or overlooked, making this an important area for deeper interdisciplinary inquiry.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together diverse scholarly perspectives to critically examine how Buddhist meditation is understood, practiced, and adapted across historical and contemporary contexts. This Special Issue aligns with the scope of Religions by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue on religious traditions, spiritual practices, and their intersections with modern life. Moreover, this Issue seeks to bridge classical Buddhist scholarship with contemporary applications, offering insights into both the spiritual and psychological dimensions of meditation.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The historical development of meditation practices in Buddhist traditions;
• The role of meditation in different Buddhist schools and cultures;
• The adaptation of mindfulness in contemporary therapeutic contexts;
• Cognitive and emotional effects of meditative practices;
• Philosophical debates on rationality and introspection in Buddhist thought;
• Ethical and epistemological implications of secularizing Buddhist practices;
• Comparative approaches to Buddhist meditation across traditions;
• Critiques of the modern mindfulness movement and its cultural translations.

We hope this Special Issue will deepen the understanding of Buddhist meditation as both a spiritual discipline and a tool for psychological well-being. By bringing together scholars from diverse fields, this collection will highlight Buddhist meditation as a living tradition and a dynamic area of research.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purpose of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Heather Kempton
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.