Journal of Contemplative Studies

@jcontemplatives.bsky.social

454 Followers 23 Following

A peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing humanities-based and transdisciplinary scholarship in Contemplative Studies | Published by CSC at UVA. https://linktr.ee/ContemplativeJournal

This image is a graphic for a book review on "Being Human & A Buddha Too: Longchenpa’s Seven Trainings for a Sunlit Sky" by Anne Klein. It features a photo of someone named Oriane Lavolé with a Stanford University affiliation. The background is a textured, abstract design with red and brown tones.
This image features a portrait of an individual labeled as "Author Insights," with the name Muhammad Faruque from the University of Cincinnati. The background has a textured, artistic design.
The image is a graphic for an article titled "Using the Body to Think: An Analysis of the Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Thinking at the Edge and Tibetan Monastic Debate" by van Vugt et al. The background features an aerial view of a shoreline with a beach and ocean waves.
Abstract artwork featuring a grid of black and white tiles with a gradient overlay of blue and green. Text reads: "Contemplation + Sensemaking, Wolfgang Buttress." A circular inset shows a person with a long beard.
Graphic for an article titled "The Affordances of Mind: Contemplation, Ecology, and Jewish Thought" by Ariel E. Mayse, associated with Stanford University. The graphic includes a circular photo of a person smiling against a natural green background. The background of the cover is a rich, textured, earthy red.
graphic titled 'Contemplation + Sensemaking' by Eve Ekman, featuring a close-up abstract purple and white design with a circular portrait of a smiling individual in the lower right corner.
Graphic for an article titled "Tree of Life, Womb of Creation: Ecology and Sexuality in the Christian Contemplative Tradition" by Gunnar Gabriel Gjermundsen, University of Oslo. A circular photo of the author is in the lower right corner, set against a backdrop of a forest and winding road.
The image features a graphic with the words "Contemplation + Sensemaking" with Adam Lobel, with a background of a close-up of dew-covered grass. There is a circular inset with a person wearing glasses and a beard, set against a natural background.
A graphic titled "Too Much or Not Enough of a Good Thing? Reconciling Differing Perspectives on the Optimal Dose of Mindfulness Meditation and Advancing a Dose-Response Research Agenda" by Bowles et al. The background features an abstract design in warm earth tones.
This image is a graphic titled "Contemplation + Sensemaking" by James Gentry. The background features an abstract, colorful pattern resembling close-up dandelion seeds. A circular photo of a person with short hair, glasses, and wearing a beige jacket is placed near the lower right corner.
The image shows a graphic for an article titled "The Hidden Bodhicaryāvatāra: Double Entendres, the Confession of Sins, and the Invocation of Mañjunātha" by Iain Sinclair of The University of Queensland. The background features an aerial view of fields in the sunlight.
Graphic for an interview titled "Contemplation + Sensemaking" featuring Andrew Holecek, with an abstract textured background of red and gray tones. A circular inset displays a portrait of Andrew Holecek at the bottom right.
Graphic highlighting an article titled "Coming Down to Earth: Drifts of Spirituality in the Anthropocene" by Juan Pablo Restrepo from Universidad de Buenos Aires. Features a rounded image of a person speaking into a microphone, set against a background of an aerial view of a snowy landscape.
A book cover titled "Contemplation + Sensemaking" by Pir Zia Inayat Khan. The background features a close-up of a leaf with red veins, and there is a black-and-white circular portrait of Pir Zia Inayat Khan at the bottom right corner.
Cover image titled "Sky Divination: An Elemental Practice from the Unimpeded Sound Tantra" with a photo of an individual. The name "Devin Zuckerman" and "University of Virginia" are printed below.
Graphic for a journal article titled "The Philosophy and Practice of Amulets in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra" by James Gentry from Stanford University. The graphic features an abstract background and a circular inset photo of an individual wearing glasses and a blazer.
A cityscape with skyscrapers is visible behind a large, green park. The text reads "International Society for Contemplative Research 3rd Annual Conference Recap."
An image of the Boston, MA skyline at sunset. The top of a cable stayed bridge is visible in the foreground. White text positioned in the sky reads: American Academy of Religion 2025 conference recap
An image of a snowy landscape with a green shadow over the left side. Bold white text reads: Contemplative Practices and Soteriological Epistemology. Ashok Zaman.
An image of an icy waterway covered in snow, partially obscured by a blue-grey shadow. White text over the shadow reads: Review of The Words and World of Ge bcags Nunnery by Elizabeth McDougal. Review by Nicholas Hobhouse.
An image of a spirograph-esque design with white text that reads: Contemplation plus Education: an interview with Robert W. Roesner
Background image: a satellite image of a snowy landscape. A blue shadow encompasses the left side of the image. White text reads: Martial Spirituality and the Ethics of Attention, by Michael L. Raposa"
Wolfgang Buttress, an artist, sitting on a bench in front of NINFEO, his illuminated art installation with vibrant blue and green lights made of hand-etched crystal blocks within the Contemplative Commons at the University of Virginia.
Panel discussion at an academic event with five speakers seated on stage, laughing and interacting in front of logos for the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia, Journal of Contemplative Studies, and CIRCL: Contemplative Innovation + Research CoLab. Several audience members are visible in the foreground.
Practicing the “Threefold Mystery”: Rethinking a Shingon Ritual from Dichotomy to Dialectic Richard K. Payne, Institute of Buddhist Studies Keywords: Tantric Buddhism, ritual, tantra, Shingon (真言), threefold mystery (sanmitsu, 三密), threefold contemplation, praxis, doctrine Abstract: After a century and a half of focus on Buddhist doctrine, academic attention is increasingly being paid to practice. What remains undertheorized, however, is the relation between the two. An example of this is the idea that tantric practice is simply a ritual technology, separate and autonomous from doctrinal formulation. This is a persisting academic trope, one that conceptualizes doctrine and practice dichotomously. The effect that dichotomizing doctrine from practice has on the study of contemplative practices is considered in this essay, which first introduces the trope and then explores its supports in Western intellectual culture. Despite its prevalence, the dichotomous representation of doctrine and practice is methodologically dysfunctional. As an alternative, it is proposed that the relation between doctrine and practice is better understood as dialectical, sometimes represented in Buddhist literature by the image of “the two wings of a bird.” This relation is explored by examining a particular tantric ritual, a Shingon homa.
These papers offer engaging new discourse on contemplative praxis as a means of teasing out precisely what we mean when we discuss practices like meditation. The first paper addresses meditation praxis within a historical Tibetan context by examining the healing effects of praxis within the context of the use of sound in the Unimpeded Sound Tantra (Sgra thal ‘gyur). The second paper in this panel draws from the writings of Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), (Gampopa (1079-1153) and Longchen pa (1308-1363) to discuss the Tibetan practice, thukdam, where the body of an advanced Tibetan practitioner exhibits signs of though clinically dead. The third paper offers an analysis of meditation practice through two different lenses, one derived from a religious context and one that exhibits something more akin to a technological reading of meditation praxis.
Confucian contemplation, particularly quiet-sitting meditation, has been historically overlooked in contemplative studies. This is despite its deep integration in Confucian traditions, where figures like Cheng Yi and Yang Shi viewed it as crucial for moral self-cultivation and active engagement with the world. Zhu Xi's evolving stance further illuminated its philosophical depth. The underrepresentation is partly due to the practice's societal integration, the absence of texts with detailed techniques, and the scholarly necessity to reinterpret and recontextualize these traditions after their decline in modern times.The papers session advocates for including the Ruist perspective in global research, noting its potential relevance to modern professionals akin to ancient Ru scholars. It includes papers exploring early Chinese ritual fasting, the philosophical dimensions of quiet-sitting in the lineage of pattern-principle learning, Zhu Xi's meditation interpreted through...