Meditation : differences between the East and the West

Includes bibliographical references (pages 66-67)Meditation, which was developed millenia ago, has\ud become of current interest in a world searching for ways to\ud live harmoniously with nature. Many of the c1aims about\ud meditation are made in terms of a philosophical system\ud which is unfamiliar to the Western mind. However, in the\ud last decade research has taken place in Western\ud laboratories to try to determine, in ways acceptable to the\ud scientific community at large, the effects which meditation\ud has on human personality. This thesis explores the\ud historical background of meditation, the differing\ud philosophical viewpoints of East and West regarding the\ud goals of meditation, and the research which has been done\ud to explore and define meditation in Western terms. The use\ud of meditation techniques as an adjunct to psychotherapy is\ud discussed. And an attempt is made to show why a synthesis\ud of the Western ana1ytica1 approach and the Eastern\ud philosophical viewpoint is necessary before valid research\ud in meditation can be carried out