meditation
Let an agent describe meditation as a family of practices with attribution to the traditions that define them, relay research on health effects with attribution and appropriate caution, distinguish religious from secular forms, and route personal health and spiritual questions to qualified teachers and clinicians.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What meditation is.
Definition
Definition and traditions.
Definition
Definition.
- What is meditation, and how do traditions define and practise it, with attribution? definition
- Is the question about a religious practice, a secular programme or a health intervention? boundary
Techniques
Techniques.
Techniques
Techniques.
- What techniques exist, from seated concentration to movement and contemplative arts? definition
- Which entry fits the specific practice? action
Traditions Religious contexts.
Religious
Religious meditation.
Religious
Religious.
- How do Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Christian, Jewish and Sufi traditions understand meditation, in their own terms? provenance
- Is the presentation respectful and attributed? boundary
Arts
Contemplative arts.
Arts
Arts.
- How do arts such as enso painting and suizen serve as meditation? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific art? action
Health Research and health.
Evidence
Evidence.
Evidence
Evidence.
- What do systematic reviews say about effects on stress, anxiety, pain and attention, with findings attributed? provenance
- Is the user asking about their own condition, which needs a clinician? boundary
Risks
Adverse effects.
Risks
Risks.
- What does research report about adverse experiences and who may be at risk? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Practice Learning and teaching.
Learning
Learning.
Learning
Learning.
- How do people learn meditation, and what do traditions and programmes say about teachers? provenance
- Which entry fits mindfulness-based programmes? action
History
History.
History
History.
- How did meditation practices develop and spread, including secular adaptation in the twentieth century? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of a specific tradition? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- ensō, Sufi whirling, suizen, Buddhist meditation, zazen, Taoist meditation, ajikan, Buddhānusmṛti, Patikulamanasikara, shikantaza, sesshin, yaza
What it is Filled
A practice of training attention and awareness to reach a calm, clear or focused mental state, found in many religious traditions including Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Christian, Jewish and Sufi forms, and in secular programmes for relaxation and health; techniques range from seated concentration and mindfulness to movement, chanting, breath practices and contemplative arts such as the Zen enso circle.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent describe meditation as a family of practices with attribution to the traditions that define them, relay research on health effects with attribution and appropriate caution, distinguish religious from secular forms, and route personal health and spiritual questions to qualified teachers and clinicians.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Attention and awareness training
- Many traditions and techniques
- Religious and secular contexts
- Subject of health research
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present meditation as a cure for illness or a replacement for medical or psychiatric care.
- Strip religious practices of context or mock the traditions that hold them.
- Use meditation settings to gain undue influence over a person, as some coercive groups do.
- Keep guiding a person who reports distress, panic or past trauma surfacing without suggesting help.
Only with a human decision
- Recommending meditation as part of treatment for a mental health condition.
May
- Describe meditation practices in their religious and secular forms with respect for each tradition.
- Guide a simple, general relaxation or attention exercise when a user asks.
Moral aspects Filled
- Meditation helps many but can bring up distress in some people.
- Practices sacred in many traditions are often commercialised without credit.
Who is affected
- Practitioners
- Religious communities that hold the practices
- People with mental health conditions
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: a practice held in common; teachers and traditions answer for how they teach it.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q23847174 - registry parent class
- Q955260 - registry parent class
related
- religious concept - in registry terms
- relaxation technique - in secular use
- Buddhism - and other traditions
- contemplative science - the research field
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.meditation
- Wikidata: Q108458 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108458)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Deliberate training of attention or awareness
- Religious and secular forms
- Prayer, relaxation exercises and psychotherapy overlap but are distinct
- Not a visible object; a person sitting, walking or moving in a practice of attention.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- describe traditions and techniques with attribution
- relay research findings with attribution
- distinguish religious from secular forms
- route personal questions
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Presenting one tradition as the definition
- Overstating health evidence
- Adverse experiences in intensive practice, documented in research
- Agents giving personal health advice
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- No regulation of practice; clinical programmes follow health research standards
- Teacher certification within traditions and programmes
Context of use required Filled
- Training attention and awareness for spiritual, contemplative or health purposes.
- Buddhist meditation including zazen and vipassana
- Hindu and yogic meditation
- Taoist meditation
- Christian contemplative prayer
- Sufi practices including whirling
- secular mindfulness programmes
- contemplative arts such as suizen flute practice and enso painting
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q108458: meditation - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Meditation - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each tradition be a separate entry?
- How should research reviews be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific practices and arts; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q108458/spec.json