Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns

Summary

The study examines mystical experiences among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns, finding that Stace's common facets of mysticism, as measured by Hood's Mysticism Scale, effectively describe these experiences influenced by Buddhist doctrines. The analysis revealed a convergence of introvertive and extrovertive unity within the context of Chinese Buddhism. This suggests a shared experiential core in mystical experiences across different spiritual traditions, which can be investigated using mixed methods.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study explores the phenomenological structure of mystical experience among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns. Semi-structured interviews, thematic coding, and statistical analyses demonstrated that Stace's common facets of mysticism as measured by Hood's Mysticism Scale (M Scale) successfully described Buddhist experience as modified by Buddhist doctrines. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that these facets could be formed into Stace's three-factor structure. A mystical introvertive unity hypothesized to be separate from an extrovertive unity instead converged in the Chinese Buddhist context. These results lend strong support to the thesis that the phenomenology of mystical experience reveals a common experiential core that can be discerned across religious and spiritual traditions. These data also demonstrated that this common core can and should be explored using mixed methods.

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