Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
July 6, 2026
Lukas Geiger
This integrative review article systematically reads the Pali Canon through contemporary psychology and cognitive science, comparing the Abhidhamma's combinatorial mind-model, the Noble Eightfold Path's training methods, and the four Jhana stages with empirical findings from clinical psychology, neuroscience, and consciousness research. It proposes a structured convergence-type differentiation to classify the evidential status of each parallel, distinguishing empirical, structural, conceptual, and negative mappings. The analysis emphasizes that modern evidence for clinical or cognitive constructs does not validate Pali constructs under their own conceptual and soteriological frame. The paper is an advanced draft preprint that has undergone internal review but not formal journal peer review.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
June 21, 2026
Lukas Geiger
This article systematically compares the psychological framework of the Pali Canon with four Christian contemplative traditions: the Desert Fathers, Rhineland Mysticism, Carmelite Mysticism, and Ignatian Spirituality. Using a convergence-type schema that distinguishes structural-phenomenological, conceptual, and no-parallel relations, it finds robust parallels in contemplative attention regulation, affect regulation, developmental staging, and practice architecture. The strongest convergence is in attention regulation, where both traditions identify a critical leverage point at the transition from a mental event's initial appearance to its elaboration. However, the comparison does not claim doctrinal identity, historical derivation, or direct empirical validation across traditions. Irreducible differences in ontology, soteriology, and causal architecture are documented alongside the parallels, supporting a moderate convergence position.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
June 6, 2026
Lukas Geiger
A systematic comparison of the psychological framework of the Pali Canon with four Christian contemplative traditions—Desert Fathers, Rhineland Mysticism, Carmelite Mysticism, and Ignatian Spirituality—finds robust structural and conceptual parallels in contemplative attention regulation, affect regulation, developmental staging, and practice architecture. Both traditions independently identify a critical leverage point at the transition from a mental event's initial appearance to its elaboration. However, the analysis does not claim doctrinal identity, historical derivation, or direct empirical validation across traditions. Irreducible differences in ontology, soteriology, and causal architecture are documented alongside the parallels, supporting a moderate convergence position rather than doctrinal convergence or a historical-contact thesis.