초기불교 명상의 현대적 변용과 가치

초록

In contemporary society, meditation has become increasingly popular due to its perceived practical benefits, such as stress reduction, emotional regulation, and improved attention. However, this widespread adoption has raised concerns about the decontextualization of meditation’s original soteriological and ethical foundations. This study explores the transformation of early Buddhist sati into modern mindfulness, critically examining how the concept of meditation has been restructured in response to modern psychological and clinical demands. First, drawing on the Nikāyas, the study identifies the goal of early Buddhist meditation as the cessation of suffering and an ontological transformation of being. Within this framework, sati functions as a central meditative faculty, integrating memory, attentional vigilance, and ethical sensitivity. Second, the analysis considers how modern mindfulness—particularly as practiced in programs such as MBSR and MBCT—has preserved certain functional aspects of sati while recasting it as a psychological tool, often omitting its ontological dimension. Although this shift has been criticized as a departure from early Buddhist aims, the study also considers whether this transformation might be understood as a contextual reinterpretation rather than a rupture. Third, by drawing on neuroscientific research, the study examines how meditation can produce not only altered states but also long-term changes in psychological traits, known as altered traits. The reorganization of neural circuits related to attention, stress resilience, self-awareness, and compassion may indicate a continued alignment with early Buddhism’s transformative vision. Ultimately, the study argues for a critical continuity between early Buddhist practice and modern mindfulness, proposing that the enduring value of meditation lies in its capacity for long-term transformation achieved through sustained practice.

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