An interdisciplinary field that explores contemplative practices, their transformative effects and the experiential knowledge they generate, with applications in the scientific, educational, clinical and social sectors.
Contemplative Studies is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research and education, focused on the analysis of the contemplative experience and its practices, as well as on the particular type of knowledge and the transformations these generate in the individual and the community. Drawing heavily on Buddhism and other contemplative traditions, this field aims to contribute to the development of new knowledge in the fields of psychology, medicine, neuroscience and education, with a particular focus on research into consciousness.
The methodology of Contemplative Studies integrates three distinct approaches:
Third-person: objective research typical of the humanities and sciences, which enables the historical-cultural, philosophical, psychological and neuroscientific foundations of the contemplative experience to be contextualised.
First-person: phenomenological inquiry characteristic of contemplative traditions, based on practices that encourage self-observation of consciousness, its contents and its states, within a critical and non-denominational approach.
Second person: an approach centred on the dialogical and intersubjective dimension, which is fundamental to the processes of narration, sharing and collaborative exploration of the contemplative experience.
The objectives of Contemplative Studies are divided into two main areas:
Pure research: an in-depth exploration of the processes and effects involved in contemplative experience and practices, contributing to scientific and philosophical research into consciousness – its nature, its degrees and states, as well as its relationship with the brain and the body – and to other fundamental aspects of human experience (states and degrees of happiness and suffering, forms of identity, etc.).
Practical applications: the development of contemplative methods that can be successfully applied in various sectors of society, including the therapeutic and psychotherapeutic fields, education, personal development, and other specific contexts such as business and sport.
The Research Centre of the Italian Buddhist Union is committed to contributing to a clearer definition of Contemplative Studies, as well as to their recognition in Italy and across Europe, viewing them as a field of research, an area of education and a range of professional fields and areas of intervention within society. In particular, it promotes the educational design of university programmes (advanced training courses, summer schools, master’s programmes, curricula and degree courses) and the creation of research strands and contexts, as well as outreach initiatives, linked to this field and the various disciplines it encompasses.
