The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation

IntroductionAfter integrating with indigenous Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist meditation traditions expanded beyond classical rock meditation to include new practices. This study examines the physiological and psychological effects of nature observation and literary creation within Chinese Buddhis...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tiankai Liang, Minkai Sun, Seiko Goto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1615963/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849706549671362560
author Tiankai Liang
Minkai Sun
Minkai Sun
Seiko Goto
author_facet Tiankai Liang
Minkai Sun
Minkai Sun
Seiko Goto
author_sort Tiankai Liang
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionAfter integrating with indigenous Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist meditation traditions expanded beyond classical rock meditation to include new practices. This study examines the physiological and psychological effects of nature observation and literary creation within Chinese Buddhist meditation.MethodsExperiment 1 recruited 30 participants and used observation duration, heart rate, the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and a supplemental questionnaire to compare relaxation effects across water (LS), forest (FS), and rock (RS) landscapes at a Buddhist temple. Experiment 2 recruited 30 new participants and introduced a poetry-creation task in the most relaxing landscape (LS) to test additional effects.ResultsThe water LS significantly prolonged observation duration [LS: 379.835 ± 47.528 vs. FS: 210.656 ± 15.284 vs. RS: 272.157 ± 25.450, 95% CI (65.638, 272.719), p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.443, 1-β = 0.985] and induced greater heart rate reduction (72.4 vs. 78.1 bpm at baseline, p = 0.001). POMS scores showed LS most improved negative moods (e.g., Depression-Dejection: −1.47 ± 0.38 vs. FS +1.07 ± 0.37, p < 0.001).ConclusionChinese Buddhist practices integrating water landscapes and poetry composition optimize relaxation (heart rate reduction: −7.3% in LS) and cognitive engagement, offering evidence-based insights for mental health interventions.
format Article
id doaj-art-c6677d16e7594d08b8fd29d04bc000dc
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-1078
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj-art-c6677d16e7594d08b8fd29d04bc000dc2025-08-20T03:16:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-08-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.16159631615963The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creationTiankai Liang0Minkai Sun1Minkai Sun2Seiko Goto3Faculty of Environmental Science, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, JapanFaculty of Environmental Science, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, JapanSchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, ChinaFaculty of Environmental Science, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, JapanIntroductionAfter integrating with indigenous Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist meditation traditions expanded beyond classical rock meditation to include new practices. This study examines the physiological and psychological effects of nature observation and literary creation within Chinese Buddhist meditation.MethodsExperiment 1 recruited 30 participants and used observation duration, heart rate, the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and a supplemental questionnaire to compare relaxation effects across water (LS), forest (FS), and rock (RS) landscapes at a Buddhist temple. Experiment 2 recruited 30 new participants and introduced a poetry-creation task in the most relaxing landscape (LS) to test additional effects.ResultsThe water LS significantly prolonged observation duration [LS: 379.835 ± 47.528 vs. FS: 210.656 ± 15.284 vs. RS: 272.157 ± 25.450, 95% CI (65.638, 272.719), p = 0.000, ηp2 = 0.443, 1-β = 0.985] and induced greater heart rate reduction (72.4 vs. 78.1 bpm at baseline, p = 0.001). POMS scores showed LS most improved negative moods (e.g., Depression-Dejection: −1.47 ± 0.38 vs. FS +1.07 ± 0.37, p < 0.001).ConclusionChinese Buddhist practices integrating water landscapes and poetry composition optimize relaxation (heart rate reduction: −7.3% in LS) and cognitive engagement, offering evidence-based insights for mental health interventions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1615963/fullChinese Buddhist templerelaxationnatureliteraturemental statemeditation
spellingShingle Tiankai Liang
Minkai Sun
Minkai Sun
Seiko Goto
The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
Frontiers in Psychology
Chinese Buddhist temple
relaxation
nature
literature
mental state
meditation
title The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
title_full The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
title_fullStr The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
title_full_unstemmed The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
title_short The effects of Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition: the impact of nature observation and literary creation
title_sort effects of chinese buddhist meditation tradition the impact of nature observation and literary creation
topic Chinese Buddhist temple
relaxation
nature
literature
mental state
meditation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1615963/full
work_keys_str_mv AT tiankailiang theeffectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT minkaisun theeffectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT minkaisun theeffectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT seikogoto theeffectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT tiankailiang effectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT minkaisun effectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT minkaisun effectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation
AT seikogoto effectsofchinesebuddhistmeditationtraditiontheimpactofnatureobservationandliterarycreation