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Theory and Meditation of Confucian Mindfulness: Analysis Based on the Concept of Vigilance in Solitude in Chinese Confucianism

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Abstract

Mindfulness has become an area of great interest in Western psychology, but it has been criticized for its de-religionization. Based on Chinese Confucianist Liu Zongzhou’s concept of shendu (慎独; vigilance in solitude), this study attempts to present a complete overview of the Confucian mindfulness meditation system from the theoretical basis and training method. The unique value of Confucian mindfulness meditation is that it directly points to morality, which can make up for the deficiency of mindfulness in Western psychology. Furthermore, Confucian mindfulness meditation can provide more suitable training methods for individuals who are culturally Chinese.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Editage (http://www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Fund [20YJA190007], Chinese Ministry of Education.

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All authors had the idea for the article, performed the literature search and drafted and/or critically revised the work. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ziyu Zhang.

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Peng, Y., Zhang, Z. Theory and Meditation of Confucian Mindfulness: Analysis Based on the Concept of Vigilance in Solitude in Chinese Confucianism. J Relig Health 62, 1872–1883 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01655-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01655-w

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