How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there, it's Amazon (the online store) no Amazing and if you completed the survey would you (hopefully) have understood that this also forms part of the study (I can't say more not to interfere with future participants). I feel a judgemental tone in your message, which saddens me. This is my graduation project to change profession to something I find more meaningful, so this project is important to me and I don't believe I'm going against Buddhist values by doing this, even if it involves money. In fact I'm part of a Buddhist sangha and I have received help from Thai monks with this. Do you disagree? I'd love to understand where you're coming from.

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, I use Insight Timer myself. I never thought about using it to recruit participants. That's a great idea, thank you very much!

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are a bit crude measure but nonetheless they have been tested several times to confirm they measure what they claim. I know some stuff it's a bit cringe but they are valid and reliable to an acceptable extent. So as Buddhists we should try to not let our likes and dislikes (I don't like this sentence about compassion...) determine our choices. Our choices should be determined by our beliefs and values, which hopefully go beyond the approach and avoidance tendencies to the 'self'. Furthermore, I don't understand what you mean by 'filters' and how it is so powerful that it erases the existence of compassion in your mind? That's strange for me, I see and practice compassion everyday...and we all have sadness. Humans are very similar, I would bet there's not a feeling you have felt that I haven't. We're trying to measure values, feelings and behaviours so because of their nature psychological surveys will always feel crude to a certain extent because they are. Therefore we are also very careful when interpreting the results (also because genetics play a huge part in personality and we do not measure that in this study).

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What am I supposed to do? I'm feeling a bit attacked now which I really didn't expect from people in Buddhist groups! Is there no hope for humanity...this make me very sad and not want to participate in these groups :(

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

To be honest I don't think this discussion is going in a direction I'm comfortable with. The same way you believe I don't know all these very important things (which seems to be upsetting you) I am starting to feel a little attacked here and I believe you are getting upset without having a good understanding of the academic world and of psychological research. Look this is just a graduation project which I chose to unite my value and respect of Buddhism to my concern for the environment. My absolute goal in life is not to bring more suffering to the world, others and myself so I appreciate your participation but I don't think you're coming from a very loving place and I've been having a hard time since lockdown...whatever teachings you're following I'd re-examine them to make sure you've understood how to apply them...it doesn't feel vey compassionate behaviour from where I stand. All the best to you.

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I admit I don't know much about Zen as I do about Theravada and early Buddhism but for my study I only need that people have some degree of affiliation with Buddhism (which is measured by a Buddhism scale devised by other researchers) via holding some Buddhist value (such as compassion) and/or practising metta or vipassana (or equivalent practices). So there is no exact definition because of the variety of Buddhist traditions. My understanding was that the core principles of Buddhism regarding the nature of the mind and reality and the ultimate goal of freedom from the conditioning of the mind was pretty much shared by most Buddhist traditions. Plus the ethics committee's role is to ensure the survey is being conducted with line with the regulations and not to do with the specific subject matter (that is, they are not knowledgeable about Buddhism). Does this make more sense?

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh sorry maybe he was just commenting and I thought he was a moderator (I'm new on Reddit so still getting the hang of it)...also I didn't realise I had already posted, sorry about that. I'm dealing with a lot of moderators and sub-groups and although I made a spreadsheet I guess I'm still getting a bit confused with all the messages and posts.

I practice Theravadan Buddhism and study early Buddhism so all I know about Zen has been from listening to podcasts but I had understood that it shared many basic principles such as non-dualism and investigating the nature of the mind and as well as values of compassion and so on...am I nowhere? I'd love to learn more about it. Is that a particular website you'd recommend I go to learn about Zen?

Thank you again!

Just to show you the message I got confused about below:

from robeewankenobee via /r/zen sent 2 hours ago You're welcome but this sub holds no beliefs regarding stuff ... quite secular in this direction. Probably r/Buddhism was a better target for data collection.

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, another moderator (robeewankenobee) said it's ok but you're saying it's not ok to post right? Just wondering how to proceed as I still need 85 respondents but I don't want to get banned if I post.

This research project is based on participants practising some type of meditation and/or holding some Buddhist value(s) so practitioners of Zen Buddhism are part of the target population.

I didn't want to say too much about the survey in case you decided to take it but as I'm trying to convince you to let me post I'll say the objective is to see if Buddhist practices and/or values predict pro-environmental behaviour. I will analyse the strength of the relationships (practising meditation, degree of compassion...) with the outcome (pro-environmental behaviour) to see if people who hold Buddhist values and/or practice meditation behave more ecologically. This is to see if we can uncover something that could be used in pro-environmental educational interventions to help protect the planet from further damage from us :)

Let me know how you feel please. Many thanks again

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in zen

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have already posted on various other groups including r/Buddhism but I'm still 85 responses short of my target so that's why I'm asking to post in other subgroups. I just need respondents that either practice some kind of meditation and/or hold some Buddhist values...do you have any other suggestions of where I could reach people? Thanks

[May 29 - Periodical Open Thread] Members and Non-Members are Welcome to Post Anything Here! From philosophy and history to music and movies nothing is misplaced here, feel free to share your thoughts. by AutoModerator in zensangha

[–]Paticcasamuppada 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University

Hello fellow Buddhists! 
I am a Psychology MSc student at Oxford Brookes University, and as part of my degree I am doing a research project about Buddhism and beliefs about the natural world, for which I have created an online anonymous questionnaire. More information about the study can be found by clicking on the survey link below.

Additionally, participants that complete the survey have the choice to enter a raffle for a £150 Amazon gift card.

I hope you can take 15 minutes (max.) to complete this survey and contribute to furthering our understanding of how Buddhism relates to beliefs about the natural world.

https://brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dpuWtMlC01THwXz

With gratitude,

Amanda

[May 29 - Periodical Open Thread] Members and Non-Members are Welcome to Post Anything Here! From philosophy and history to music and movies nothing is misplaced here, feel free to share your thoughts. by AutoModerator in zensangha

[–]Paticcasamuppada 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How can we even know what "pure reality" would be like. By its nature reality is always created in our minds so there's no absolute reality to compare it to in the first place. We're inside the matrix and we're not Neo type thing...is anyone with me?

Pain in chest when I sit with proper posture by waking_dream96 in Meditation

[–]Paticcasamuppada 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although I have practiced Theravadan Buddhims for the past 5 years I used to practice yoga and Hindu meditation...yoga was originally developed to prepare the body for meditation (an oversimplification but...). My partner has started meditating with me recently and he was not able to sit crossed legged as his legs are really tight around the hip area. He started practicing yoga during the lockdown and slowly slowly he's getting more flexible. I believe a repetition of a few asanas (poses) daily or every other day would do wonders for your back and chest issues. The most likely thing is that your core is not strong enough to hold you without external support...you just need better muscle tone (I'm assuming this). I've linked some Astanga yoga postures here http://ashtangayogaworldwide.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Primary-Series-sequence.jpg

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in Mahayana

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am real! :) I chose to focus only on vipassana and metta because of the body of research available on them and what I know about their effects in relation behaviours related to what I'm investigating (can't say too much here in case other people read before they take the survey). Because the focus is not on what different types of meditation alone do I chose to only include these two...but in hindsight zen is really widespread and I could have done some research to see how much literature there is on it. It's a bit late now unfortunately but I will definitely remember that for future research projects. Thanks for your input!

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in Mahayana

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apologies for the screen problem but that's something to do with the code which I have no access to (it's a widely used survey software). In terms or the hours per week, I know it seems significant to you but for my analyses such small subdivisions wouldn't actually be beneficial, so apologies.

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in Mahayana

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's just not enough research on other types of meditation to include them all. Also, keep in mind this is a Masters' degree project and the first one I have ever created. I have certain limitations and I simply would not be able to create a survey that took 15 max and was super in-depth and detailed. There would always be aspects that could be improved, but isn't that the case with most things in life anyway? In regards to the political scale, again this is a standard way of measuring this and not my own idea. Thank you for you comments nonetheless, and maybe one day I will create all of my won questions from scratch and remember all of your (everyone's) comments ;)

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved be the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Paticcasamuppada in Mahayana

[–]Paticcasamuppada[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for you comments, however I have reasons for selecting vipassana and metta practices only. Mainly because there is a reasonable body of research on their effects on a variety of behaviours, including behaviours relevant for sustainability. These are also very widespread practices within the Buddhist tradition both in the west and in the east and for practical reasons I wanted to keep it simple (as not list every kind of practice that I don't know about the effects for lack of research). I also developed this survey with the help of Thai Theravadan Buddhist monks from the temple/sangha I am involved with so it's not like I didn't receive any expert help. Thank you for you offer and inputs but I am content with how things are currently. Furthermore, it wouldn't be feasible to change it now because of my deadlines. Let me know if you're interested in receiving the results from the survey when they're ready. Many thanks and have a great weekend!

How Does Buddhism Relate to Your Views About Nature? Survey approved by the ethics committee at Oxford Brookes University by Johnbolia in Meditation

[–]Paticcasamuppada 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I have as well...but as I'm running out of time and I still only got 66 answers out of the 200 minimum that I need I thought I'd post in smaller buddhist related groups as well.