Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam : Cultural Histories

Meditative practices have flourished in widely different parts of Eurasia, yet historical research on such practices is limited. Research to date has focussed on contexts rather than actual practices, and within individual traditions. For the first time in one volume, the meditative practices of the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are examined. They are viewed in a global perspective, considering both generic and historical connections to practices in other traditions, particularly India and East Asia. In doing so, a framework for the comparative study of meditation is proposed, identifying cultural and historical peculiarities of Western meditative practices, comparing them both to each other and to Eastern forms of meditation. The book builds on a notion of meditation as self-administered techniques for inner transformation, a definition which focuses on transformative practice rather than notions of meditative states and mystical experiences. It proposes ways of studying meditative practice historically, and distinguishes meditation from related practices such as prayer, ritual and spiritual mediumship. The volume concludes with an essay on the modern scientific interest in meditation.