Using Zen Therapy of Buddhism to Promote Holistic Health in COVID-19 Patients
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International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECS)
ISSN: 1308-5581 Vol 14, Issue 03 2022
Using Zen Therapy of Buddhism to Promote Holistic Health in COVID-19 Patients
Danabekova Aigerim1，Khatib Ahmad Khan1,2*, Wu Yansheng2
1
School of Chinese Language and Literature, Shaanxi Normal University; 710119, Xi’an, China
2
School of Oriental Studies，Xi’an International Studies University, 710128, Xi’an, China
Email: danabekova@snnu.edu.cn (D.A.); khatib786@snnu.edu.cn (K.A.K.);1330003636@qq.com
(W.Y.)
*
Corresponding author: Khatib Ahmad Khan (khatib786@snnu.edu.cn)
Abstract
Psychology is generally based on the pillars of religion and Buddhism is one religion that is more of a philosophy
and lesser a religion and the same is having a great impact on psychology of people. This happens with a view that
the goals of both the streams are common but the methodology is different, and major difference lies in the
orientation. Zen Therapy or meditation is again one such process that can help a patient suffering from severe
ailments. This present study will try to understand the usefulness of ‘Zen Therapy’ for recovery of Corona patients
and also try to evaluate the impact on the same in case of Corona positive patients in the state of Rajasthan. The
study is based on primary data and Chi-square test is used to analyze the data.
Keywords: COVID-19, Zen Therapy, Meditation, Holistic health
Introduction
Buddhism is less on religion and more on philosophy and as per the historical evidences it more than 2000 years old.
As we tap the steps in history we find that Buddhism has originated from Indian soil and is based on the preaching
of Buddha, who was once a prince and experiencing the pain and suffering of life he decided to find the answers to
the same. In the process he achieved ‘Enlightenment’ and then popularly known as ‘Enlightened One’, all this
happened in 5th and 4th century BCE. Then at a later stage, the preaching and psychology of Buddhism reached
China and there it is merged with Confucianism and other native Chinese beliefs.Shankara (2015) This was the
time when the whole idea was taken in a different stride and it took the shape of a philosophy rather than religion.
Then coming to the orientation of ‘Zen’ in Buddhism it is believed that it another name of ‘Dhyana’ in Sanskrit and
the respective meaning of the same is related to meditation or concentration. Iwano (2003) As it is believed stated in
the philosophy of Buddhism, if the thought process of an individual is not interrupted then it is not possible to attain
high level of consciousness and in the process it is mandatory that all the elements of external environment are kept
aside and only a single thought is process upon, like Buddha did in the process of attaining enlightenment.
Then at the next level talking about Japan, there are a number of version stated in case of ‘Zen’ and the same is
mentioned below:
Rinzai set of Belief
Soto Set of Belief
Obaku Set of Belief
From the above mentioned set of beliefs, Rinzai is the oldest one and was established in later years of 11th century,
then came the Soto set of beliefs that was coined in the initial years of 13th century and in a difference of 62 years
the Obaku set of belief was developed. Here it is to mention that these set of beliefs were established by ‘Zen-
Masters’ and the very first Zen master in the process was Eisai (established Rinzai) then second was Dogen who
started Sotoand finally third was Ingen who started Obaku. As a matter of fact these set of beliefs were influenced
by Japanese and Chinese culture but there is slight differentiation in the orientation of the same i.e. Obaku set of
belief was influenced by Chinese traditions and remaining two were influenced by Japanese culture. Then on the
other hand on the basis of political and other environmental variation there is an ongoing debate in this respect i.e.
whose tradition is stronger.
1513International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECS)
ISSN: 1308-5581 Vol 14, Issue 03 2022
Figure 1: Relation between Psychology and Religion
As stated in the above given figure 1, it can be seen that there is a strong relationship between religion and
psychology. As a matter of fact it is a strong belief that psychology is generally based on the pillars of religion and
Buddhism is one religion that is more of a philosophy and lesser a religion and the same is having a great impact on
psychology of people. This happens with a view that the goals of both the streams are common but the methodology
is different, and major difference lies in the orientation i.e. psychology requires scientific traits and relation of the
same with human mind and body but the beliefs can be common to all the people at the same time and here the
difference lies in the opinion of people, as the saying goes beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.
COVID-19 and Zen Therapy
The outburst of COVID-19 has changed the lives of people all over the world for some time and still, after one year
of the spread of pandemic, there is no sustainable cure of the same. The suitable vaccine is liable to appear by 2021.
Except a few countries almost all the countries of the world are having high number of infected people and with
every passing day more & more new patients are coming in. The seriousness of the pandemic can be understood
with the fact that after a certain stage it is impossible to save the patient and if the symptoms are clear initially then
the patient is quarantined for a specific period of time and stay there till the report is negative. In this process there
are a number of cases registered where people lose their heart and started to believe that they will not be cured and
in lieu of the same either they commit suicide of die from haemorrhage or heart attack.
There are a number of quarantine center around the world where even the doctors are prescribing ancient herbs and
meditation to the infected patients so that they can recover from the disease both mentally and physically. As a
matter of fact this is not an easy task to ask any of the infected person to try meditation or any other therapy to
recover, but then again it is believed that meditation can provide mental strength to a person to fight with the
disease. It might happen that Zen therapy is not used in the same name but then again there are evidences that
meditation has helped the patients and the pace of their recovery has increased.
This present study will try to understand the usefulness of ‘Zen Therapy’ for recovery of Corona patients and also
try to evaluate the impact on the same in case of Corona positive patients in the state of Rajasthan in India.
Literature Review
Kaneko et al (2018) conducted a study on the relationship of psychology and religion, the location of study was
China and the respondents were the mentally challenged patients i.e. from psychology ward of government
hospitals. Findings of the study stated that in most of the cases doctors do not believe much on the religious methods
of healing i.e. they ask for the scientific proof and records of the same but then again at the second level it was
observed that if a patient has taken private sessions of meditation and mental healing from authorized centers then
1514International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECS)
ISSN: 1308-5581 Vol 14, Issue 03 2022
the rate of recovery has increased. Some part of this study was also based on the healing of patients suffering from
accidental trauma and the results were favorable.
Imade et al (2017) conducted a study on the outcomes of ‘Zen Therapy’, the study was based on hospitals from
some of the European countries and the respective respondents of the study were people from deprived section of
the society who are suffering from hunger and scarcity of basic resources of food, water and shelter. The findings of
the study stated that some of the respondents have shown a high rate of self-motivation after the sessions but then
again there were some other set of respondents who have not shown any sign of change either positive or negative.
The researcher explained that sheer negativity and lack of confidence on the results of therapy are the basic reasons
of the same. As a matter of fact the success rate of experiment was around 63% considering all the respondents in
total.
Matsu (2016) this study was based on the comparison of all the methods and used in religion and spirituality and the
respective sources of information were taken from religious books followed in China. The findings of the study
stated that most of the religious books have considered that a mentally strong person can fight with any tough
situation of life, even with a highly sensitive physical ailment. On the other hand mental strength is very closely
related to physical health of a person, hence the importance and use of meditation cannot be outnumbered in the
process of healing.
Wuff (2015) Stated that there are two different views of psychology i.e. one is contemporary and religion based, he
also stated that if the basic traits used in psychology are traced back it can be seen that most of the therapies are
based on the pillars of religion. There is another interpretation of this phenomenon i.e. in the olden times the medical
practitioners have developed their therapies on the basis of their religious beliefs and down the line whichever trait
was successful it was established as a principle of medication.
Objectives
The main objective of this present study is to evaluate the impact of ‘Zen Therapy’ or meditation on Corona patients
in the state of Rajasthan and also to find the link between mental strength and physical recovery of the said patients.
Hypothesis
H0: Psychological recovery is more important as compared to physical recovery of COVID-19 patient.
H1: Psychological recovery is more important as compared to physical recovery of COVID-19 patient.
Research Methodology
Data Collection
This present study is based on primary data but then a trail of secondary data is considered to understand the
involvement and implication of Zen therapy or meditation in the healing of patients suffering from different serious
ailments. As a matter of fact, not much data is available in this context because COVID-19 has emerged in last one
year and most of the studies have focused on spread of the same, consequences and impact. So in order to
understand the principles of medication and usage of the same, secondary data is considered and for rest of the study
primary data is analyzed.
Total sample of the study is around 214 Corona positive patients from different cities of Rajasthan and for the ease
of calculation and analysis the researcher has taken the liberty to shorten the sample to 200 respondents.
The main tools of data collection were questionnaire and observation sheets, some direct and disguised questions
were asked to the patients who have recovered from the disease and observation sheet is used to note the observation
of the patients who were still recovering in the quarantine centers.
Sample Size
Data of 200 respondents was considered for the study.
Statistical Measure
ß Chi-Square test.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Test Results
Chi-Square test (H1)
Satisfaction from Medication
On the basis of Age On the Basis of Gender
Price of Some Doses Some
Felt state Doses are Felt state Price of
Medicines specifi are specif
of comforta of Medicines is
is c comforta ic
recovery ble recovery affordable
affordable Medic ble Medi
1515International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECS)
ISSN: 1308-5581 Vol 14, Issue 03 2022
ation catio
n
Calculate
.210 .115 .109 .075 .320 .230 0.105 0.569
d Value
Table
1.954 1.505 2.50 1.311 1.525 1.911 1.691 1.301
Value
State of Quarantine Center
On the basis of Age On the Basis of Gender
Crowd Cleanline Social Other Crowd Cleanlin Social Other facilities
ss Distanci facilities ess Distanci
ng ng
Calculate
0.106 0.119 0.108 0.325 0.687 .451 .349 .670
d Value
Table
1.363 1.977 2.615 2.153 1.381 1.914 2.198 2.229
Value
Use of Meditation
On the basis of Age On the Basis of Gender
Impact on Mental Faster Motiv Impact on Mental Faster Motiv
recovery Strength Recovery ation recovery Strength Recovery ation
Calculate .125 .239 .106
.681 .451 .249 .353 .249
d Value
Table 2.919 2.118 2.611
1.901 2.671 2.596 2.919 3.199
Value
Satisfaction From Recovery from Meditation
On the basis of Age On the Basis of Gender
Physical Satisfie Physical
Felt state Taking Satisfie Felt state Taking
Strength d with Strength
of Regular d with of Regular
has Traine has
recovery Sessions Trainer recovery Sessions
increased r increased
Calculate
.662 .107 .129 .559 .128 .149 .681 .345
d Value
Table
1.919 2.397 3.698 2.669 2.919 4.319 1.912 2.518
Value
Interpretation
As can be seen from the above table of data analysis that in the almost in all the cases the calculated value is less
than the table value, this shows that most of the respondents are agreed to the point in question. This is a thumb rule
in case of Chi-square test that if the variation the table and calculated value is more that it is considered that the
respondents are not in agreeable state and vice versa.
Hence in case of satisfaction from medication, it is found that most of the respondents are given the common
medication and there is not much difference in the same, on the other hand the government authorities and even
doctors are waiting for vaccine to arrive, in the time being Zinc, B-Complex and some other Vitamins like Vit. D
and C are given to patients for faster recovery. As a matter of fact the patients who have recovered from the disease
stated that these medications have helped them to recover at a faster rate.
As far as quarantine center are concerned, in almost all the sampled cities the state of centers was satisfactory. It is
the observation of researcher that government authorities are taking all the care to maintain cleanliness, sanitary and
hygiene at the respective centers and even the respondents have stated the same.
Then on the other hand in case of using meditation, most of the respondents stated that at the quarantine center the
coordinators used to motivate the patients for religious chanting and singing ‘Bhajans’ and other religious songs.
Most of the respondents stated that they have gained mental strength in the process. Secondly, 65% of the
respondents stated that they are meditating at least once in a day and the researcher observed that they are
unknowingly practicing ‘Zen Therapy’ i.e. three stage meditation. Apparently, only a few stated that this has helped
them to recover from the infection.
1516International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECS)
ISSN: 1308-5581 Vol 14, Issue 03 2022
Out of all the 65% of the respondents who were using meditation only 20% were satisfied with their present
condition and physical health. As a matter of fact this is a good sign but then again it is felt that if some
professionals are engaged in the process then the sign of faster recovery can be seen.
Result
On the basis of above analysis of data and interpretation, it can be said that in case of Corona positive patients,
meditation has helped to a certain extent, but it cannot be stated with conformity that mental strength is certainly
going to impact the physical recovery of said patients. Hence the null hypothesis ‘Psychological recovery is more
important as compared to physical recovery of COVID-19 patient’ can be rejected and the alternate hypothesis can
be accepted.
Conclusion
This is a well-known fact that most of the medical therapies are based on religious backgrounds and psychological
treatments are very closely related to the same. As far as the focus area of psychology is concerned, it is related to
mental strength of a person and if a given person is mentally strong then he or she can fight with physical ailments
as well. In this present study the researcher has tried to evaluate the impact of meditation or Zen therapy on the
patients of Corona. The finding of the study stated that as per the beliefs, some amount of religious beliefs have
provided strength to the patients but then again it cannot be said with conformity that this has cured the patients.
Then again, meditation has provided mental strength and motivation to the patients for recovering from their present
condition. 65% of the respondents stated that they are meditating at least once in a day and the researcher observed
that they are unknowingly practicing ‘Zen Therapy’ i.e. three stage meditation. Apparently, only a few stated that
this has helped them to recover from the infection.
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