Meditation Quality Matters: Effects of Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditations on Subjective Well-being are Associated with Meditation Quality.

Loving-kindness and compassion meditations (LKCM) are considered a promising practice for increasing long-term well-being. While previous studies have mainly focused on meditation practice quantity, the current study provides an initial exploration of the quality of meditation during multiweek LKCM training. Data were collected through offline (Study 1; N = 41) and online (Study 2; N = 243) LKCM interventions. Quality of meditation was measured using two kinds of difficulties experienced during LKCM each week/unit (i.e., difficulty in concentration and difficulty in generating prosocial attitudes). Subjective well-being (SWB) was assessed by life satisfaction before and after training as well as positive and negative emotions each week/unit. Two studies consistently suggested that meditation quality was significantly associated with changes in SWB. Study 1 even showed that quality had a stronger association with SWB than did meditation quantity. Moreover, both short-term (measured each week/unit) and long-term (measured across the entire training period) associations between the quality of meditation and SWB were significant. Focusing on meditation quality, our findings provide theoretical and methodological pathways for understanding the contribution of meditation practice to LKCM training, which is helpful for guiding future research and best practices. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10902-022-00582-7.

The Self-Compassion Scale is Not Validated in a Buddhist Sample.

The concept of self-compassion originated from Buddhism, but very little is known about the utility and functions of this concept among Buddhists. Four hundred and eleven individuals (179 Buddhists and 232 non-Buddhists) completed the survey packages using the self-compassion scale (SCS; Neff in Self Identity 2(3):223-250, 2003a. doi: 10.1080/15298860309027 ). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original six dimensions of the SCS were not replicated by both samples, and further analysis of the intra-correlations within dimensions of SCS and relationships between SCS and other variables showed unexpected results specific to Buddhists. Among Buddhists, the dimensions of self-kindness and common humanity neither showed negative correlations with their opposite dimensions nor were associated with better emotional outcomes. In addition, these two dimensions were not predicted by the regular practice of loving-kindness meditation. This study argued that the ideas of self-compassion reflected in the SCS are theoretically different from the ideas of Buddhism, and further implications for measuring and clinically applying self-compassion were discussed.

The moderating and mediating roles of self-acceptance and tolerance to others in the relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being.

This study explored the moderating and mediating influences of self-acceptance and tolerance to others in the relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being. In total, 301 (130 males) university students completed the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Index of Well-being, Self-acceptance Questionnaire, and Tolerance Scale. The results showed that the positive link between mindfulness and subjective well-being was significantly mediated by self-acceptance only. Tolerance played a moderating role. The implications of the results for relevant research and mindfulness training were discussed.