Dzogchen and death anxiety: A mixed-methods study of the nature of mind and mortality salienc

Terror management theory holds that the actions of people and cultures are driven by unconscious fears of death. Maslow suggested that death anxiety can be overcome and that doing so is related to self-actualization. Tibetan Buddhism's Dzogchen prepares practitioners for enlightenment at the moment of death. Research has demonstrated that trait mindfulness correlates with lower levels of death anxiety. No research has been conducted on whether different meditation practices lead to different levels of death anxiety and self-actualization. The current exploratory mixed-methods study compared levels of conscious death anxiety, trait mindfulness, self-actualization, and religiosity in Dzogchen practitioners with secular mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) practitioners. This study asked Are there significant differences between Dzogchen practitioners and secular MBSR practitioners in levels of conscious, self-reported death anxiety and self-actualization? and How do the practices, worldviews, and life experiences of each group relate to their levels of death anxiety and self-actualization? Assessment instruments included the Templer Death Anxiety Scale-Extended, the Toronto Mindfulness Scale-Trait Version, the Brief Index of Self-Actualization-Revised, and the Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments. No significant differences were found between groups for death anxiety, self-actualization, or trait mindfulness. Dzogchen practitioners scored significantly higher than did MBSR practitioners for religiosity, religious crisis, spiritual transcendence, prayer fulfillment, and connectedness. Four participants from each group participated in follow-up interviews to better convey how their respective meditation practices influenced their lives and relationship with mortality. Themes from both groups were Making Meaning in the Face of the Unknown; Regular Meditation Practice; Fear of Death and Mortality Salience; and Commentary on the Interview. Themes from Dzogchen participants were Dzogchen Path of Transformation and Dzogchen and Death. Themes from MBSR participants were Positive Effects of Living a Mindful Life and MBSR and Death. This study has implications for the fields of transpersonal psychology, Buddhist studies, and thanatology.