Kim, Hyunjin (Ven. In Hae)
The Temple Abbot, Bogwangsa, Republic of Korea
Correspondence to Kim, Hyunjin (Ven. In Hae), E-mail: fml0203@naver.com
Volume 35, Pages 1-15, December 2025.
Journal of Meditation Based Psychological Counseling 2025, 35, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.12972/mpca.2025.35.1
Received on December 03, 2025, Revised on December 11, 2025, Accepted on December 26, 2025, Published on December 31, 2025.
Copyright © 2025 Meditation based Psychological Counseling Association.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0).
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a Compassion Toward Others meditation program for middle-aged adults. The research aimed to investigate whether the program influenced empathy, compassion toward others, and helping behavior among participants. To address these questions, a Compassion Toward Others meditation program was conducted for middle-aged participants, and pre- and post-tests were administered using the Empathy Scale, Compassion Toward Others Scale, and Helping Behavior Scale. The data were analyzed using frequency analysis, independent sample t-tests, and paired sample t-tests. The results showed that, after participating in the program, the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in empathic arousal and emotional empathy compared to before participation. In addition, the experimental group showed a significant increase in compassion toward acquaintances, compassion toward strangers, and overall compassion toward others. The post-test mean score for compassion toward acquaintances was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. Furthermore, the mean score for helping behavior significantly increased in the experimental group after participation compared to before. This study is meaningful in that it empirically demonstrated the effectiveness of a Buddhist-based meditation intervention in enhancing empathy, compassion toward others, and helping behavior among middle-aged adults.
middle-aged adults, compassion toward others meditation program, empathy, compassion toward others, helping behavior