Tae, Sangsun (Ven. Il Sung)
The Temple Abbot, Yeoraesa, Republic of Korea
Correspondence to Tae, Sangsun (Ven. Il Sung), E-mail: 9339020@hanmail.net
Volume 35, Pages 83-98, December 2025.
Journal of Meditation Based Psychological Counseling 2025, 35, 83-98. https://doi.org/10.12972/mpca.2025.35.6
Received on December 03, 2025, Revised on December 16, 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).
This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of bereaved older adults participating in Jijanggi prayer. The research questions address the following: First, what is the psychological stress of bereaved older adults? Second, what is the impact of bereaved older adults’ Jijanggi prayer participation? Third, what are the perceptions of death after bereaved older adults’ Jijanggi prayer participation? To achieve this study’s objectives, ten individuals who had experienced bereaved older adults participating in Jijanggi prayer were interviewed and analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method (Hill, 2011; Hill et al., 2005). The results are as follows. First, examining the psychological stress of bereaved older adults, six categories were identified within two domains: “emotional stress” and “stress from life’s difficulties.” Second, as a result of examining the impact of the Ksitigarbha prayer for widowed older adults, eight categories were derived from three areas: “Blessings that influenced family relationships,” “Blessings that influenced myself,” and “Blessings experienced in daily life.” Third, as a result of examining the changes in the perception of death experienced by widowed older adults after participating in the Ksitigarbha prayer, six categories were derived from two areas: “General perception of death” and “Buddhist perception of death.” This study demonstrates that widowed older adults experienced a positive experience of affirming and enriching their lives through the Ksitigarbha prayer, while also coping with the loss and grief caused by death. They also demonstrated positive changes in their perception of death through the process of thinking positively about their own death and regaining meaning in life. This study is significant in that it reveals the effectiveness of Ksitigarbha prayer as a death education tool for Buddhists. It is expected that this study will further stimulate future research on death among the elderly.
Bereaved older adults, Ksitigarbha prayers, Psychological stress, Perception of death