The spiritual or secular tourist? The experience of Zen meditation in Chinese temples

By exploring the meditation camps in Nuonatayuan and Hongfa Temples, the paper examines what motivates tourists to experience Zen meditation in Chinese temples, and how they shape those experiences. The study is based on participant observation and thus includes material drawn from observation, informal and formal interviews, personal experiences and secondary documentation. From the analysis, it can be seen that the meditative experience includes sacred and secular experiences, while in the commercial setting the experience shifts to and fro between secularism and sacredness. It is noted that the tourist context of separation from daily life, the landscape values of the locations, the temple atmosphere, the sharing of experiences with like-minded individuals, contact with monks and mentors all contribute to the senses of personal wellness that participants obtain.