Korean Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

This study measured the linguistic differences between traditional Buddhist texts and secular meditation content using corpus-linguistic methods. It compared the T group, which consisted of Pali suttas, commentaries, and modern writings in the Theravada vipassana tradition, with the Y group, which consists of YouTube meditation content. The Y group is further divided into traditional Theravada Buddhist channels (Y1), commercial platforms (Y2), and individual creators (Y3) in order to distinguish media effects from secularization effects. Linguistic characteristics were measured using 13 indicators across 6 analytical dimensions, and the results were tested through a three-stage statistical procedure.
Three patterns of change emerged. First, the pattern of loss: expressions of non-identification, disciplinary language, striving, compassion directed toward others, and analytical language declined sharply in secular content. Second, the pattern of reversal: expressions of self-reification, permissive language, softening adverbs, non-striving, self-compassion, and non-analytical language were absent in traditional texts but emerged in secular content. Third, the pattern of amplification: expressions relating to bodily sensation and mental states appeared frequently in both traditional and secular materials, but increased further in secular content.
A notable finding is that the patterns of loss and reversal form semantic pairs. Where non-identification disappeared, self-reification emerged; where striving disappeared, non-striving emerged; and where compassion directed toward others disappeared, self-compassion emerged. This suggests not merely the omission of traditional vocabulary, but its replacement by opposing concepts. In other words, language originally designed to teach non-self has been transformed into language that encourages the discovery and care of the self.