In this excerpt from his thesis, Dr Ramesh Manocha discusses the problem of defining meditation.
Defining meditation for research purposes is a challenge. Conceptual definitions of meditation vary widely but generally lack empirical confirmation. Many reviewers and researchers practically assume that all processes labelled “meditation” are similar, an assumption which could well be flawed. These issues, along with the idea that modern and traditional notions about meditation may be fundamentally different are discussed extensively in the cultural review in Chapter 3.