This article explicates a Zen-informed spiritual research paradigm based on an Eastern Buddhist worldview that fundamentally transcends the Western mainstream assumptions. Beginning with a proposed definition of “spiritual research”, this article systematically discusses the features of a Zen-informed spiritual research paradigm in terms of ontology, epistemology, axiology, and methodology. The author uses a field study (Yu, 2021; Yu & Mills, 2023; Yu, 2024) to showcase the application of Zen methodologies with respect to research design, data sampling, data collection, data analysis, theorizing, and report writing. The author also proposes a list of criteria for evaluating spiritual research along with applicable methodological strategies. This research potentially opens a new field in the MSR domain, namely, Zen-informed spiritual research.
