Mindfulness seems to be popping up everywhere – but what is it, what isn’t it, and where does it come from?
It was New Years Eve of 2017. I was sitting alone in my one-bedroom apartment in the Mediterranean island of Malta, wrapped in a blanket and perched on my meditation cushion. In front of me I was being guided in meditation by a Buddhist monk, via YouTube, streaming live from the Nepalese Himalayas. I was in the company of fellow meditators watching the live broadcast from other distant places such as Uruguay, Ethiopia, and Canada.
Today, mindfulness traverses all corners of the globe. From Google offices in London, to jungle retreats in Brazil and Costa Rica, to groups in parks in Berlin, and in nicely designed apps on our phones – mindfulness seems to be just about anywhere you look.
Despite the fact that the way mindfulness is practiced is modern and adapted to global audiences, the practices and philosophies have an ancient religious origin that has spanned the past 2500 years.
Before I talk about what mindfulness is, what it isn’t, and why it’s important for your wellbeing, we will engage in a little time travel back to India, fifth century BC, where it all began.
Buddhist Origins of Mindfulness
Buddhism originated in India in the fifth century BC. It was practiced for a few centuries in India before practically disappearing from the country in approximately the twelfth century (Gethin 1998), and continued to spread through the trade routes.
The spread of Buddhism from India created different schools in the different places it spread to. There are two main schools of Buddhism; Mahayana and Theravada. Mahayana Buddhism encompasses two different strands of Buddhism – Zen and Tibetan. Zen comes from China, Korea, and Japan; whereas Tibetan Buddhism is from Tibet (Wolf & Serpa 2010).
Mindfulness, as it has been taught in the West, stems from a strand of Buddhism called Vipassana, otherwise known as ‘insight’ meditation. This comes from the school of Buddhism known as ‘Theravada’ Buddhism – the main form of Buddhism practiced in Southeast Asia.
The Buddha
The word ‘Budda’ has two meanings – it is the word used for the state of an enlightened being, as well as the name of a man, born by the name of Siddhartha Guatama on the Indian-Nepalese border and the dates which are most popular for the duration of his life are 566-486 BCE (Gethin 1998)
Guatama Buddha – The Person
Guatama was born into an affluent family and lived a life of material comfort and had a wife and son. Despite the affluence and comfort surrounding him, he eventually became disillusioned with his life and had a realization that he would not escape illness, ageing, or death. He then left his family and affluent life behind and embarked on a spiritual journey as a wandering man.
Guatama learned from many different people, he engaged in what would today be considered very extreme austerity practices, and he eventually sat in meditation under a tree in the northern-Indian state of Bihar and experienced a spiritual awakening. That’s when he deeply felt and understood the true cause of human suffering and the path to put an end to human suffering. He then went on to orally teach what he learnt.
It is his learnings and subsequent teachings that form the basis of what is now the Buddhist tradition, which modern day mindfulness practices in the West derive from.
Buddha – The Concept
The word ‘Buddha’ is used for anyone who has achieved a state of spiritual awakening in Buddhism. It is not just Guatama Siddhartha who is the Buddha, but anyone has the possibility to become a Buddha.
As Buddhists believe in karma and the process of re-birth, in Buddhist religion someone who has achieved Buddha status is someone who has come to the end of the cycle of re-births.
Locating Modern Mindfulness in Buddhism
So now we have covered a bit of the background, where does mindfulness fit into things?
The Four Noble Truths
As mentioned before, Guatama Siddhartha, the Buddha, had a deep spiritual awakening where he understood the reality of suffering, and the way out of suffering. These learnings are expressed as ‘The Four Noble Truths’:
Noble Truth 1: The truth of suffering
Noble Truth 2: The truth of the cause of suffering
Noble Truth 3: The truth of the end of suffering
Noble Truth 4: The truth of the path out of suffering
Mindfulness belongs to the fourth noble truth: the path out of suffering, which include all the practices that help all humans end the cycle of endless pain and inner suffering.
The Eightfold Path
To narrow this down even further (Buddhism has A LOT of lists), the path out of suffering is then expressed as the ‘eightfold path’:
- Right view
- Right intention
- Right speech
- Right action
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right mindfulness
- Right concentration
The eightfold path is not practiced in different stages, but as it is appropriate to your current situation.
Current-day mindfulness practices in the West most often involve 6, 7, and 8, with the majority of beginner mindfulness courses focusing on only step 7: right mindfulness.
Right Mindfulness
Of course, there is another list for each step in the eightfold path (Buddhists really love their lists!). There are four particular trainings that make up ‘right mindfulness’:
- mindfulness of the body
- mindfulness of feeling tones (not the same as emotions).
- mindfulness of the mind
- mindfulness of how the mind operates (Wolf & Serpa).
I will go into these in detail in another article, but for now it’s good to know that the most well-known practices in the West are only some of the steps to lead to the cessation of suffering as taught by the Buddha, and typically leave out some of the other steps on the path which many people feel are too religious/spiritual in nature.
The fact that there is no almighty God in Buddhism has made the practices more adaptable to Western culture, and indeed you can practice without having to believe in the cycle of re-birth.
How much each person wants to practice the various steps of the eightfold path depends on each individual, but all of them assist in different ways to cease inner suffering.
What is Mindfulness?
There are many definitions and ways to practice mindfulness, however the definition which has resonated most with me and my way of practicing and coaching is an adaptation of the one which Joseph Goldstein presents which includes the following three components:
- Being present
- Observing our mind and body
- Observing our mind exactly as it is (with the presence of greed, delusion, aversion, judgment, illusion, or resistance of any kind).
Unlike popular perception, mindfulness is not just being present – we can be present whilst doing a dance class or workout which is wonderful, but this is still not mindfulness.
Imagine that you are caught up in an argument – with a partner, a parent, a sibling, a colleague, a political opponent, etc. We may be very caught up in that argument, fighting to get our point of view across, maybe judging the other person or calling them names. In this moment, we can display a lot of presence in the activity of fighting. But I think we can all agree here that getting lost in the moment of an argument is the opposite of being mindful!
Mindfulness must then go beyond mere presence. After establishing presence we then observe, and the third point is “training ourselves to see reality exactly as it is, and we call this special mode of perception mindfulness.” (Mindfulness in Plain English, Loc.445, p.34).
We can observe our mind without being fully aware that our perception and view of things may not be correct due to the state of mind through which you are observing reality.
As Joseph Goldstein explains:
“We can be observing experience, and we often are, through many different filters in the mind. Such as the filter of anger, or aversion, or desire, or delusion…And this is where the practice really is, to discover what the attitude is in the mind in regard to our present moment experience.”
When we first start practicing mindfulness we start where we are at – we may practice only being present for some time until we are capable of being present enough to observe. Then the practice moves to observing the mind and the body.
You may end your practice here, or continue to practice observing reality by understanding all the filters of our experience such as anger, jealousy, greed, and so on.
Why is Mindfulness Important?
Mindfulness practices and philosophies help increase the moments you experience in life which are free from suffering. To quote Tchich Nhat Hanh, “the art of happiness is also and at the same time the art of knowing how to suffer well.” – (Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud No Lotus, Loc.52)
A dedicated mindfulness practice can also help you experience life as it happens in the present moment and be able to enjoy the smaller micro-moments in life without getting lost in too much future thinking or thinking about the past. We live so often in these mind states that we miss out on what is happening in the here and now.
As we have explored previously, mindfulness is about observing our mind states and when we are viewing situations through a particular filter. This observing quality of our mind states can positively influence our relationships to others, making us more compassionate and understanding human beings, as well as help diffuse conflicts.
What Mindfulness is Not
While many want to know what mindfulness is, it’s just as important to discuss what mindfulness is NOT.
When you consider starting a mindfulness practice or course it’s good to get an idea of what to expect and what not to expect so you can decide if it’s right for you.
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Not Just Breathing Exercises
Mindfulness is not just a set of breathing techniques or the seated meditation practice, it is also a life philosophy and worldview which entails being present and remaining non-judging towards ourselves and others in all that we do.
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Not A Relaxation Tool
A lot of my clients come to me because they are looking for relaxation, mindfulness is also not a relaxation tool. While you may experience a sense of relaxation and calm and stilling the busy mind is an important component of practice, mindfulness practices go further – to gain self-awareness.
As you start to see yourself more clearly you may experience some emotional discomfort as inner pain is sometimes brought to the surface that you may not have previously been aware of before.
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Mindfulness Does Not Empty the Mind of Thoughts
In mindfulness practices you observe the thoughts (with kindness and without judgment) not try to get rid of thoughts. There is an acceptance that we will always have thoughts, but we are practicing to change our relationship to those thoughts.
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Not the Answer to All Problems
While mindfulness practices and philosophies can help with many forms of suffering, mindfulness is not always recommended to practice.
If you are feeling emotionally distressed, or experience panic attacks, or have gone through a recent traumatic event, observing your thoughts and inner experiences can cause high levels of emotional dysregulation.
You should always talk to your teacher, and if you are seeing a therapist, to discuss your desire to practice with them as well.
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Not Only to Help Ourselves
Mindfulness is not only practiced to help with our own suffering, but it is also meant to ease the suffering of others as well. As the Tibetan Daila Lama says in his morning prayer, he practices ‘for the benefits of all beings’.
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Not the Same as Concentration
It is easy to mix up the practice of mindfulness and concentration (steps 7 & 8 in the eightfold path). Mindfulness and concentration are not the same but they do go hand in hand.
Concentration can be defined as “one-pointedness of mind. It consists of forcing the mind to remain on one static point” (mindfulness in plain English, loc. 2028,page 172.)
With mindfulness we observe the point of focus and notice when the mind wanders, bring it back to the point of focus, as well as notice the qualities of experience. It is mindfulness that brings you deeper knowledge and self-awareness.
“Concentration…settles down on one item and ignores everything else. Mindfulness…stands back from the focus of attention and watches with a broad focus, quick to notice any changes that occur.” (Mindfuless in Plain English, p.175, loc. 2077).
How I Practice and Teach Mindfulness
I was trained and taught in the vipassana, or insight meditation tradition (which is the Theravada tradition from South East Asia). As I am not Buddhist, I do not believe in or teach karma and re-birth. Nor am I aligned with some of the patriarchal elements of traditional Buddhism – a sentiment I share with all organized religions (whether Buddhism can be classified as a religion or not is a topic for another day).
As such, I do not teach in order to attain enlightenment or to stop the process of re-birth, but I focus on the philosophies and practices that help us out of human suffering and to help us stop causing other people suffering through our own pains.
I am aware that you are not going to have hours to spare every morning to meditate for two hours, and that you don’t live in solitude in the mountains like some Buddhist monks do. You may also have children, studies, partners, or a job (or a combination of all).
As I am a lay practitioner and not a monk, and my clients are not monks, I also focus on improving our abilities to be in relation and connection to other people – which mindfulness helps tremendously with.
Due to my diverse training and background my approach to mindfulness and meditation is modern, creative, multidisciplinary, and individualized for your needs, lifestyle, and schedule.
Feel free to explore my online mindfulness courses that I facilitate live via Zoom.
