No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Accessibility Versus Integrity in Secular Mindfulness: A Buddhist Commentary
Abstract
This paper explores secular mindfulness approaches (MBSR/MBCT) from the standpoint of Buddhist mindfulness practice. Secular mindfulness is presented in a format that is accessible to far more Westerners than a traditional Buddhist approach is likely to be and has already been of considerable benefit to many people. However, the paper questions whether the translation of a Buddhist-derived practice into a secular format has also resulted in some serious losses—specifically, the loss of the meaning of some practices and exercises, and ultimately, the capacity to deeply liberate from suffering. The heavy emphasis placed in secular mindfulness on acceptance and meditation is questioned, as are some of the possible results—namely an approach that reinforces individualism and which can be used as a value-free technique to enhance performance and productivity. Recommendations are made for ways in which the integrity of the secular mindfulness approach could be maintained without sacrificing accessibility.
... Future research needs to carefully address how specifically the role of socio-cognitive mindfulness differs from contemplative interpretations. Notably, the practice of contemplative approaches to mindfulness in Western cultures will likely differ from practice in Eastern-Buddhist cultures [94,95]. Building on our findings, future research could compare the effect of different mindfulness concepts in the context of sustainable consumption, as well as consumer behavior in general, in different cultural settings, and among practitioners and non-practitioners of contemplative techniques (see [12] as an example). ...
Mindfulness has been presented as a consumer characteristic mitigating negative environmental effects of overconsumption. This study argues that consumers’ propensity to engage in sustainable consumption behaviors additionally depends on individual values and beliefs, developing a more nuanced view of mindfulness in this particular domain of consumer behavior. Based on an online survey among 546 American consumers, the study finds that mindfulness not only affects a set of sustainable consumption behaviors directly, but also has an impact on environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness, accounting for an indirect positive effect of mindfulness through these values and beliefs. Materialism is negatively associated with mindfulness. However, certain forms of sustainable consumption behaviors may offer a pathway for materialist consumers to participate in sustainable consumption. Research findings indicate that increased mindfulness may be effective in changing daily consumption routines, helping to reduce negative environmental impacts of overconsumption, particularly in populations with increased environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness.
... Mindfulness, in its original conceptualization is derived from Buddhist ethics and philosophy (Kabat-Zinn, 2011;Khong, 2009;Marx, 2015;Orr, 2014;Thayer-Bacon, 2003), specifically The Eightfold Path, which is itself a part of Buddhist ontology as described by The Four Noble Truths (DeMoss, 2011;Khong, 2009). Mindfulness in the context of The Eightfold Path is formally referred to as "right mindfulness" in its English translation, where the word "right" refers to a quality of wholesomeness and wisdom, and the word "mindfulness" describes a myriad of qualities, including: reflexivity, thoughtfulness, sensitivity, empathy, and awareness. ...
Este artigo reconstrói a revisão do livro acadêmico ao responder a “Pesquisa e Ensino baseados nas artes e nas Práticas Contemplativas”, editado por Walsh, Bickel e Leggo, em 2014, um texto rico e sagazmente pensado que informará o futuro do campo simbiótico das artes e práticas contemplativas no currículo. Os autores respondem à antologia através da Praxis Parallaxic, um modelo de pesquisa que desencadeia abordagens artísticas contemplativas que a equipe usou especificamente para enfrentar os desafios contemporâneos de tempo, atenção e conexão. O livro reestrutura as possibilidades de aprendizagem dentro do espaço interativo entre o sujeito e a experiência e, por sua vez, ilustra o engajamento acadêmico por meio da realização de uma prática sustentável e deliberada de ações contemplativas e críticas.
... A central controversy is the extent to which research and clinical practice should conform to Buddhist teachings, called the dharma perspective, or whether there should be a secular-psychological perspective that is largely independent of the Buddhist tradition . Authors within the dharma perspective state that MMBI are based on traditional Buddhist practices and should have fidelity to those origins (Grossman & Van Dam, 2011;Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Marx, 2015) and include adherence to other components of Buddhist philosophy such as ethics and values (Grossman & Van Dam, 2011;Monteiro, Musten, & Compson, 2014;Van Gordon, Shonin, Griffiths, & Singh, 2014). In addition, some authors have suggested that mindfulness interventionists must have a personal Buddhist spiritual practice, guidance from Buddhist teachers, and may need to have achieved spiritual realization in order to be effective (Grossman & Van Dam, 2011;Kabat-Zinn, 2011;Van Gordon et al., 2014). ...
Several factors may impede ethnoracial minority inclusion in Mindfulness- and Meditation-Based Intervention (MMBI) studies, such as healthcare disparities, historical underrepresentation in clinical research, and a conceptual perspective that emphasizes the universality of Buddhist teachings. This systematic review was performed with the aim of describing MMBI studies with a significant diversity focus, defined as involving minority inclusion in sample composition, cultural adaptations of interventions, and/or planned comparisons of outcomes for different ethnoracial groups. Studies were identified through PsycINFO and MEDLINE databases from 1990 to 2016 in the United States. We reviewed 12,265 citations to include 24 MMBI diversity-focused studies. Aside from Native Alaskans, all other major US ethnoracial minority groups were included in at least one study. Most of the studies (75%) were conducted with child and youth samples; the others included only women. Most (58%) included participants selected for a health or mental health condition, but none required specific diagnoses for study inclusion. The most commonly used MMBI was mindfulness-based stress reduction (29%), and only 12.5% of all studies used a culturally adapted intervention. Only one study reported planned ethnoracial comparisons of treatment outcomes. Cohen’s d effect sizes for single-sample studies ranged from 0.10 to 0.62 and for randomized controlled trials ranged from 0.02 to 0.99. Results from this systematic review highlight the dearth of diversity focus in MMBI research. Future work should include indicators of feasibility, acceptability, and safety; address underrepresentation of ethnoracial minorities, men, and participants with clinically or functionally significant symptoms; and investigate cultural adaptations to optimize treatment effectiveness.
This article presents findings from a teacher education study, exploring the implications of mindfulness training on student teachers in the context of a transitional society, South Africa. Western secular mindfulness has been expanding to new continents, from its origins in the East, and can now benefit from being contextualised. Recent critiques of the contemporary mindfulness movement identify elements that are missing from much secular mindfulness training, such as ethics, compassion, and social engagement. As part of a mixed methods research study, in-depth interviews were carried out with fourteen student teachers in Gauteng, aiming to understand the level and causes of their stress, and evaluate whether a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) was beneficial. The study's findings extended the current literature, highlighting the benefits of including compassion practices in MBIs, particularly in stressful contexts. Compassion-based mindfulness has the potential as a practice that not only improves the resilience of individuals, but also becomes a means of enhancing social engagement. For student teachers in the global south, mindfulness balanced with compassion impacted on their experience of self-compassion, empathy and compassion for others and altruistic behaviour. Explicit compassion training could, therefore, address some of the current critiques of MBIs.
This chapter examines a novel approach to mindfulness training, optimized for high-stress contexts, called Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT).® MMFT follows in the lineage of warrior traditions that train the body and mind to cultivate two foundational warrior qualities—wisdom and bravery. Wisdom is the ability to see clearly how things are right now and then to use that information to make the most effective choice in the moment. Bravery is the ability to stay present with any experience, even an extremely difficult one, without needing for it to be different. Together, these two qualities are a pathway toward effective action in any sphere, but especially in high-stress environments. In line with this lineage, MMFT cultivates attentional control and tolerance for challenging experience—two capacities important for enhancing performance and building resilience in high-stress contexts. This chapter examines some of the possible mechanisms by which MMFT may enhance performance and build resilience, while ameliorating the detrimental effects of such environments. Next, it summarizes the empirical research to date about MMFT, with troops preparing for combat deployments. Finally, it compares MMFT to other approaches for cultivating mindfulness.
In this article we introduce AMR's Special Topic Forum on Understanding and Creating Caring and Compassionate Organizations. We outline why the time is right for such a forum, uncover scholarly and philosophical roots of a focus on compassion and care, and provide a brief introduction to the diverse and rich set of articles contained in this forum. We describe the innovative theorizing uncovered by the special issue articles and summarize the rich set of possibilities they suggest for the practice of organizing.
Given significant rates of psychological distress in practicing psychological therapists, including those in training, there is a need to cultivate self-care and compassion during therapy training. Emerging research has suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM) increases well-being and compassion, thus, making it a potential tool to foster self-care in trainee therapists (TT). However, studies have also suggested difficulties in engaging with LKM. This study aimed to explore in-depth how a sample of TT experiences a course of LKM, using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Twelve TT who had previously attended a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy course took part in a six-session LKM course and were interviewed about their experience. Five master themes were identified: (a) engaging with the practice, (b) impact on self, (c) impact on relationships, (d) bringing compassion into the therapy room, and (e) integrating LKM into life. Participants perceived LKM to have led to increased self-awareness, compassion for self and others, and therapeutic presence and skills. At the same time, LKM was experienced as emotionally challenging. The findings suggest that it may be useful to offer LKM to TT as an approach to enhancing self-care and compassion, but that it should be taught with care, given its potential emotional impact. Moreover, the findings provide a platform for future quantitative research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Shame and self-criticism are transdiagnostic problems. People who experience them may struggle to feel relieved, reassured or safe. Research suggests that a specialised affect regulation sys tem (or systems) underpins feelings of reassurance, safeness and well-being. It is believed to have evolved with attachment systems and, in particular, the ability to register and respond with calming and a sense of well-being to being cared for. In compassion-focused therapy it is hypothesised that this affect regulation system is poorly accessible in people with high shame and self-criticism, in whom the 'threat' affect regulation system dominates orientation to their inner and outer worlds. Compassion-focused therapy is an integrated and multimodal approach that draws from evolutionary, social, developmental and Buddhist psychology, and neuro science. One of its key concerns is to use compassionate mind training to help people develop and work with experiences of inner warmth, safeness and soothing, via compassion and self-compassion.
The author recounts some of the early history of what is now known as MBSR, and its relationship to mainstream medicine and the science of the mind/body connection and health. He stresses the importance that MBSR and other mindfulness-based interventions be grounded in a universal dharma understanding that is congruent with Buddhadharma but not constrained by its historical, cultural and religious manifestations associated with its counties of origin and their unique traditions. He locates these developments within an historic confluence of two very different epistemologies encountering each other for the first time, that of science and that of the meditative traditions. The author addresses the ethical ground of MBSR, as well as questions of lineage and of skillful ‘languaging’ and other means for maximizing the possibility that the value of cultivating mindfulness in the largest sense can be heard and embraced and cultivated in commonsensical and universal ways in secular settings. He directly addresses mindfulness-based instructors on the subject of embodying and drawing forth the essence of the dharma without depending on the vocabulary, texts, and teaching forms of traditional Buddhist environments, even though they are important to know to one degree or another as part of one's own development. The author's perspective is grounded in what the Zen tradition refers to as the one thousand year view. Although it is not stated explicitly in this text, he sees the current interest in mindfulness and its applications as signaling a multi-dimensional emergence of great transformative and liberative promise, one which, if cared for and tended, may give rise to a flourishing on this planet akin to a second, and this time global, Renaissance, for the benefit of all sentient beings and our world.
Several models have explored the possible change mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based interventions from the perspectives
of multiple disciplines, including cognitive science, affective neuroscience, clinical psychiatry, and psychology. Together,
these models highlight the complexity of the change process underlying these interventions. However, no one model appears
to be sufficiently comprehensive in describing the mechanistic details of this change process. In an attempt to address this
gap, we propose a psychological model derived from Buddhist contemplative traditions. We use the proposed Buddhist psychological
model to describe what occurs during mindfulness practice and identify specific mechanisms through which mindfulness and attention
regulation practices may result in symptom reduction as well as improvements in well-being. Other explanatory models of mindfulness
interventions are summarized and evaluated in the context of this model. We conclude that the comprehensive and detailed nature
of the proposed model offers several advantages for understanding how mindfulness-based interventions exert their clinical
benefits and that it is amenable to research investigation.
KeywordsMindfulness–Meditation–Psychological model–Buddhism–Insight
The present experiment was designed to establish the effects of acts of kindness and acts of novelty on life satisfaction. Participants aged 18-60 took part on a voluntary basis. They were randomly assigned to perform either acts of kindness, acts of novelty, or no acts on a daily basis for 10 days. Their life satisfaction was measured before and after the 10-day experiment. As expected, performing acts of kindness or acts of novelty resulted in an increase in life satisfaction.
B. L. Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions asserts that people's daily experiences of positive emotions compound over time to build a variety of consequential personal resources. The authors tested this build hypothesis in a field experiment with working adults (n = 139), half of whom were randomly-assigned to begin a practice of loving-kindness meditation. Results showed that this meditation practice produced increases over time in daily experiences of positive emotions, which, in turn, produced increases in a wide range of personal resources (e.g., increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, decreased illness symptoms). In turn, these increments in personal resources predicted increased life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms. Discussion centers on how positive emotions are the mechanism of change for the type of mind-training practice studied here and how loving-kindness meditation is an intervention strategy that produces positive emotions in a way that outpaces the hedonic treadmill effect.
The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. Can feelings of social connection and positivity toward others be increased? Is it possible to self-generate these feelings? In this study, the authors used a brief loving-kindness meditation exercise to examine whether social connection could be created toward strangers in a controlled laboratory context. Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation.
Although much research has examined the effect of income on happiness, we suggest that how people spend their money may be
at least as important as how much money they earn. Specifically, we hypothesized that spending money on other people may have
a more positive impact on happiness than spending money on oneself. Providing converging evidence for this hypothesis, we
found that spending more of one's income on others predicted greater happiness both cross-sectionally (in a nationally representative
survey study) and longitudinally (in a field study of windfall spending). Finally, participants who were randomly assigned
to spend money on others experienced greater happiness than those assigned to spend money on themselves.
The guest editors introduce this special issue on Mindfulness, explaining its rationale, aims, and intentions. Integrating mindfulness-based approaches into medicine, psychology, neuroscience, healthcare, education, business leadership, and other major societal institutions has become a burgeoning field. The very rapidity of such growth of interest in mainstream contemporary applications of ancient meditative practices traditionally associated with specific cultural and philosophical perspectives and purposes, raises concerns about whether the very essence of such practices and perspectives might be unwittingly denatured out of ignorance and/or misapprehended and potentially exploited in inappropriate and ultimately unwise ways. The authors suggest that this is a point in the development of this new field, which is emerging from a confluence of two powerful and potentially synergistic epistemologies, where it may be particularly fruitful to pause and take stock. The contributors to this special issue, all experts in the fields of Buddhist scholarship, scientific research, or the implementation of mindfulness in healthcare or educational settings, have risen to the challenge of identifying the most salient areas for potential synergy and for potential disjunction. Our hope is that out of these interchanges and reflections and collective conversations may come new understandings and emergences that will provide both direction and benefit to this promising field. We are delighted to introduce this special issue ofContemporary Buddhism, which is devoted exclusively to invited contributions from Buddhist teachers and contemplative scholars, together with mindfulness-based professionals on both
After 15 years on sustained psychological research on meditation, a careful evaluation of the evidence of the effects and effectiveness of meditation techniques is needed. The contents of this book provide just such an evaluation—the contributors being drawn from among those most knowledgeable about meditation research. The book also describes the context of this research by presenting relevant theoretical bases in Eastern and Western psychology.
Part I presents an outline of what meditation is and how it has been viewed from the very different perspectives of the spiritual traditions of the East and the positivist orientation of Western psychology. The place and aims of meditation in Buddhist psychology are described along with contemporary Western theoretical approaches to understanding human behavior.
Part II reviews research on the phenomenology of meditation, the physiological effects of meditation, and research on personality change associated with meditation practice.
Part III offers a new approach to understanding meditation as psychotherapy based on a skills analysis, along with a detailed description of how meditation can be used in clinical settings.
Part IV concludes with an overview of the research evidence presented in the book along with comments about the adequacy of the research questions posed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Crossing the Unknown Sea shows how poetry and practicality, far from being mutually exclusive, reinforce each other to give every aspect of our lives meaning and direction. For anyone who wants to deepen their connection to their work or find out what their life's work is, this book is essential to navigating the way
Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier social stress test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (r(p)=-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (r(p)=-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.
Small boat, great mountain: Theravadan reflections on the natural great perfection
- A Amaro
Amaro, A. (2012). Small boat, great mountain: Theravadan reflections
on the natural great perfection. Great Gaddesden: Amaravati
Publications.
Satipatthana: the direct path to realization. Cambridge: Wind Horse
- Analayo
Analayo. (2003). Satipatthana: the direct path to realization. Cambridge:
Wind Horse.
Abhidhammattha Sangaha: comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma. Onalaska: BPS Pariyatti editions
- B Bodhi
Bodhi, B. (2000). Abhidhammattha Sangaha: comprehensive manual of
Abhidhamma. Onalaska: BPS Pariyatti editions.
Living well with pain and illness: the mindful way to free yourself from suffering
- V Burch
Burch, V. (2008). Living well with pain and illness: the mindful way to
free yourself from suffering. London: Piatkus.
Taking the leap: freeing ourselves from old habits and fears
- P Chodron
Chodron, P. (2010). Taking the leap: freeing ourselves from old habits
and fears. Boston: Shambhala.
Dzogchen: the heart essence of the great perfection
- H H Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama, H. H. (2000). Dzogchen: the heart essence of the great
perfection. Ithaca: Snow Lion.
The heart of compassion: the thirty-seven verses on the practice of a Bodhisattva
- H H Dilgo Khyentse
Dilgo Khyentse, H. H. (2007). The heart of compassion: the thirty-seven
verses on the practice of a Bodhisattva. London: Shambhala.
Compassion in practice: one year on
- Nhs England
NHS England (2013). Compassion in practice: one year on. Downloaded
on 8 th June 2014 from http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2013/11/comp-pract-1yr-on.pdf.
Compassion: listening to the cries of the world
- C Feldman
Feldman, C. (2005). Compassion: listening to the cries of the world.
Berkeley: Rodmell Press.
Sailing home: using the wisdom of Homer's Odyssey to navigate life's perils and pitfalls
- N Fischer
Fischer, N. (2008). Sailing home: using the wisdom of Homer's Odyssey
to navigate life's perils and pitfalls. New York: Free Press.
Mindfulness and psychotherapy
- C K Germer
- R D Siegel
- P R Fulton
Germer, C.K., Siegel, R.D., & Fulton, P.R. (2005). (Eds.) Mindfulness
and psychotherapy. New York: The Guildford Press
Gethin, R. (1998). The foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: OUP.
Mindfulness-based business ethics education
- M Lampe
- C Engleman-Lampe
Lampe, M., & Engleman-Lampe, C. (2012). Mindfulness-based business
ethics education. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal,
16(3), 99-111.
Being right here: a Dzogchen treasure text of Nuden Dorje entitled mirror of clear meaning
- J Low
Low, J. (2004). Being right here: a Dzogchen treasure text of Nuden
Dorje entitled mirror of clear meaning. Ithaca: Snow Lion.
Finding the space to lead: a practical guide to mindful leadership
- J Marturano
Marturano, J. (2014). Finding the space to lead: a practical guide to
mindful leadership. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
Buddhist thought and applied psychological research
- D K Nauriyal
- M S Drummond
- Y B Lal
Nauriyal, D.K. Drummond, M.S. & Lal, Y.B. (2006). Buddhist
thought and applied psychological research. London:
Routledge.
Dzogchen teachings. Ithaca: Snow Lion
- C N Norbu
Norbu, C. N. (2006). Dzogchen teachings. Ithaca: Snow Lion.
Beyond McMindfulness. Huffington Post
- R Purser
- D Loy
Purser, R. and Loy, D. (2013). Beyond McMindfulness. Huffington Post,
posted 1/7/13 on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-purser/
beyond-cmindfulness_b_3519289.html
Care and compassion through an organizational lens: opening up new possibilities
- S L Rynes
- J M Bartunek
- J E Dutton
- J D Margolis
Rynes, S. L., Bartunek, J. M., Dutton, J. E., & Margolis, J. D. (2012).
Care and compassion through an organizational lens: opening up
new possibilities. Academy of Management Review, 37(4), 503-523.
doi:10.5465/amr.2012.0124.
Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: an unfolding dialogue
- J Safran
Safran, J. (2003). Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: an unfolding dialogue.
Boston: Wisdom.
Loving-kindness: the revolutionary art of happiness
- S Salzberg
Salzberg, S. (2008). Loving-kindness: the revolutionary art of happiness.
Boston: Shambhala.
Search inside yourself: increase productivity, creativity and happiness
- C.-M Tan
Tan, C.-M. (2012). Search inside yourself: increase productivity, creativity and happiness. London: Collins.
Antidotes to the afflictions
- Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron (2003). Antidotes to the afflictions. Downloaded on 8 th
January 2014 from http://www.thubtenchodron.org/
DealingWithEmotions/antidotes.pdf.
The Buddha of mindfulness: a stress destruction programme. Christopher's Dharma Blog
- C Titmuss
Titmuss, C. (2013). The Buddha of mindfulness: a stress destruction
programme. Christopher's Dharma Blog. Posted 19 th July 2013 on
http://christophertitmuss.org/blog/the-buddha-of-mindfulness-thepolitics-of-mindfulness.