From Mindfulness to Right Mindfulness: the Intersection of Awareness and Ethics (original) (raw)
Related papers
Ethical foundations of mindfulness
2018
This chapter introduces the Handbook of Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness and sets the scene by contextualizing the central theme of the volume within a broader historical context. We situate the ethical and moral dimensions of mindfulness against the background of the globalized mindfulness “movement” and the current debates about ethics within the field of mindfulness studies. The ethical foundations of mindfulness are generally considered to be (i) lost in translation; (ii) implicitly inherent; or (iii) constitutive of a wider milieu. We trace these current debates to the legacy of the Welsh Buddhologist Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843–1942). We then briefly summarize each of the 19 chapters comprising the four parts of the volume: (i) Buddhist Foundations of Ethics and Mindfulness; (ii) Education and Pedagogy; (iii) Business, Economics and Environment; and (iv) Religion, Secularity and Post-Secularity. We conclude by making suggestions for potential future avenues for research...
Traditional and Contemporary Mindfulness: Finding the Middle Path in the Tangle of Concerns
Contemporary mindfulness has grown through innumerable secular and clinical programs. This rapid growth has raised two main concerns from the Buddhist community: the accuracy of the teachings and the impact of not explicitly including ethics as part of the teachings. Specific concerns include a potential weakening of the concept of right mindfulness and, as a corollary, misunderstanding the intent mindfulness as being a technique for symptomatic relief. With respect to the absence of explicit ethics in the teachings, concerns are expressed that this omission risks misappropriating mindfulness practices so that they do more harm than good. This article explores the main criticisms expressed by Traditional Mindfulness community and assesses the validity of these criticisms. The dialogue between traditional and contemporary mindfulness practitioners is an opportunity to examine the conceptual integrity of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) with respect to what comprises right mindfulness, assess whether MBIs include the factors that can extend them beyond symptomatic relief, and reflect on the issues related to teaching ethics as part of an MBI program. Because ethics is viewed in Traditional Mindfulness as a foundation for a meditative practice, it is explored in detail for its potential contribution to MBIs.
We read with interest the recent commentary paper by Baer (2015). Although Baer used different terminology, her paper essentially discussed the different approaches adopted by what have been termed first-generation mindfulness-based interventions (FG-MBIs) and second-generation mindfulness- based interventions (SG-MBIs) in terms of how they conceptualise and teach ethics. The key difference between these two approaches is that compared to FG-MBIs (such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), SG-MBIs (such as meditation awareness training [MAT]) tend to explicitly teach a greater range of meditative and/or spiritual practices (i.e., in addition to mindfulness) and tend to be more overtly spiritual in nature (Van Gordon et al. 2015a). Although Baer admittedly made a number of valid and interesting points concerning the most appropriate means of teaching ethics in MBIs, her lack of support for the SG-MBI approach was based on a number of oversights and factual inaccuracies that we would like to challenge and correct:
Implicit and Explicit Ethics in Mindfulness-Based Programs in a Broader Context
Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness, 2018
MBSR was designed to not have any explicit ethical teachings, and continues to be led in this manner. Critics argue that without explicit ethical components, the teaching of mindfulness-based interventions and programs may offer symptom relief but will not address the root individual and social ills that are causing symptoms such as stress, depression, and anxiety. The concern is mindfulness practices will merely inoculate bankers to a destructive form of capitalism or train snipers to kill mindfully. One strand of response argues that there is an implicit, rather than an overt, ethical teaching coupled with mindfulness practice. This debate can be framed as two contrasting models of how to view human nature and ethics. MBSR proponents propose an innate model of human goodness, such that mindfulness practices can allow the individual to discover their innate tendencies towards ethical behavior. Critics of this model argue for a picture of human nature where individuals need to be explicitly taught proper ethical conduct. Framed in this light, the current debate on explicit ethics in mindfulness programs rehashes an old debate within the Buddhist tradition and without. Historically, the Buddhist debates on tathāgatagarbha have led to two similarly divergent views on ethical training. Outside the Buddhist context, Confucian philosophers have debated on how to view human nature and ethics. Mengzi used the analogy of innate human goodness in the image of virtuous sprouts that need nourishing, while Xunzi used the analogy of human nature as crooked wood that needs to be shaped by education into something useful. I argue that the current debate on whether or not explicit ethics should be taught in mindfulness programs can benefit from looking to similar debates within the Buddhist tradition and without. Specifically, using Philip Ivanhoe’s framework of Confucian models of ethical acquisition, development, re-formation, recovery, and discovery will add depth to the contemporary mindfulness discussion and hopefully move the debate pass the current stalemate.
Ditrich 2017 The Conceptualisation and Practice of Mindfulness: Buddhist and Secular Perspectives
“Mindfulness and Education: Research and Practice, edited by Tamara Ditrich, Royce Wiles, and William Lovegrove. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing., 2017
Mindfulness, as a component of Buddhist meditation practice, was recontextualised and popularised in the twentieth century and eventually, through the process of secularisation, entered a range of new settings, especially in therapeutic contexts. This chapter aims to discuss the conceptualisation and practice of mindfulness from two different perspectives, i.e., Buddhist and secular. Firstly, it situates mindfulness within Buddhist discourse, outlines its definition, main roles and functions, and proposes some of the main indicators that point to the establishment, progress and efficacy of mindfulness. The chapter then outlines the process of the transplantation of mindfulness from the Buddhist context (specifically the Theravada) into Western paradigms, identifying some of the historical conditions that facilitated this transition. Some implications of the secular definitions and interpretations of mindfulness are outlined, and the main issues arising from the processes of cultural translation from ancient Asia into the global societies of the twenty-first century discussed. In the last section, the rapidly expanding modern research on mindfulness is commented upon, especially in terms of education, exploring how the different definitions and aims of mindfulness practice affect research models, methods and evaluations within the current scientific discourse.