This special double issue of The Humanistic Psychologistopens in new window seeks to understand Buddhist and contemporary perspectives of mindfulness and to address crucial questions. Guest Editors Belinda S.L. Khong and Seth Zuiho Segall shares key takeaways.
What is the special issue about?
Interest in mindfulness has grown exponentially. A recent Google search on “mindfulness” generated 240,000,000 items. This exceptional growth has been accompanied by misconceptions that threaten to reduce ancient teachings into a “feel-good” practice that is overly focused on individuals’ personal concerns and issues.
The special double issue of The Humanistic Psychologistopens in new window offers a diverse collection of international perspectives on mindfulness from Buddhist scholar–monks, psychologists, a psychiatrist, a politician, medical professionals, mindfulness teachers, academics, researchers, and educators. The issue comprises three main sections, titled Mindfulness: Philosophical, Political, and Social Considerations; Mindfulness and the Buddha’s Teachings; and Applying Mindfulness and the Buddha’s Teachings in Contemporary Settings.
The special issue serves as a distinctive and useful resource for both new and experienced practitioners, advocates, researchers, academics, and teachers in the United States and worldwide.
What is the significance of the issue?
The authors address many crucial questions on mindfulness, rarely explored at such length in academic publications, such as the following:
- How can the practice of mindfulness in contemporary settings be better understood?
- What has given rise to concerns surrounding the practice?
- How can the Buddhist roots of mindfulness be brought to light, understood, and integrated into secular mindfulness practice?
- Is mindfulness Buddhist or universal?
- What are the important differences and similarities between mindfulness practices in Buddhist and secular settings?
- How can mindfulness contribute to and serve society in more meaningful ways?
A number of features distinguish this issue from other mindfulness publications:
- It is cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural, with contributors coming from a wide range of disciplines and countries.
- It is the first academic publication in which Theravada monks and Zen teachers are invited as guests to sit at the table with other contributors.
- A politician—former U.K. parliamentarian Chris Ruane—writes about the introduction of mindfulness in the United Kingdom, other international parliaments, and the United Nations.
- Eminent authors offer invaluable analyses of mindfulness as applied in the areas of Western Buddhist modernism, psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, mindfulness programs for children, deep ecology, cancer, and palliative care.
- Renowned teachers of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy explicate the multidimensionality of the programs and their grounding based on the Buddha’s teachings.
Tell us about a few key takeaways.
A deep and nuanced understanding of mindfulness and its Buddhist foundations needs to be cultivated—that mindfulness practice is not a technique, method, or intervention, and that it is transformative, rather than instrumental. It is important to understand that the Buddha teaches “an attitude rather than an affiliation” (Khong, 2003, p.60).
Mindfulness has differing definitions and deeper meanings that need to be understood.
Currently, the term “mindfulness” is used so loosely and broadly that it loses its deeper spiritual meanings and potentials. A greater understanding of the different dimensions of mindfulness is essential for individuals to fully embrace the potential of this practice for personal transformation and flourishing.Mindfulness practices are in danger of being commoditized. When short courses and workshops on mindfulness practice are offered in an attempt to meet the demand generated by its promotion as a quick fix and panacea for a range of problems and concerns, these programs run the risk of offering “McMindfulness”: a technique that is nicely packaged and mass produced but lacking in genuine value.
It is imperative that mindfulness teachers be well trained in mindfulness and meditation practices. The teachers also need to familiarize themselves with the deeper aspects of the Buddha’s teachings.
A wider range of research types and methodologies needs to be used in mindfulness research. The complementary use of quantitative and qualitative research methods helps to capture the lived experiences of research participants.
What are some practical implications of the articles featured in the issue?
- This issue is a useful and important resource for clinicians, teachers, researchers, and practitioners to expand their understanding of the Buddhist foundations of mindfulness and to apply this understanding in evaluating teachers and programs, practicing self- and other-directed compassion, and becoming a more contemplative human being.
- Mindfulness must be practiced in conjunction with generosity, gratitude, respect, compassion, and ethics. This complementarity of practices can help replace a sense of helplessness and isolation experienced in challenging times (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) with meaningfulness and purpose and engender a kinder, more compassionate society in which people exercise personal and social responsibility.
- Governments, policymakers, educators, and parents will be encouraged to use mindfulness in education, the workplace, politics, nation building, and the environment, reaching beyond the traditional domains of individual mental and physical health concerns (as important as they are) to benefit society as a whole.
- An array of methodologies, including qualitative methods, could be used in mindfulness research, which would enable practitioners to appreciate that statistics do not tell the whole story and to understand their lived experiences personally.
Note: This article is in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area. View more articles in the Social Psychology and Social Processes topic area.