Mindfulness

Secular meditation practice From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In clinical psychology and well-being, mindfulness is the cognitive skill of,[1] or state reached by,[2] intentionally and on purpose[2] maintaining moment-by-moment awareness of bodily sensations, feelings, thoughts, and immediate surroundings[3][4][web 1] with a non-judgmental or equanimous attitude,[4][5] counteracting [the mind's] automatic rumination and cognitive elaborations on one's experiences.[6][web 1][7] The term mindfulness derives from the Pali word sati, a significant element of Buddhist traditions,[8][9] and it incorporates elements from Theravada, Chan, and Tibetan Buddhist meditation techniques.[10][11][a]

Mindfulness is a secularized form of meditation, the product of a mutual syncretism between eastern spiritual traditions influenced by western esotericism and religion, and western traditions and psychology influenced by these syncretized eastern traditions.[12] In 1975 it was introduced in western medicine by Herbert Benson, and integrated in the 1970s and 1980s into health-programs and psychotherapy by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Zindel Segal, and Mark Williams.[13] They and others in clinical psychology and psychiatry have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on mindfulness interventions for helping people experiencing a variety of psychological conditions.[12][b] Since the 1990s, secular mindfulness meditation has gained a broad popular acceptance in the West.[14]

Clinical studies have documented mental health benefits of mindfulness[15][16][17] as well as physical health benefits[18][19][20] in different patient categories and in healthy adults and children.[21][22][23][24] Mindfulness research has also long attracted criticism, particularly in its early decades, due to concerns about limited methodological rigor.[25][26] More recent research, however, has become substantially more rigorous, employing randomized controlled trials, active control groups, and stronger methodological standards.[21]

Some critics have also argued that mindfulness is over-commercialized and over-marketed, and that “McMindfulness” strips it of its Buddhist ethical and wisdom roots in favor of a productivity-focused self-help product.[27][web 2][web 3][c]

Etymology

The Buddhist term translated into English as "mindfulness" originates in the Pali term sati and in its Sanskrit counterpart smṛti. It is often translated as "bare attention", but in the Buddhist tradition it has a broader meaning and application, and the meaning of these terms has become the topic of extensive debate and discussion.[28]

The English term mindfulness already existed before it came to be used in a (western) Buddhist context. It was first recorded as myndfulness in 1530 (John Palsgrave translates French pensée), as mindfulnesse in 1561, and mindfulness in 1817. Morphologically earlier terms include mindful (first recorded in 1340), mindfully (1382), and the obsolete mindiness (c. 1200).[29] According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, mindfulness may also refer to "a state of being aware".[web 4] Synonyms for this "state of being aware" are wakefulness,[30][31] attention,[web 5] alertness,[web 6] prudence,[web 6] conscientiousness,[web 6] awareness,[web 4] consciousness,[web 4] and observation.[web 4]

The Pali-language scholar Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843–1922) first translated sati in 1881 as English mindfulness in sammā-sati "Right Mindfulness; the active, watchful mind".[32] Noting that Daniel John Gogerly (1845) initially rendered sammā-sati as "correct meditation",[33] Davids writes:

sati is literally 'memory' but is used with reference to the constantly repeated phrase 'mindful and thoughtful' (sato sampajâno); and means that activity of mind and constant presence of mind which is one of the duties most frequently inculcated on the good Buddhist."[34]

According to Bryan Levman, "the word sati incorporates the meaning of 'memory' and 'remembrance' in much of its usage in both the suttas and the [traditional Buddhist] commentary, and [...] without the memory component, the notion of mindfulness cannot be properly understood or applied, as mindfulness requires memory for its effectiveness".[35]

According to Robert Sharf, smṛti originally meant 'to remember', 'to recollect', 'to bear in mind', as in the Vedic tradition of remembering the sacred texts. The term sati also means 'to remember'.[36]

John D. Dunne says that the translation of sati and smṛti as 'mindfulness' is confusing. A number of Buddhist scholars have started trying to establish 'retention' as the preferred alternative.[37] Bhikkhu Bodhi also describes the meaning of sati as 'memory'.[web 7][d][e]

Meaning and definitions

There is a multiplicity of definitions, which has limited the comparibility of research outcomes.[39] Mindfulness can be defined as a practice (e.g. a set of skills and techniques), a mental state, or as a trait.[40][41] While often defined as "present-centered awarenes" or "bare attention",[42] these qualifications have been questioned and criticized,[39] as mindfulness in Buddhism also involves discernment and ethical judgment.[42] To give an adequate introduction to these aspects, first the Buddhist background is treated, and then the psychological scientific approaches.

Buddhism

Main article: Sati (Buddhism)

Secular mindfulness is derived from Buddhist meditation techniques; the word 'mindfulness' translates the terms sati and smriti.[8][43][40] These have multiple meanings, centering on memory and the remembrance of the dharma; present-centered awareness, and ethical correct behavior and self-restrainment.[4]

Remembrance of the dharmas

The Pali word sati, which is commonly translated as 'mindfulness', carries the connotation of memory. Early Buddhist texts describe the concept not only as awareness of sense perceptions but also as recollection of the Buddha's teachings[44] and past events:

Sati is required not only to fully take in the moment to be remembered, but also to bring this moment back to mind at a later time. [...] This twofold character of sati can also be found in some verses in the Sutta Nipāta, which instruct the listener to set out with sati, subsequent to an instruction given by the Buddha. In these instances sati seems to combine both present moment awareness and remembering what the Buddha had taught.[45]

In the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta the term sati means to remember the dharmas, whereby the true nature of phenomena can be seen.[28] Sharf refers to the Milindapañha, which said that the arising of sati calls to mind the wholesome dhammas such as the four foundations of mindfulness, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven awakening-factors, the noble eightfold path, and the attainment of insight.[46] According to Rupert Gethin,

[sati] should be understood as what allows awareness of the full range and extent of dhammas; sati is an awareness of things in relation to things, and hence an awareness of their relative value. Applied to the satipaṭṭhānas, presumably what this means is that sati is what causes the practitioner of yoga to "remember" that any feeling he may experience exists in relation to a whole variety or world of feelings that may be skillful or unskillful, with faults or faultless, relatively inferior or refined, dark or pure."[47][f]

Bare attention and ethical correct behavior

Sharf notes that the original meaning of sati has little to do with "bare attention", the popular contemporary interpretation of sati, "since it entails, among other things, the proper discrimination of the moral valence of phenomena as they arise."[47]

Georges Dreyfus has also expressed unease with the description of mindfulness as "bare attention" or "nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness", stressing that mindfulness in a Buddhist context also means "remembering", which indicates that the function of mindfulness also includes the retention of information.[48][g] Robert H. Sharf notes that Buddhist practice is aimed at the attainment of "correct view", not just "bare attention".[web 8][h]

Jay L. Garfield, quoting Shantideva and other sources, stresses that mindfulness is constituted by the union of two functions, calling to mind and vigilantly retaining in mind. He demonstrates that there is a direct connection between the practice of mindfulness and the cultivation of morality—at least in the context of Buddhism, from which modern interpretations of mindfulness are stemming.[49]

Contemporay Buddhist definitions

According to American Buddhist monk Ven Bhante Vimalaramsi's book A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation, the term "mindfulness" is often interpreted differently than what was originally formulated by the Buddha. In the context of Buddhism, he offers the following definition:

Mindfulness means to remember to observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to another. The first part of Mindfulness is to remember to watch the mind and remember to return to your object of meditation when you have wandered off. The second part of Mindfulness is to observe how mind's attention moves from one thing to another.[50]

In Thich Nhat Hanh's lineage, mindfulness is closely intertwined with the concept of interbeing, the notion that all things are interconnected. This school of thought emphasizes awareness of the present moment and ethical living, reflecting the interconnected nature of existence.[51][52] Thích Nhất Hạnh defined mindfulness as "the energy that sheds light on all things and all activities, producing the power of concentration, bringing forth deep insight and awakening."[53]

Shinzen Young says a person is mindful when they have mindful awareness, and defines that to be when "concentration power, sensory clarity, and equanimity [are] working together."[web 9] John Yates (Culadasa) defines mindfulness to be "the optimal interaction between attention and peripheral awareness", where he distinguishes attention and peripheral awareness as two distinct modes in which one may be conscious of things.[54]

Psychology

Methodological concerns

Various scholars have criticized how mindfulness has been defined or represented in recent Western psychology publications.[55][56]

In psychology, mindfulness has a more limited meaning than in Buddhism.[4] These modern understandings depart significantly from the accounts of mindfulness in early Buddhist texts and authoritative commentaries in the Theravada and Indian Mahayana traditions.[56]: 62 [57]

Purser & Milillo note that scholars and psychologists have tended to a narrow interpretation of mindfulness, restricted to "the cognitive capacities of attention and awareness", selectively focusing on "the role of attention as the key component of mindfulness".[58]

Adam Valerio has argued that conflict between academic disciplines over how mindfulness is defined, understood, and popularly presented may be indicative of a personal, institutional, or paradigmatic battle for ownership over mindfulness, one where academics, researchers, and other writers are invested as individuals in much the same way as religious communities.[59]

Skill (practice), state, trait

Mindfulness is a multivalent term, as it can be defined as a trait, a mental state, and as a practice or skill:[40][41]

  1. A trait, a dispositional characteristic (a relatively long-lasting trait),[60] a person's tendency to more frequently enter into and more easily abide in mindful states;[61]
  2. A state, an outcome (a state of awareness resulting from mindfulness training),[60] being in a state of present-moment awareness;[61]
  3. A skill or practice (mindfulness meditation[i] practice itself), to reach a mindful state.

Several questionnaires approach mindfulness as a state,[j] while other mindfulness measures have been developed which are based on self-reporting of trait-like constructs.[66][k]

Definitions

Based on an agregate of sources, mindfulness could be defined as:
* the cognitive skill of,[68][69][70][1][71] or state reached by[2][72]
*intentionally, on purpose[2]
* sustaining metacognitive awareness (paying attention)
* in the present moment[73][5][l][74][3][25][75] towards
- sensory sensations (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and bodily sensations) and
- mental events or contents (thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and intentions)
* with a non-judgmental or equanimous attitude,[4][5][web 1]
* counteracting [the mind's] automatic rumination and cognitive elaborations "on what manifests itself in experience".[6][web 1][7]

Jon Kabat-Zinn, the pioneering figure in the introduction of mindfulness-based approaches into healthcare and psychological science, described mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”[3]

Yet, Kabat-Zinn has also stated that the word was meant to cover both the intentional application of awareness and "as an umbrella term that subsumes all of the other elements of the Eightfold Noble Path, and indeed, of the dharma itself, at least in implicit form".[76][m]

Williams et al. (2007) define mindfulness as " the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to things as they are".[2]

Bishop et al. (2004), based upon a consensus among clinical psychologists, propose a two-component model of mindfulness, consisting of self-regulated attention, and a particular orientation toward one's experiences characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance.[55][n]

According to Chems-Maarif et al. (2025), psychological definitions "emphasize (a) present-centered awareness and bare attention, and (b) attitudes of acceptance and non-judgment."[39][o]

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley describes mindfulness as "maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. [It] involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them [...] our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.."[web 1][p]

Alvear et al. (2022) investigated lay (non-academic) theories of mindfulness,identifying seven themes, namely attention/awareness, a non-evaluative attitude, a strategy, a state, personal development, theoretical analyses, and "a lack of understanding of mindfulness".[77]

Present-moment awareness and bare attention

According to Shonin and Van Gordon, "The practice of mindfulness is fundamentally concerned with becoming more aware of the present moment".[78] Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) note that "Being in the present moment is seen as an important feature in the development of mindfulness in Buddhism",[79] and present-centered awareness and bare attention are also central in the psychological understanding of mindfulness,[80] but they also note that "[o]ther scholars challenge the notion that present-moment focus is at the core of mindfulness, criticizing it as a popular view in contemporary mindfulness definitions, labeled “here-and-now-ism".”[81][q]

Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) also note that "the present-centeredness of awareness and bare attention remains slightly unclear", and that "awareness of the present moment is a vast concept that may need further elucidation as to what it entails."[82] This may be accomplished by clarifying the objects of attention, "connect[ing] the here-and-now to tangible dimensions of experience".[82][75]

Phenomenologically,[83] the "present moment" may be seen as a constantly changing flux[84] of arising and passing experiences consisting of "constantly changing sensory perceptions and mental events".[85]

Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) note that an emphasis on present-moment awareness does not align with the association of sati with memory and remembrance, invoking the Buddhist teachings to aid right living.[81] Mindfulness, then, is rather being present,[81] and incorporates " clear comprehension and insight into the nature of phenomena".[81]

"Bare attention", which is "attention that is devoid of further processing", a notion popularized by Nyanaponika Thera in the 1960s, who described bare attention (or awareness) as "a bare registering of the facts observed, without reacting to them by deed, speech or mental comment which may be one of self-reference (like, dislike, etc.), judgement or refection."[86][r] Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) also note that "present-centered awareness works to counteract cognitive elaborations on what manifests itself in experience".[88] Yet, "bare attention" has also been interpreted in a more limited, as strictly involving the "bare cognizing of an object".[89] This "bare cognizing" is actually better covered with the term manasikara, whereas mindfulness (sati) has a distinct quality of deliberately paying attention to one's experiences,[89] and "discerning skillful from unskillful actions" and "abandon[ing] unwholesome states [and] cultivate wholesome [states]",[90] and "not drift[ing] away from discerning wholesome from unwholesome mental states".[83]

In the contemporary Vipassana practice, the aim is not so much as to focus on 'the present', but to direct awareness toward the constantly changing stream of experience and to cultivate self-knowledge and wisdom regarding the nature of human experience,[91][75] developing an understanding that all phenomena and perceptions are without an essence (anatta), impermanent (anicca), and unsatisfactory (dukkha).[81]

Domains of attention

The Satipatthana Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya 10, delineates four "foundations of mindfulness"[92] or "frames of reference,"[93] on which he contemplates[92] or focusses[93] after leaving behind the worldly life: kāyā (body), vedanā (sensations/feelings aroused by perception), cittā (mind/consciousness), and dhammas (elements of the Buddhist teachings).

Chems-Maarif et al. (2025), based on a narrative-review of Buddhist and psychological scientific sources, reject "dharma" and it's underlying soteriological scheme as an object of attention,[94] instead proposing four scopes of mindfulness, namely body sensations, affective valence, cognitive and emotional phenomena, and the external environment.[95]

Bigman-Peer & Yovel (2024) distinguish two interconnected domains of experience, namely external sensory experiences "such as such as sights, sounds, smells or bodily sensations", and internal mental experiences, "thoughts, memories, concepts, which entail a conceptual system that is based on general knowledge and previous experiences".[96]

Acceptance and non-reactivity

See also: Samatha, Prapanca, Choiceless awareness, and Defence mechanism

According to Chems-Maarif et al. (2025), "non-judgment and acceptance can be viewed as the core of the "how" of mindfulness".[86] Related terms are curiosity, openness, receptivity, and non-attachment, which can be summized as "the equanimous attitude".[86]

The Greater Good Science Center explains that acceptance involves paying attention to our thoughts and feelings "without judging them" and without "rehashing the past or imagining the future."[web 1] Likewise, Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) state that acceptance consists of "observing judgments for what they are (i.e., thoughts) and allowing them to be without further elaboration".[97] They further state that "acceptance means being receptive and open, to take in all experiences without avoiding, resisting, or judging them".[98]

Bigman-Peer & Yovel (2024) note that mindfulness enhances self-control and self-regulation, which "enables individuals to observe their experiences as they unfold without reacting to them automatically",[99] and that practitioners strive "to avoid allowing the mind to wander into chains of associations that are disengaged from the present moment".[100] Mindfulness "facilitates decentering — a greater psychological distance — from one's thoughts and emotions", which "liberates awareness from rigidly structured narratives concerning the self and the world, and promotes the ability to make fexible and adaptive choices in responding to various situations", enabling practitioners "to reduce the emotional and somatic arousal that may be associated with a concrete processing mode".[101]

Historical development

Buddhism

Mindfulness as a modern, Western practice is founded on Zen and modern Vipassanā,[10][11][s] and involves the training of sati, which means "moment to moment awareness of present events", but also "remembering to be aware of something".[103]

Early Buddhism

Sati is one of the seven factors of enlightenment. "Correct" or "right" mindfulness (Pali: sammā-sati, Sanskrit samyak-smṛti) is the seventh element of the Noble Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is an antidote to delusion and is considered as a 'power' (Pali: bala) which contributes to the attainment of Nibbana. This faculty becomes a power in particular when it is coupled with clear comprehension of whatever is taking place. Nirvana is a state of being in which greed, hatred and delusion (Pali: moha) have been overcome and abandoned, and are absent from the mind.

According to Thomas William Rhys Davids, the doctrine of mindfulness is "perhaps the most important" after the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. T.W. Rhys Davids viewed the teachings of Gotama Buddha as a rational technique for self-actualization and rejected a few parts of it, mainly the doctrine of rebirth, as residual superstitions.[104]

According to Paul Williams, referring to Erich Frauwallner, mindfulness provided the way in Early Buddhism to liberation, "constantly watching sensory experience in order to prevent the arising of cravings which would power future experience into rebirths."[105][t] According to Vetter, Jhanas may have been the original core practice of the Buddha, which aided the maintenance of mindfulness.[106]

According to Grzegorz Polak, the four upassanā (foundations of mindfulness) have been misunderstood by the developing Buddhist tradition, including Theravada, to refer to four different foundations. According to Polak, the four upassanā do not refer to four different foundations, but to the awareness of four different aspects of raising mindfulness:[107]

  • the six sense-bases which one needs to be aware of (kāyānupassanā);
  • contemplation on vedanās, which arise with the contact between the senses and their objects (vedanānupassanā);
  • the altered states of mind to which this practice leads (cittānupassanā);
  • the development from the five hindrances to the seven factors of enlightenment (dhammānupassanā).

Western predecessors

Stoicism

The Greek philosophical school of Stoicism founded by Zeno of Citium included practices resembling those of mindfulness, such as visualization exercises. In his Discourses, Stoic philosopher Epictetus addresses in particular the concept of attention (prosoche), an idea also found in Seneca and Marcus Aurelius.[108] By cultivating it over time, this skill would prevent the practitioner from becoming unattentive and moved by instinct rather than according to reason.[109]

Christianity

Mindfulness traditions are also found in some Christian spiritual traditions. In his Rules for Eating, St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches, "let him guard against all his soul being intent on what he is eating, and in eating let him not go hurriedly, through appetite, but be master of himself, as well in the manner of eating as in the quantity which he eats."[110] He might have been inspired by Epictetus' Enchiridion.[108]

In addition, Jesus himself, in his Sermon on the Mount, said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." —Matthew 6:34 (NIV)[111]

Transcendentalism

Mindfulness practitioner Jon Kabat-Zinn refers to Thoreau as a predecessor of the interest in mindfulness, together with other eminent Transcendentalists such as Emerson and Whitman:[web 10]

The collective experience[u] of sages, yogis, and Zen masters offers a view of the world which is complementary to the predominantly reductionist and materialistic one currently dominating Western thought and institutions. But this view is neither particularly "Eastern" nor mystical. Thoreau saw the same problem with our ordinary mind state in New England in 1846 and wrote with great passion about its unfortunate consequences.[web 10]

Mutual syncretism

Main articles: Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism

Influence of Transcendentalism

The forms of Asian religion and spirituality which were introduced in the west were themselves influenced by Transcendentalism and other 19th-century manifestations of Western esotericism. Transcendentalism was closely connected to the Unitarian Church,[112][web 11] which in India collaborated with Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833) and his Brahmo Samaj.[112] He found that Unitarianism came closest to true Christianity,[112] and had a strong sympathy for the Unitarians.[113] This influence worked through on Vivekananda, whose modern but idiosyncratic interpretation of Hinduism became widely popular in the west.[114]

Vipassana

Vipassana meditation, presented as a centuries-old meditation system, was a 19th-century reinvention,[115] which gained popularity in south-east Asia due to the accessibility of the Buddhist sutras through English translations from the Pali Text Society.[102] It was brought to western attention in the 19th century by the Theosophical Society.[102][116] Vipassanā-meditation has gained popularity in the west through the modern Buddhist vipassana movement, modeled after Theravāda Buddhism meditation practices,[102] which employs vipassanā and ānāpāna meditation as its primary techniques and places emphasis on the teachings of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Crucial actors were Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzburg, and Jacqueline Schwartz, who established the Insight Meditation Society in 1976,[117] representing a lineage of a contemporary form of meditation developed by Ledi Sayadaw and Mahasi Sayadaw.[118]

Zen-Buddhism

Zen Buddhism first gained popularity in the west through the writings of D.T. Suzuki, who attempted to present a modern interpretation of Zen, adjusted to western tastes.[102][102] According to Harrington and Dunne, Suzuki had a pioneering influence on western humanist and existentialist psychotherapists with his efforts "to transform aspects of Zen Buddhism into a resource for new, existentialist forms of psychoanalytic psychotherapy."[119] Those psychotherapists confronted existential challenges in theor patients, who "were uniquely burdened by the drive to conform, produce, and consume at all costs, even as they were haunted by the specter of atomic devastation."[120] They needed a new approach, less oriented to therapy as a cure for illness, but more as "a way of addressing the supposed root causes of patients’ spiritual emptiness, anxiety, and alienation."[120] Suzuki was an easily accessible source for an alternate approach, as he was deeply steeped and educated in western philosophical and psycho-analytic thought, and presented his view on Zen in a way that was recognisable for westerners.[121] While enthusiasitically received by a number of psycho-analysts, including Erich Fromm, there was also criticism, most notably from Scaligero and from Ernst Becker.[121]

Another Zen-influence was Thích Nhất Hạnh, a "reform-minded modernist Buddhist"[122] Vietnamese monk who studied in the USA in the early 1960s, exiled to France in 1967, and started teaching Zen-mdeitation to westerners in the 1970s.[123] Thích Nhất Hạnh belonged to the Vietnamese Thiền tradition, which is also influenced by Theravada Buddhism.[122]

Psychology and secular mindfulness

According to Laura Buchholz, "Herbert Benson, MD, founder of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, is often credited with bringing mindfulness into the realm of Western medicine. His 1975 book The Relaxation Response outlined techniques to combat the harmful effects of stress with relaxation methods similar to meditation."[13] Mindfulness was integrated into health-programs and psychotherapy by the pioneering work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Zindel Segal, and M ark Williams.[13]

Jon Kabat-Zinn and MBSR

See also: Mindful Yoga

Jon Kabat-Zinn [...] is the key figure in the development and popularisation of MBSR.[124] Trained as a molecular biologist, he was introduced in 1966 to meditation when he attended a lecture by Philip Kapleau on Zen at MIT where Kabat-Zinn was a student, and subsequently participated in sesshins led by Kapleau, studied with Seung Sahn, practiced insight meditation at the Insight Meditation Society, and also practiced hatha yoga.[124][11]

In 1979, during a vipassana-retreat at the IMS, he had a comprehensive "vision" of how "the essence of meditation" could be shared "with those who would never be able to hear it through words and forms that were being used at medittaion centers" and could be implementated in secular contexts, which would "spark new fields of scientific and clinical investigation and would dpread to hospitals and medical centres and clinics across the country around the world, and provide right livelihood for thosands of practitioners".[125][126]

The same year, in 1979, Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts to treat the chronically ill.[web 12] This program sparked the application of mindfulness ideas and practices in Medicine[127] for the treatment of a variety of conditions in both healthy and unhealthy people. MBSR and similar programs are now widely applied in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and other environments.

One of MBSR's techniques—the "body scan"—was derived from a meditation practice ("sweeping") of the Burmese U Ba Khin tradition, as taught by S. N. Goenka in his Vipassana retreats, which he began in 1976. The body scan method has since been widely adapted to secular settings, independent of religious or cultural contexts.[v][w]

Kabat-Zinn was also influenced by the book The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James[128] which suggests that religions point toward the same experience, and which 1960s counterculture figures interpreted as meaning that the same universal, experiential truth could be reached in different ways, including via non-religious activities.[web 13]

Popularization, "mindfulness movement"

Mindfulness is gaining a growing popularity as a practice in daily life, apart from Buddhist insight meditation and its application in clinical psychology,[129] and can be practiced outside a formal setting.[web 14] The terminology used by scholars of religion, scientists, journalists, and popular media writers to describe this movement of mindfulness "popularization," and the many new contexts of mindfulness practice which have cropped up, has regularly evolved over the past 20 years, with some[which?] criticisms arising.[59]

The global Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022) has contributed to this popularization, when people moved from real-life meditation sessions to the applications on their smart devices. Modern applications are adapting to the needs of their users by using AI technology, involving professional psychologists and offering many different mindfulness approaches to serve a wider audience, such as among athletes.[130]

Practice

Buddhism

Theravada and contemporary vipassana-meditation

In a Buddhist context the keeping of moral precepts is an essential preparatory stage for mindfulness or meditation.[131][132] The aim of mindfulness, according to Buddhadasa, is to stop the arising of disturbing thoughts and emotions, which arise from sense-contact.[133]

In modern vipassana-meditation, as propagated by the Vipassana movement, sati aids vipassana, insight into the true nature of reality, namely the three marks of existence, the impermanence of and the suffering of every conditioned thing that exists, and non-self.[8][134][135] With this insight, the practitioner becomes a so-called Sotāpanna, a "stream-enterer", the first stage on the path to liberation.[135][web 15][x]

Vipassana is practiced in tandem with Samatha, and also plays a central role in other Buddhist traditions.[134][136] According to the contemporary Theravada orthodoxy, Samatha is used as a preparation for Vipassanā, pacifying the mind and strengthening the concentration in order to allow the work of insight, which leads to liberation.

Vipassana also includes reflections on causation and other Buddhist teachings,[137][138] and insight in how thoughts and feelings arise following input from the senses.[8]

Anapanasati, satipaṭṭhāna, and vipassana

Anapanasati is mindfulness of breathing. "Sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation. Anapanasati means to feel the sensations caused by the movements of the breath in the body. The Anapanasati Sutta gives an exposition on this practice.[y]

Satipaṭṭhāna is the establishment of mindfulness in one's day-to-day life, maintaining as much as possible a calm awareness of one's body, feelings, mind, and dhammas. The practice of mindfulness supports analysis resulting in the arising of wisdom (Pali: paññā, Sanskrit: prajñā).[134]

Samprajaña, apramāda and atappa

In contemporary Theravada practice, "mindfulness" also includes samprajaña, meaning "clear comprehension" and apramāda meaning "vigilance".[web 17][z] All three terms are sometimes (confusingly) translated as "mindfulness", but they all have specific shades of meaning.

In a publicly available correspondence between Bhikkhu Bodhi and B. Alan Wallace, Bodhi has described Ven. Nyanaponika Thera's views on "right mindfulness" and sampajañña as follows:

He held that in the proper practice of right mindfulness, sati has to be integrated with sampajañña, clear comprehension, and it is only when these two work together that right mindfulness can fulfill its intended purpose.[139][aa]

Zen

The aim of Soto-zazen is just sitting, that is, suspending all judgmental thinking and letting words, ideas, images and thoughts pass by without getting involved in them.[140][141]

Secular mindfulness

Mindfulness practice involves the process of developing the skill of bringing one's attention to whatever is happening in the present moment.[3][8][142] Mindfulness is usually developed through meditation[143] or sustained practice. According to Steven F. Hick, mindfulness practice involves both formal and informal meditation practices, and nonmeditation-based exercises.[144] Formal mindfulness, or meditation, is the practice of sustaining attention on body, breath or sensations, or whatever arises in each moment.[144] Informal mindfulness is the application of mindful attention in everyday life.[144] Nonmeditation-based exercises are specifically used in dialectical behavior therapy and in acceptance and commitment therapy.[144]

Watching the breath, body-scan and other techniques

There are several exercises designed to develop mindfulness meditation, which may be aided by guided meditations "to get the hang of it".[10][145][ab]

  • One method is to sit in a straight-backed chair or sit cross-legged on the floor, or a cushion, close one's eyes and bring attention to either the sensations of breathing in the proximity of one's nostrils or to the movements of the abdomen when breathing in and out.[5][web 18][146][page needed] In this meditation practice, one does not try to control one's breathing, but attempts to simply be aware of one's natural breathing process/rhythm.[3] When engaged in this practice, the mind will often run off to other thoughts and associations, if this happens, one passively notices that the mind has wandered, and in an accepting, but non-judgmental way, returns to focusing on breathing.
  • In body-scan meditation the attention is directed at various areas of the body and noting body sensations that happen in the present moment.[5][3][web 19][web 20][web 21]
  • One could also focus on sounds, sensations, thoughts, feelings and actions that happen in the present.[3][142] In this regard, a famous exercise, introduced by Kabat-Zinn in his MBSR program,[web 22] is the mindful tasting of a raisin,[147] in which a raisin is being tasted and eaten mindfully.[148][ac] By enabling reconnection with internal hunger and satiety cues, mindful eating has been suggested to be a means of maintaining healthy and conscious eating patterns.[149]
  • Other approaches include practicing yoga asanas while attending to movements and body sensations, and walking meditation.[5][3]

Timings

Meditators are recommended to start with short periods of 10 minutes or so of meditation practice per day. As one practices regularly, it becomes easier to keep the attention focused on breathing.[3][150]

Secular applications

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn the practice of mindfulness may be beneficial to many people in Western society who might be unwilling to adopt Buddhist traditions or vocabulary.[151] Western researchers and clinicians who have introduced mindfulness practice into mental health treatment programs usually teach these skills independently of the religious and cultural traditions of their origins.[5] Programs based on MBSR and similar models have been widely adopted in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and other environments.[152]

Therapy programs

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Main article: Mindfulness-based stress reduction

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a mindfulness-based program[web 23] developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, which uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and yoga to help people become more mindful.[3] While MBSR has its roots in spiritual teachings, the program itself is secular.[3]

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

Main article: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a psychological therapy designed to aid in preventing the relapse of depression, specifically in individuals with Major depressive disorder (MDD).[153] It uses traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) methods and adds in newer psychological strategies such as mindfulness and mindfulness meditation. Cognitive methods can include educating the participant about depression.[154] Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation focus on becoming aware of all incoming thoughts and feelings and accepting them, but not attaching or reacting to them.[155]

Like CBT, MBCT functions on the theory that when individuals who have historically had depression become distressed, they return to automatic cognitive processes that can trigger a depressive episode.[156] The goal of MBCT is to interrupt these automatic processes and teach the participants to focus less on reacting to incoming stimuli, and instead accepting and observing them without judgment.[156] This mindfulness practice allows the participant to notice when automatic processes are occurring and to alter their reaction to be more of a reflection. Research supports the effects of MBCT in people who have been depressed three or more times and demonstrates reduced relapse rates by 50%.[157]

Acceptance and commitment therapy

Main article: Acceptance and commitment therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy or (ACT) (typically pronounced as the word "act") is a form of clinical behavior analysis (CBA)[158] used in psychotherapy. It is a psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways[159] with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. The approach was originally called comprehensive distancing.[160] It was developed in the late 1980s[161] by Steven C. Hayes, Kelly G. Wilson, and Kirk Strosahl.[162] It was popularised in the early 2000s by Dr. Russ Harris with The Happiness Trap (2007)[163].

Dialectical behavior therapy

Main article: Dialectical behavior therapy

Mindfulness is a "core" exercise used in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a psychosocial treatment Marsha M. Linehan developed for treating people with borderline personality disorder. DBT is dialectic, says Linehan,[164] in the sense of "the reconciliation of opposites in a continual process of synthesis." As a practitioner of Buddhist meditation techniques, Linehan says:

This emphasis in DBT on a balance of acceptance and change owes much to my experiences in studying meditation and Eastern spirituality. The DBT tenets of observing, mindfulness, and avoidance of judgment are all derived from the study and practice of Zen meditations.[165]

Mode deactivation therapy

Main article: Mode deactivation therapy

Mode deactivation therapy (MDT) is a treatment methodology that is derived from the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy and incorporates elements of Acceptance and commitment therapy, Dialectical behavior therapy, and mindfulness techniques.[166] Mindfulness techniques such as simple breathing exercises are applied to assist the client in awareness and non-judgmental acceptance of unpleasant and distressing thoughts and feelings as they occur in the present moment. Mode Deactivation Therapy was developed and is established as an effective treatment for adolescents with problem behaviors and complex trauma-related psychological problems, according to recent publications by Jack A. Apsche and Joan Swart.[167]

Other programs

The Japanese psychiatrist Shoma Morita, who trained in Zen meditation, developed Morita therapy upon principles of mindfulness and non-attachment.[168]

Internal Family Systems Model (IFS), developed by Richard C. Schwartz, emphasizes the importance of both therapist and client engaging in therapy from the Self, which is the IFS term for one's "spiritual center". The Self is curious about whatever arises in one's present experience and open and accepting toward all manifestations.[169]

Mindfulness relaxation uses breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.[170]

Education

In the USA, mindfulness practices are becoming more common within educational institutions including Elementary and Secondary schools.[171][172][173] The applications of mindfulness in schools are aimed at calming and relaxation, to build compassion and empathy for others,[174] and to reduce anxiety and stress in students.[175] Based on a broad meta-analytical review, Zenner et al. (2014) concluded that the application of mindfulness practice shows an improvement of students' attention and focus, emotional regulation, creativity, and problem solving skills.[176]

Available research reveals a relationship between mindfulness, attention, the reducement of anxiety,[177] and "improvements in behavioral regulation, metacognition, and overall executive functions".[178] Yet, Johnson et al. (2016) concluded that "no improvements were demonstrated on any outcome measured either immediately post-intervention or at three-month follow-up".[179]

Business

Mindfulness training appears to be getting popular in the business world, and many large corporations have been incorporating mindfulness practices into their culture.[180][181][182] For example, companies such as Google, Apple, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Mayo Clinic, and the U.S. Army offer mindfulness coaching, meditation breaks and other resources to their employees to improve workplace functioning.[180][183]

The introduction of mindfulness in corporate settings still remains in early stages and its potential long-term impact requires further assessment. Mindfulness has been found to result in better employee well-being,[184] lower levels of frustration, lower absenteeism and burnout as well as an improved overall work environment.[183]

Law

Legal and law enforcement organizations are also showing interest in mindfulness:[185]

  • Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation hosted a workshop on "Mindfulness in the Law & Alternative Dispute Resolution."[186]
  • Many law firms offer mindfulness classes.[182]

Prison-programs

Mindfulness has been taught in prisons, reducing hostility and mood disturbance among inmates, and improving their self-esteem.[187] Additional studies indicate that mindfulness interventions can result in significant reductions in anger, reductions in substance use, increased relaxation capacity, self-regulation and optimism.[188][189]

Government

Many government organizations offer mindfulness training.[190] Coping Strategies is an example of a program utilized by United States Armed Forces personnel.[citation needed] The British Parliament organized a mindfulness-session for its members in 2014, led by Ruby Wax.[web 24]

Sport

Midfulness is gaining popularity in sports, with mindfulness practices being integrated as parts of teams routines.[web 25]

Scientific research

Main articles: Research on meditation, Neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation, and Brain activity and meditation

Mindfulness has gained increasing empirical attention since 1970[12][152] and has been studied extensively for different patient populations.[191][192] Meta analyses indicate its beneficial effects for healthy adults,[ad][193][194] for adolescents and for children.[176][23]

Increase in mindfulness

Meta-analyses have shown that mindfulness-based interventions (such as structured mindfulness training programs) lead to greater increases in measured mindfulness, typically assessed using validated trait- and state-mindfulness scales, compared with active control conditions.[23][194]

Mental health

Studies have shown a positive relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological health.[195][26] In an overview, Keng, Smoski, and Robins (2021) state that "Trait mindfulness has been associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, agreeableness, conscientiousness, vitality, self esteem, empathy, sense of autonomy, competence, optimism, and pleasant affect."[26] Xiao et al. (2020) found links between dispositional mindfulness and prosocial behavior.[196]

Meta-analyses indicate positive behavioral and mental health-related outcomes for different health problems, including ADHD,[197] and drugs and alcohol abuse.[198][199] Mindfulness appears to be a beneficial intervention for children with special needs and their caregivers,[200][201][202] including autism treatment.[203][204] The practice of mindfulness appears to provide therapeutic benefits to people with psychiatric disorders,[205][206][207] including moderate benefits to those with psychosis.[208][209][210]

Studies indicate that rumination and worry contribute to a variety of mental disorders.[211][212] Mindfulness-based interventions can enhance trait mindfulness[213] and reduce both rumination and worry.[212][214][215] Mindfulness practices have been said to enable individuals to respond more effectively to stressful situations by helping them strike the balance between over-identification and suppression of their emotional experiences by finding the middle point which is recognition and acceptance.[216]

Mindfulness practices have also been associated with the development of psychological resilience. Regular mindfulness meditation can help individuals facing trauma or chronic stress to regulate emotions, reduce rumination, and strengthen adaptive coping mechanisms.[217] Further, the practice of mindfulness may be a preventive strategy to halt the development of mental-health problems.[218][219][220] It is also a viable treatment option for people with insomnia, [221][222] an effective intervention for healthy aging,[223][224][225] and has also been used to improve athletic performance,[226][227]

Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation contributes to a more coherent and healthy sense of self and identity, with regard to aspects such as sense of responsibility, authenticity, compassion, self-acceptance and character.[228][229]

While some studies have questioned the effects of mindfulness on prosocial behaviours,[230][231][232] review articles on this subject generally indicate that mindfulness promotes prosocial behaviour although more longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this.[233][234][235]

Physical health

Meta-analyses also indicate positive physical health-related outcomes for different health problems, including weight management,[236][237][238] heart disease,[18][239][19] sleep disorders,[240][241][242] cancer care,[243][244][245][246] multiple sclerosis,[247][248] and other health-related conditions.[249][250][251] The practice of mindfulness has also been used as a strategy for managing dermatological conditions[252] and as a useful intervention during early pregnancy.[253][254][255] Recent studies have also demonstrated that mindfulness meditation significantly attenuates physical pain through multiple, unique mechanisms.[256][257]

Meditation also may allow one to modulate pain. When exposed to pain from heating, the brain scans of the mindfulness meditation participants (by use of functional magnetic resonance imaging) showed their brains notice the pain equally, however it does not get converted to a perceived pain signal. As such they experienced up to 40–50% less pain.[258]

The psychological habit of repeatedly dwelling on stressful thoughts appears to intensify the physiological effects of the stressor (as a result of the continual activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) with the potential to lead to physical-health-related clinical manifestations.[259][260][261] Studies indicate that mindfulness meditation, which brings about reductions in rumination, may alter these biological clinical pathways.[259][212][262] Further, research indicates that mindfulness may favorably influence the immune system[263] as well as inflammation,[25][page needed][264][265] which can consequently impact physical health, especially considering that inflammation has been linked to the development of several chronic health conditions.[266][267] Other studies support these findings.[19][239][268]

Mindfulness meditation may prevent or delay the onset of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.[269]

Research suggests that the practice of mindfulness could influence genetic expression leading to a reduced risk of inflammation-related diseases and favourable changes in biomarkers.[270][271]

Neurological studies - functional and structural changes

The effects of mindfulness on the brain have been studied using neuroimaging techniques, physiological measures and behavioral tests.[272][273][274]

Mindfulness-induced emotional and behavioral changes have been found to be related to functional and structural changes in the brain.[275][276] Ruther et al. (2026) found that 'Mindfulness-based stress reduction' appears to influence brain function more than structure, with consistent enhancement of activity and connectivity in networks that support emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and attention.[277]

Neurological research suggests that mindfulness influences components of attention regulation, body awareness and emotional regulation.[17][278][279]

Grey matter concentrations in brain regions that regulate emotion, self-referential processing, learning and memory processes have shown changes in density following MBSR.[280][281]

Neuroimaging techniques suggest that mindfulness practices are associated with "changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, temporo-parietal junction, fronto-limbic network and default mode network structures."[278][275]

MBSR practice has been associated with improvement of the immune system[282][264] which could explain the correlation between stress reduction and increased quality of life.[283] Part of these changes are a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex (executive functioning) and hippocampus (learning and memorisation ability), the shrinking of the amygdala (emotion and stress response) and the strengthening of the connections between brain cells.[284][285][286][287] Long-term meditators have larger amounts of gyrification ("folding" of the cortex, which may allow the brain to process information faster) than people who do not meditate. Further, a direct correlation was found between the amount of gyrification and the number of meditation years, possibly providing further proof of the brain's neuroplasticity, or ability to adapt to environmental changes.[284]

Simon and Engström (2015) suggest that the default mode network of the brain can be used as a potential biomarker for monitoring the therapeutic benefits of meditation.[281]

Contributing factors

Mindfulness may be dose-dependent, increasing with greater practice experience.[288][289] Bergomi et al. (2015) found that "mindfulness is particularly associated with continued practice in the present, rather than with accumulated practice over years."[290]

Suelmann et al. (2028) found that mindfulness was associated with the intention to be mindful; with feeling good; and with not being hurried or very busy.[291] Goting et al. (2016) found that causality probably reciprocal: feeling good increases mindfulness, and mindfulness increases feeling good.[292]

Shapiro et al. (2006) suggest that hrough reperceiving, which takes place after the mindful-practice itself, there is a shift in perspective, permitting disassociation from thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, and allowing one to exist with them instead of being defined by them.[293]

Lack of support for beneficial effects

Goyal et al. (2014), an often-cited meta-analysis on meditation research, found insufficient evidence of any effect of meditation programs on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight, but found that there is moderate evidence that meditation reduces anxiety, depression, and pain.[294] However, this study included a highly heterogeneous group of meditation styles (i.e., it did not focus exclusively on mindfulness meditation), which is a significant limitation of this study. Additionally, while mindfulness is well known to have positive psychological effects among individuals diagnosed with various types of cancers,[246] the evidence is unclear regarding its effectiveness in men with prostate cancer.[245]

Adverse effects

Main article: Effects of meditation § Potential adverse effects and limits of meditation

Meditation in general (of which mindfulness is just one type) has also been correlated with unpleasant experiences in some individuals.[295][296][297][298] In some cases, it has also been linked to psychosis and suicide.[299][300][301][302] Both the soundness of its scientific foundations and the desirability of its societal effects have been questioned.[303][304][305][306]

In one cross-sectional online survey, published in 2019, of 1,232 regular meditators with at least two months of meditation experience, about a quarter reported having had particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences (such as anxiety, fear, distorted emotions or thoughts, altered sense of self or the world), which they thought may have been caused by their meditation practice. This survey used broad group of “regular meditators”, and did not specifically focus on mindfulness meditation. The survey also found that meditators with high levels of repetitive negative thinking and those who only engage in deconstructive meditation were more likely to report unpleasant side effects. Adverse effects were less frequently reported in women and religious meditators.[307]

Another observational study from 2021 on the effects of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) found negative side-effects in 37% of the sample while lasting bad effects in 6–14% of the sample.[308] Most of the side effects were related to signs of dysregulated arousal (i.e., hyperarousal and dissociation). There are, however, several other studies that have found no harm following the standard, widely implemented Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program.[309][310][311]

Difficult experiences encountered in meditation are mentioned in traditional sources; and some may be considered to be an expected part of the process, e.g., seven stages of purification mentioned in Theravāda Buddhism. Possible "unwholesome or frightening visions" are mentioned in a practical manual on vipassanā meditation.[312] Classical sources have various terms for "meditation sickness" and related difficulties, such as zouhuorumo (走火入魔; 'fire possession'), chanbing (禪病; 'Chan disease') and mojing (魔境; 'demonic states').[313]

An article that describes Medieval Chinese Buddhist accounts of such phenomena (in the Journal of Buddhist Ethics) states,

Problematic experiences such as strange sensations, unexplained pains, psychological instability, undesired hallucinations, sexual anomalies, uncontrollable behaviors, demonic possession, suicidality, and so forth seem to be quite well-known and well-documented across traditions.[313]

A number of Western Buddhist teachers and leaders, however, have asserted that proper instruction from a legitimate, genuinely insightful teacher prevents negative experiences in meditation from escalating into adverse or harmful effects.[313][314][315][316] For example, studies indicate that people who experience adverse effects as fleeting emotions (i.e., seeing them as a passing phase) without identifying with these experiences, are able to overcome distress.[317][315][318] Further, balancing concentration practices with open-monitoring practices, incorporating loving-kindness meditation, and even adding physical activity may help prevent any negative experiences from escalating into harmful effects.[315] It has been proposed that a lack of understanding of the theoretical basis of meditation may also play a major causal role in the development of adverse effects.[315][316][314]

Studies on adverse effects have found that participants who experience these effects are just as glad to have practiced meditation as those who do not, and that they continue to view meditation as a valuable activity that supports their mental wellbeing.[319][320]

Concerns and criticism

Methodological concerns

The methodological quality of some of the studies is poor. Recent reviews have described many of these issues.[25][page needed][195][321]

Many of the above cited review studies also indicate the necessity for more high-quality research in this field such as conducting intervention studies using larger sample sizes, the use of more randomized controlled studies and the need for providing more methodological details in reported studies.[25][page needed][26] The majority of studies also either measure mindfulness as a trait, and in research that use mindfulness interventions in clinical practice, the lack of true randomisation poses a problem for understanding the true effectiveness of mindfulness. Experimental methods using randomised samples, though, suggest that mindfulness as a state or temporary practice can influence felt emotions such as disgust and promote abstract decision-making.[322][323][324] There are also a few review studies that have found little difference between mindfulness interventions and control groups, though they did also indicate that their intervention group was treated too briefly for the research to be conclusive.[325][326] In some domains, such as sport, a lack of internal validity across studies prevents any strong claims being made about the effects of mindfulness.[227] These studies also list the need for more robust research investigations. Several issues pertaining to the assessment of mindfulness have also been identified including the current use of self-report questionnaires.[25][page needed][26][327] Potential for bias also exists to the extent that researchers in the field are also practitioners and possibly subject to pressures to publish positive or significant results.[10]

McMindfulness

The popularization of mindfulness as a "commodity"[web 26] has been criticized, being termed "McMindfulness" by some critics.[27][web 2][web 3][c] Ronald Purser discusses that there is certainly a beneficial aspect to mindfulness, such as reducing stress, however, the issue is the "product they are selling and how its been packaged."[306] According to Harrington and Dunne, critics argue that "Mindfulness [...] was never supposed to be about weight loss, better sex, helping children perform better in school, helping employees be more productive in the workplace, or even improving the functioning of anxious, depressed people. It was never supposed to be a merchandized commodity to be bought and sold."[12] According to John Safran, the popularity of mindfulness is the result of a marketing strategy:[web 26] "McMindfulness is the marketing of a constructed dream; an idealized lifestyle; an identity makeover."[328][web 26] The psychologist Thomas Joiner says that modern mindfulness meditation has been "corrupted" for commercial gain by self-help celebrities, and suggests that it encourages unhealthy narcissistic and self-obsessed mindsets.[329][330]

According to Purser and Loy, mindfulness is not being used as a means to awaken to insight in the "unwholesome roots of greed, ill will and delusion,"[web 2] but reshaped into a "banal, therapeutic, self-help technique" that has the opposite effect of reinforcing those passions.[web 2] While mindfulness is marketed as a means to reduce stress, in a Buddhist context it is part of an all-embracing ethical program to foster "wise action, social harmony, and compassion."[web 2] Purser explains that ultimately mindfulness is being stripped from its original Buddhist roots, losing its emphasis on ethical training and liberation from attachment, and is instead presented mainly as a therapeutic self-help method.[306] The privatization of mindfulness neglects the societal and organizational causes of stress and discomfort, instead propagating adaptation to these circumstances.[web 2] According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, "[A]bsent a sharp social critique, Buddhist practices could easily be used to justify and stabilize the status quo, becoming a reinforcement of consumer capitalism."[web 2] The popularity of this new brand of mindfulness has resulted in the commercialization of meditation through self-help books, guided meditation classes, and mindfulness retreats.

Mindfulness is said to be a $4bn industry. More than 60,000 books for sale on Amazon have a variant of "mindfulness" in their title, touting the benefits of Mindful Parenting, Mindful Eating, Mindful Teaching, Mindful Therapy, Mindful Leadership, Mindful Finance, a Mindful Nation, and Mindful Dog Owners, to name just a few.[web 27]

Buddhist commentators have criticized the movement as being presented as equivalent to Buddhist practice, while in reality it is very possibly denatured with undesirable consequences, such as being ungrounded in the traditional reflective morality and therefore, astray from traditional Buddhist ethics. Criticisms suggest it to be either de-moralized or re-moralized into clinically based ethics. The conflict is often presented with concern to the teacher's credentials and qualifications, rather than the student's actual practice. Reformed Buddhist-influenced practices are being standardized and manualized in a distinct separation from Buddhism - which is seen as a religion based in monastic temples - and expressed as "mindfulness" in a new psychology ethic, practiced in modern meditation centers.[331]

See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    While translated as "mindfulness," and often interpreted as "bare attention," the term sati has broader connotations: "memory,"(PTS) "retention,"(Dreyfus 2013, pp. 44–48) "mindfulness, alertness, self-possession."(PTS) In a Buddhist context it has a wider meaning and purpose, related to vipassana, namely Sampajañña discerning what is beneficial and what is not, and calming the mind by this discernment (Polak 2011, pp. 153–56, Williams & Tribe 2000, p. 46, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu 2014, pp. 79, 101, 117 note 42 Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging (Thompson 2020, p. 120), Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness, such as how perceptions of the past, present and future arise and cease as momentary sense-impressions and mental phenomena (Karunamuni & Weerasekera 2019, Analayo 2003, Bhikkhu Bodhi).
  2. [b]
    Mindfulness practice has been employed to reduce depression (Blanck et al. 2018, Jain et al. 2015, Galante et al. 2021), stress (Khoury et al. 2015, Hofmann et al. 2010, Galante et al. 2021), anxiety (Blanck et al. 2018, Khoury et al. 2015, Hofmann et al. 2010, Galante et al. 2021) and in the treatment of drug addiction (Chiesa & Serretti 2014, Garland, Froeliger & Howard 2014, Sancho et al. 2018). Programs based on mindfulness models have been adopted within schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans' centers, and other environments (Zhang et al. 2021, Gong et al. 2023) and mindfulness programs have been applied for additional outcomes such as for healthy aging, weight management, athletic performance (Noetel et al. 2019), helping children with special needs, and as an intervention during early pregnancy.
  3. [c]
    "What was once a tool for spiritual exploration has been turned into a panacea for the modern age — a cure-all for common human problems, from stress, to anxiety, to depression. [...] Yet the potential for emotional and psychological disturbance is rarely talked about by mindfulness researchers, the media, or mentioned in training courses. [...] Mindfulness has been separated from its roots, stripped of its ethical and spiritual connotations, and sold to us as a therapeutic tool. [...] Instead, as Giles Coren [sic; the author links to Ron Purser and David Loy] recently claimed, this technique has been turned into a McMindfulness which only reinforces one's egocentric drives."[web 28]
  4. [d]
    "The word derives from a verb, sarati, meaning "to remember," and occasionally in Pali sati is still explained in a way that connects it with the idea of memory. But when it is used in relation to meditation practice, we have no word in English that precisely captures what it refers to. An early translator cleverly drew upon the word mindfulness, which is not even in my dictionary. This has served its role admirably, but it does not preserve the connection with memory, sometimes needed to make sense of a passage.[web 7]
  5. [e]
    The terms sati/smṛti have been translated as:
  6. [f]
    Quotes from Gethin, Rupert M.L. (1992), The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiȳa Dhammā. Brill's Indological Library, 7. Leiden and New York: Brill
  7. [g]
    Dreyfus concludes his examination by stating: "The identification of mindfulness with bare attention ignores or, at least, underestimates the cognitive implications of mindfulness, its ability to bring together various aspects of experience so as to lead to the clear comprehension of the nature of mental and bodily states. By over-emphasizing the nonjudgmental nature of mindfulness and arguing that our problems stem from conceptuality, contemporary authors are in danger of leading to a one-sided understanding of mindfulness as a form of therapeutically helpful spacious quietness. I think that it is important not to lose sight that mindfulness is not just a therapeutic technique but is a natural capacity that plays a central role in the cognitive process. It is this aspect that seems to be ignored when mindfulness is reduced to a form of nonjudgmental present-centered form of awareness of one's experiences.[48]
  8. [h]
    Sharf: "Mahasi's technique did not require familiarity with Buddhist doctrine (notably abhidhamma), did not require adherence to strict ethical norms (notably monasticism), and promised astonishingly quick results. This was made possible through interpreting sati as a state of "bare awareness"—the unmediated, non-judgmental perception of things "as they are", uninflected by prior psychological, social, or cultural conditioning. This notion of mindfulness is at variance with premodern Buddhist epistemologies in several respects. Traditional Buddhist practices are oriented more toward acquiring "correct view" and proper ethical discernment, rather than "no view" and a non-judgmental attitude."[web 8]
  9. [i]
    "Mindfulness meditation" may refer to either the secular, western practice of mindfulness,[62] or to modern Buddhist Vipassana-meditation.[63][64][65]
  10. [j]
    State-like questionnaires:
    • The Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) measures mindfulness as a state-like phenomenon, that is evoked and maintained by regular practice.[66]
    • The State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) is a 21-item survey with an overall state mindfulness scale, and 2 sub-scales (state mindfulness of mind, and state mindfulness of body).[67]
  11. [k]
    Trait-like measures:
    • Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
    • Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI)
    • Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS)
    • Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS)
    • Mindfulness Questionnaire (MQ)
    • Revised Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS-R)
    • Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS)
  12. [l]
    Baer cites Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994): Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion, p.4.
  13. [m]
    Wilson (2014, p. 89) refers to and quotes from Kabat-Zinn's foreword to Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness.
  14. [n]
    Bishop et al. (2004): "The first component involves the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experience, thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment. The second component involves adopting a particular orientation toward one's experiences in the present moment, an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance." Self-regulated attention "involves bringing awareness to current experience—observing and attending to the changing fields of "objects" (thoughts, feelings, sensations), from moment to moment – by regulating the focus of attention". Orientation to experience (the second component) involves maintaining an attitude of curiosity about objects experienced at each moment, and about where and how the mind wanders when it drifts from the selected focus of attention. Clients are asked to avoid trying to produce a particular state (e.g. relaxation), but rather to just notice each object that arises in the stream of consciousness (Bishop et al. 2004, p. 233
  15. [o]
    Definitions:
    • Marlatt & Kristeller 1999, p. 68: "a way of paying attention"<
    • Baer 2003: "Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally"; "Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis" (Baer cites Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994): Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York: Hyperion, p.4.
    • Black 2011, p. 1: "a capacity of attention and awareness oriented to the present moment that varies in degree within and between individuals, and can be assessed empirically and independent of religious, spiritual, or cultural beliefs."
    • Bishop et al. 2004: "A kind of nonelaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is."
    According to Jong et. al. 2025, mindfulness involves cognitive processes such as attentional monitoring, attentional regulation, and attentional focus reorientation.
    Hayes 2004 and Feldman have highlighted that mindfulness can be seen as a strategy that stands in contrast to a strategy of avoidance of emotion on the one hand and to the strategy of emotional over-engagement on the other hand.
  16. [p]
    See also Prapanca.
  17. [q]
    See, for example, Purser & Milillo 2015, p. 13-15, "Mindfulness Is Not Equivalent to Nonjudgmental Awareness". Purser & Milillo (2015, p. 5): "Thus, mindfulness is not merely a passive and nonjudgmental attentiveness to the present moment exclusively but an actively engaged and discerning awareness that is capable of recollecting words and actions from the past as well. As we shall explain shortly, right mindfulness, when properly cultivated and supported by other mental factors, can remember and know skillful as well as unskillful phenomena, in the past and in the present—with the intended purpose of abandoning those which lead toward suffering and stress in the future (Gethin, 2001; Ţhānissaro, 2012). Thus, right mindfulness is not simply bare attention to the present moment but “includes both retrospective memory of the past and prospective memory of the present and future” (Kang & Whittingham, 2010, p. 165)."
  18. [r]
    The notion of "bare awareness" has been criticized by Sharf and others, as sati involves more than just awareness.[87][47][web 8][h][48][g]
  19. [s]
    Vipassana as taught by teachers from the Vipassana movement is a 19th-century development, inspired by and reacting against Western modernism.[102][36] See also Buddhist modernism.
  20. [t]
    Frauwallner, E. (1973), History of Indian Philosophy, trans. V.M. Bedekar, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Two volumes., pp.150 ff
  21. [u]
    The resort to "experience" as the ground for religious truths is a strategy which goes back to Schleiermacher, as a defense against the growing influence of western rationality on the religious life of Europeans in the 19th century. See Sharf (1995), Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience.[36]
  22. [v]
    "Historically a Buddhist practice, mindfulness can be considered a universal human capacity proposed to foster clear thinking and open-heartedness. As such, this form of meditation requires no particular religious or cultural belief system." - Mindfulness in Medicine by Ludwig and Kabat-Zinn, available at jama.ama-assn.org
  23. [w]
    "Kabat-Zinn (2000) suggests that mindfulness practice may be beneficial to many people in Western society who might be unwilling to adopt Buddhist traditions or vocabulary. Thus, Western researchers and clinicians who have introduced mindfulness practice into mental health treatment programs usually teach these skills independently of the religious and cultural traditions of their origins (Kabat-Zinn, 1982; Linehan, 1993b)."[5]
  24. [x]
    In Mahayana contexts, it entails insight into what is variously described as sunyata, dharmata, the inseparability of appearance and emptiness (two truths doctrine), clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness.[web 16]
  25. [y]
    Majjhima Nikaya (MN), sutta number 118. See Thanissaro, 2006. Other discourses that describe the full four tetrads can be found in the Samyutta Nikaya's Anapana-samyutta (Ch. 54), such as SN 54.6 (Thanissaro, 2006a), SN 54.8 (Thanissaro, 2006b) and SN 54.13 (Thanissaro, 1995a). The one-tetrad exposition of anapanasati is found, for instance, in the Kayagata-sati Sutta (MN 119; Thanissaro, 1997), the Maha-satipatthana Sutta (DN 22; Thanissaro, 2000) and the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10; Thanissaro, 1995b).
  26. [z]
    [I]n Buddhist discourse, there are three terms that together map the field of mindfulness [...] [in their Sanskrit variants] smṛti (Pali: sati), samprajaña (Pali: Sampajañña) and apramāda (Pali: appamada).[web 17]
  27. [aa]
    According to this correspondence, Ven. Nyanaponika spent his last ten years living with and being cared for by Bodhi. Bodhi refers to Nyanaponika as "my closest kalyāṇamitta in my life as a monk."
  28. [ab]
    Kabat-Zinn, in Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition) (2013), p. lxiv advises to use CD's with guided mindfulness practices: "Almost everybody finds it easier, when embarking for the first time on a daily meditation practice, to listen to an instructor-guided audio program and let it "carry them along" in the early stages, until they get the hang of it from the inside, rather than attempting to follow instructions from a book, however clear and detailed they may be."

    Compare Rupert Gethin (2004), On the practice of Buddhist meditation, pp. 202–03, noting that the Buddhist sutras hardly explain how to meditate, and then stating that "the effective practice of meditation requires the personal instruction of a teacher." Gethin seems to echo Vetter (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism, who notes that the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta describes the Buddha as instructing his first followers in turn: instructing two or three of them, while the others go out begging for food, signifying the need for personal instruction to learn how to practice dhyana.
  29. [ac]
    See also Eating One Raisin: A First Taste of Mindfulness for a hand-out file
  30. [ad]
    Khoury et al. 2015: "We conducted a meta-analysis to provide a review of MBSR for healthy individuals. The meta-analysis included 29 studies enrolling 2668 participants [...] The results obtained are robust and are maintained at follow-up. When combined, mindfulness and compassion strongly correlated with clinical effects.

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