The History of “Mindfulness”
It took 0,03 Seconds for Google Scholar to present me a mindblowing 609.000 publications about “Mindfulness”.
More than any modern human ever could ever work through.
how did we get to this point?
Why would this be important?
“Power is a manifestation of context” (D.R. Hawkins)
Some of the most impactful books I have ever read are the ones that give context. And I truly believe that the best way to do that is to look at the origins, the actors, their motivations , and different perspectives to explain how we got to where we are now.
During my Thesis, I had to work through a big chunk of the literature on mindfulness and discovered some interesting perspectives which seem to have gotten buried under the avalanche of never-ending research.
I am hopeful this can help you bring some order in the chaos.
Origins
Even though the origins might be traced back even earlier, the first literal references and attempts of translation were all inspired by the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, an ancient collection of aphorisms from the school of Theravada Buddhism.
Theravada is often referred to as the oldest existing school preserving the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the first “Buddha”. Experts estimate the date of the earliest versions to be no later than 350–320 BCE in Pali.
The word “Sati” now translated as “mindfulness” or “awareness” is described as the practice of maintaining awareness of reality.
Buddhism even teaches four different kinds of mindfulness: deliberate-, effortless-, genuine- & supreme king-like mindfulness. They all have to fit into the category of “right mindfulness” and already presume a certain set of ethical behaviors like “right” speech and action.
Sati itself is only the first of the seven factors of Awakening which also includes “right concentration” (Samadhi) and “Equanimity” (Upekkha).
For now, it is important to understand that there are different kinds of mindfulness and how the “awareness of reality” is only one part of a bigger whole.
Beginnings
Between 1975 and 1980 the first publications about “Mindfulness and Meditation” by western researchers got published in peer-reviewed Journals. The most recognized Authors were Richard Davidson, Daniel Goleman, Daniel Brown, and Jack Kornfield.
The paper “intensive insight meditation: A phenomenological study” from 1979 written by Jack Kornfield, today a world-renowned meditation teacher, was documenting the subjective experience of advanced Vipassana (Insight) Meditators. His work would later be used as a basis for the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction.
The participants in Jack Kornfield’s study reported somatic, visual, and mental experiences of all sorts. It also speaks about the non-linear learning process of meditation and changes in dreams or eating behavior. The study itself has a very different approach than most modern quantitatively verified Interventions.
Today Daniel Brown is more known for his work on higher states of consciousness while Davidson and Goleman dedicated a great amount of effort to make Meditation more accessible. For example with their book “the science of Meditation”.
Hitting Mainstream
It is important to note that the main technique of Vipassana/Insight Meditation is a non-reactive scanning of the body with an equanimous awareness.
Jon Kabat-Zinn later extracted the essence of the practice — the mindful body-scan. Also in 1979 he started gathering chronically ill patients who did not respond to traditional care and had them participate in a new stress program, intended to reduce stress called “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction” (MBSR).
Kabat-Zinn describes himself:
“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.”
His standardized 8-Week courses showed great promise especially with clinically depressed and highly stressed individuals. During that time, mental illness and depression were on the rise and standard medical treatment did not seem to help. So there was tremendous interest and funding involved when a promise was shown.
The 8-week program is a lot more than “just a body-scan”, it involves different practices from yoga to meditation as well as social interchange about subjective experiences as well as a contact person for chronically ill patients.
early criticism
The scientification of “Mindfulness” was especially criticized by traditional Buddhist teachers.
Bhikkhu Bodhi, the second president of the “Buddhist Publication Society” described “Mindfulness” as a sideproduct. Mindfulness arises through the practice of “Samatha” (Calm & Steadiness) and “Vipassana” (Insight). It might even be dangerous to tear “Mindfulness” out of its original teachings as it is prone to become just another method of treatment, exempt from all the depth and wisdom of the “dharma”
Bodhi describes the awareness of consciousness itself as the essential element.
The biggest criticism on mindfulness “Interventions”, clinically tested trials in a standardized setting, is the loss of context.
where are we now?
Today “Mindfulness Interventions” like MBSR or MBCT (Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) constitute by far the largest amount of literature about Mindfulness and Meditation. The measurable and replicable results of these Interventions have contributed to more acceptance within western culture.
These Interventions have been shown to be helpful in a variety of ways:
- to help reduce depressive symptoms and relapse
- reduce social anxiety
- reduce stress
- help with chronic pain
- reduce levels of Inflammatory Cytokines
Well this sounds great does’nt it?
What are the issues?
You have probably all read countless articles like:
“XYZ ways that Mindfulness increases your XYZ”
I have consciously made the last five claims as short as possible just like you would have read it in any of these articles. But please keep in mind that it is all about the context.
Almost all of the mindfulness-based interventions are carried out within a clinical setting. That is to say, most of the studies that show significant improvement in depressive symptoms have studied depressed and inexperienced patients.
However, here is a “Ceiling-effect” in healthy participants who do NOT show the improvement that depressed participants show. Other components like social support, exercise, attention from others, and dealing with mental constructs have all been shown to have similar effects.
The Stonger the symptoms, the better the results.
a big part of what we see as “Mindfulness” today is a representation of the studies that were made about mindfulness-based interventions, not on an awareness of reality.
These Results are also getting mixed up with studies from very experienced meditators (10.000 hours+) that show a remarkable transformation in the structure and functionality of the brain but that is an entire topic on its own.
Is that a bad thing?
Not at all, as long as you keep it in context.
If you are depressed and some Mindfulness-based Intervention is helping you, awesome! If it helps you with stress and chronic pain, awesome! But keep in mind, that “Mindfulness”, at least not in the way most people view it today is not a miracle cure for everything.
Cultivating an effortless awareness of reality as it is requires effort and is not limited to any specific use. There is no “dose of mindfulness” that will make you happy and healthy. Experiencing Consciousness is a never-ending process “Mindfulness” is just a means to the process.
Every concept has to be broken down into its constituent parts to be looked at by science. There is tremendous value in that approach as it makes meditation more accessible to a wider audience. But it also makes it easier to get lost in the content rather than the context.
finishing thoughts
I hope this article could make some people think about the difference between Interventions and Meditation. Also why it might be useful to have both. Interventions allow for rigorous testing and validation but meditation allows for non-linear, lifelong growth, and development. Cultivation mindfulness can be a way of living, a path to find meaning.
With enough practice, you can become mindful of everything, thoughts, emotions, addictions, bodily sensation, or connection to others. At least that is where it takes me on my current stage of developement. And the more I practise meditation the more I think of myself as foolish to sometimes forget about 2500 years of context because of less than 50 years of content.
