A journey of growth and transformation

Once upon a time, in a peaceful land known for its ancient traditions, a community called Buddhist Meditation flourished. The people of this community, seeking inner peace, devoted themselves to what they called the Path of Awareness.

They discovered that by cultivating the art of mindful breathing and mindful awareness they could find refuge from the chaos of the world, tap into their own innate wisdom, and reduce suffering by letting go of attachment. This community was humble and modest, and practitioners of the Path of Awareness mainly lived in remote temples and followed a monastic route.

As time passed, knowledge of the mindfulness of breathing spread beyond the boundaries of the land. Like the roots of a great banyan tree, the Path of Awareness began to sprout in the most unexpected of places. First, a small town appeared in the West, an outpost known as MBI (Mindfulness-Based Intervention).

The residents were psychologists and clinicians, and they soon became fascinated by how the art of mindful awareness could help deal with chronic pain and stress reduction. One of these 'founding fathers', if you will, was a university professor and Buddhist practitioner, named Jon Kabat-Zinn. He described the first fully established MBI city, know as the city of MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), as 'relatively intensive training in Buddhist meditation without the Buddhism'. 

Now, whether Kabat-Zinn chose to distance his training from the far-off land of Buddhist Meditation because he was worried Western society was not ready to wholeheartedly accept such a practice, or because he thought secularising the practice would make it more suitable for empirical study and psychotherapeutic applications, is unclear.

Nevertheless, the practice of Buddhist Meditation was adapted, with the language being altered and the techniques being integrated with contemporary psychological principles. The foundations for what would later be coined 'Western Mindfulness' had been formed.

The Great Expansion

Word spread like wildfire, and people from all walks of life, burdened by stress and seeking solace, flocked to MBSR. They discovered the power of mindfulness to navigate the challenges of the modern world and cultivate emotional resilience.

Inspired by the success of MBSR, numerous smaller towns began to boom. These smaller towns each catered to specific needs and purposes. MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), used mindfulness techniques to help those struggling with depression and anxiety; MBRP (Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention), specialised in helping those dealing with addiction; MB-EAT (Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training), focused on cultivating a healthier relationship with food and eating; MBCP (Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting), used mindfulness practices to support expectant parents in navigating childbirth and transitioning into parenthood; Mindfulness and the Environment, with its sub-districts of Mindfulness in Nature and Mindfulness for Sustainability, explored how mindfulness could be used to connect to nature and save the planet.

And there were so many more. Of course, no list of such towns would be complete without mention of the metropolis that is Mindfulness in Education, with its separate districts for Mindfulness for Teachers, Mindfulness for Students, and Mindfulness in the Classroom.

Challenges and uncertainties

The Mindfulness goldrush had begun. Controversial towns started to form, and critics such as Ronald Purser and Jeremy Safran started to question whether these towns were there to just make a quick profit, if they were truly trying and help, or if perhaps it was a bit of both. The cities of Mindfulness in the Financial Sector, Mindfulness in Tech Companies, Mindfulness in the Workplace, and Mindful Leadership all started to toe the line between a commodity that could help maximise workflow and profits, and a practice that could help promote psychological well-being.

Perhaps the most controversial of all these cities was MBRT (Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training), also known as Mindfulness for the Military. It was a town specifically tailored for those in the armed forces to develop their resilience, increase their attention regulation abilities, and improve their capacity of remaining calm and present during high-stress situations. Purser was particularly critical of this development, pointing out the absurdity of divorcing mindfulness from its Buddhist ethical foundations of compassionate non-harming, to train soldiers to be more alert and efficient.

As with any new frontier, challenges and uncertainties accompanied the growth of MBIs. Some felt torn between their allegiance to the ancient land of Buddhist Mediation and the burgeoning cities of MBIs. Yearning for the familiarity of traditional practices, they questioned the extent to which the new developments aligned with the original teachings. Was the ultimate goal of mindfulness practice really self-improvement, self-regulation, and self-compassion? It seemed like there was something missing. What had been left out when mindfulness began to spread throughout the West, adapted for contemporary times?

While all this had been going on, the humble residents of the Buddhist Meditation community had continued to practice the Path of Awareness and the mindfulness of breathing. One such community resided in a remote forest in Thailand called Suan Mokkh Monastery. Their founding monk and meditation master, Bhikkhu Buddhadasa, specialised in teaching the traditional Buddhist practice of the 16 steps of mindful breathing, also known as the Anapanasati Sutta. Suan Mokkh Monastery had opened its doors to the international community and began to offer a 10-day mindfulness of breathing retreat every month for all those willing to come and study. 

However, other members of the Buddhist Meditation community had started to pay more attention to what was going on outside of their borders and many became critical of the development of these new towns and cities. Buddhist monks, such as Bhikkhu Bodhi and Bhikkhu Analayo, questioned whether MBIs had spread too far and too wide, becoming vulnerable to misinterpretation and misrepresentation. They worried that MBIs had become misaligned with the original goal of mindfulness and that they were no longer connected to their Buddhist ethical and spiritual foundations.

The Buddhist Meditation community asserted that authentic mindfulness practice should incorporate an ethical component and should seek to abandon an attachment to an independent-permanent self. They believed mindfulness practice should be less concerned with the questions of How can I improve? How can I be more compassionate towards myself? How can I develop and grow? Instead, it should focus on transcending the erroneous attachment to 'I', 'mine', and 'myself', through gaining insight into the inter-being and non-dual nature of existence.

The heart of the problem

Tensions began to rise between the groups and some members of the established MBI cities, such as J. Mark Williams and Jon Kabat-Zinn, began to push back against the concerns of the Buddhist Meditation community. They claimed that it was predominantly only Buddhist scholars and academics who found offence in the way contemporary mindfulness had developed, adapted and changed.

Williams argued that as a psychotherapeutic practice, even in its secularised form detached from Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles, mindfulness was still greatly beneficial to all those who engaged with it. Adding to this, Kabat-Zinn suggested that the concerns raised by the Buddhist community were more related to the deviation from religious and spiritual orthodoxies than the potential dangers of distancing mindfulness from its Buddhist roots.

Now, alongside the spread of MBIs throughout the land, there had also been a rise in empirical research into the effects of mindfulness on well-being and prosocial behaviour. Studies were being done to try and better understand the relationship between the meditative practices taking place during a given MBI with the salutary, or in some cases adverse effects on individual participants.

One such study, conducted by Siyin Chen and Christian Jordon, explored the effects of two different MBIs: one that incorporated Buddhist ethics and teachings on interdependence into the intervention, and one that did not. Chen and Jordon discovered that for certain participants with low-trait empathy and narcissistic tendencies, the standard mindfulness intervention – based on practices from the city of MBSR – actually led to a decrease in prosocial behaviour and psychological well-being, while these adverse effects were mitigated against during the MBI that incorporated Buddhist ethics and wisdom teachings.

Similarly, a study conducted by Michael Poulin and his colleagues explored how priming participants with the concept of independence versus with the concept of interdependence – the conception of the self as either separate or connected with others – could impact the outcomes of an MBI. They found that when an MBI was primed with independence, there was an increase in self-centredness, a decrease in prosocial behaviour and a reduction in psychological well-being, but these adverse effects were mitigated against during the MBI primed with interdependence.

From these studies, it started to become apparent that disconnecting mindfulness from its Buddhist roots was not just concerning for Buddhist scholars and academics worried about the authenticity of a traditional practice, but stripping mindfulness down to a purely concentrative technique could have measurable adverse effects on prosocial behaviour and psychological well-being for certain participant groups.

However, fortunately, both Chen and Jordon's and Poulin's studies also suggested that incorporating other aspects of Buddhist meditation into MBIs, such as ethical awareness or wisdom practices – including contemplations of interdependence – could mitigate against these adverse effects and elicit salutary outcomes.

Back to its roots

And so, a Second Generation of MBIs emerged, each with its own unique approach and customs but each dedicated to re-establishing MBIs with their roots in Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles. First came the twin cities of LKM (Loving-Kindness Meditation) and CM (Compassion Meditation) solidifying their place in the West. Arguably popularised by the meditation teachings of Sharan Salzburg, these cities brought Buddhist ethics to the forefront, focusing on cultivating compassion and kindness towards known and unknown others. They touched the hearts of many, fostering not only personal well-being but also nurturing a sense of empathy and connection within communities.

Following this development, the city of MAT (Mindfulness Awareness Training) emerged. Founded by two Buddhist monks, William Van Gordon and Edo Shonin, who were also chartered psychologists and researchers, the city of MAT was not only empirically tested but was deeply rooted in Buddhist Meditation and the three trainings principle of concentration, ethics and wisdom. Studies implementing the practices of MAT began to suggest that when mindfulness interventions incorporated Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles, they could not only help enhance psychological well-being, but also treat addiction to work, alcoholism and sex, and help mitigate against symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome.

Alongside the development of the city of MAT was the introduction of the term 'ontological addiction'. Formulated by Shonin as a means to bridge the gap between Buddhist and Western models of psychotherapy, it encapsulated the Buddhist perspective of how an erroneous attachment to an independent-permanent self can lead to detrimental effects on cognitive abilities, psychological well-being, and prosocial behaviour. It is this concept that lies at the heart of the concerns around secular mindfulness practices. It is feared that if the cities of MBIs diverge too far from the original liberative and transformative purpose of Buddhist meditation practice, they would no longer able to cultivate non-attachment to self but could in some instances, actually enhance this erroneous attachment.

A warning for the future

The journey of growth and transformation of mindfulness from its humble ancient roots to its contemporary and numerous applications has been one of triumphs and tribulations. The diverse and widespread cities of MBIs throughout the land are a testament to the numerous applications and benefits of mindfulness practice. However, there is a warning to be heeded from mindfulness becoming too disconnected from its roots in the Path of Awareness. There is a danger of becoming a stranded outpost that not only misrepresents and misunderstands the original intentions of the practice but can in fact cause harm to the psychological well-being and prosocial behaviour of those who engage with it.

While the future of MBIs remains uncertain, one thing seems to be clear: that if mindfulness practices do not remain grounded in their Buddhist ethical roots and wisdom principles, they may lose their way.

- Matt Furnell FHEA is a PhD Candidate at the University of Derby, School of Psychology, and the Module Convenor of Contemplative Inquiry at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. He is trained in both MBSR and MAT, and has a NeuroMindfulness Coaching Certitificate accredited by the ICF.

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