Mindfulness: the single most
impactful aspect of Buddhism in America
January 1,
2016 by
Justin Whitaker Patheos
In an intriguing
recent lecture, scholar of Western Buddhism Jeff Wilson makes the
claim that mindfulness is, in fact, Buddhism’s largest single
impact on North America. The evidence is
more than compelling: from books by Congressman Tim Ryan
(A Mindful
Nation) and Google’s
“Jolly Good Fellow” Chade-Meng Tan (Search Inside
Yourself) – shown meeting
President Obama – to news reports in nearly every major media
outlet and new movements to get mindfulness practice into schools,
medicine, police stations, and the military.
Historically,
Wilson points out, “mindfulness” comes from the Pali
term sati, which can certainly mean mindfulness,
awareness, etc, but also means to remember (a connotation of the
English term that has largely dropped out of its contemporary
“present focused” usage). For instance, a common practice in
Buddhism is “mindfulness of the Buddha” wherein one calls to mind a
memory of the Buddha and/or his qualities in meditation. And
perhaps most importantly, in the Buddhist context, mindfulness is
part of the path to awakening, of overcoming the cycle of suffering
we are in as ignorant sentient beings. This, Wilson states, is in
nice contrast to the “American approach” where Mindfulness =
enhancement of life’s joys.
So
instead of undertaking mindfulness practice along with a lifestyle
that distances one from the activities that perpetuate suffering,
an American mindfulness practitioner keeps doing those things, but
simply enjoys them more.
Wilson goes on to
give a great example of an earlier way that Buddhism adapted itself
to a new (for it) society: Japan. Buddhism, as he
notes, and researchers know well, has been and still is
ever-changing within certain constraints. This is why
many statements that begin, “Traditional Buddhism is…”
are false or at best misleading. Too often Western
practitioners have either an idealized/romanticized or demonized
version of some Asian society and the Buddhism practiced there.
They then insist that today’s Buddhism is either better than that
or fails to live up to it in whatever ways reflect their personal
preferences or hobby-horse.
Seeing Buddhism as
this flowing stream, we can ask better questions about
it. Rather than asking
if this or that is true or fake (which may be fun for riling up
forces on both sides, generally different factions of practicing
Buddhists), we can ask questions like “why is this change
occurring?” or “How does this new stream provide benefit in
the new society?”
Wilson
suggests that the Mindfulness focused form of Buddhism entering
into North America emphasizes Mindfulness, Suffering, and
Compassion while minimizing previous important teachings such as
No-self, Impermanence and Nirvana. And this is just part of the
story, the part where Mindfulness is claimed to be a
facet of Buddhism. On the other hand,
Wilson quotes Jon Kabat-Zinn as writing that:
Mindfulness, the
heart of Buddhist meditation, is at the core of being able to live
life as if it really matters. It has nothing to do with
Buddhism. It has to do with freedom. Mindfulness is so
powerful that the fact that it comes out of Buddhism is
irrelevant.
With
this accepted, mindfulness can be placed in any of a variety of
frameworks, from Kabat-Zinn’s medical/therapeutic framework to a
more pleasure-oriented and individualistic framework typical of
much of American culture. Wilson brilliantly demonstrates this with
slide after slide of mindful eating, mindful sex, mindful work, and
mindful parenting books, asking the audience if there is anything
more American than obsessing over our eating, sex lives, work, and
parenting.
Wilson
follows with an equally brilliant breakdown of the marketing angle
behind Mindful Magazine and the many mindfulness products sold
there, focusing on one by a company called BUDHAGIRL: MINDFUL
GLAMOUR
In
summary, Wilson describes mindfulness as:
The
most popular aspect of Buddhism in America
Practically
oriented, focused on worldly benefits (not transcendence or
liberation)
Focusing on Middle
class concerns, affirming the world, body, work, health, and
certain desires
Ever-more
disconnected from Buddhism’s past, obscuring certain parts or
cutting off historical ties completely
Commodified into a
product in itself or as an add-on benefit to set one product apart
from otherwise identical competitors
This is
all an amazing amount of food for thought. I think it is certainly
true and perceptive to say that mindfulness is the biggest thing
Buddhism has brought to N. America and I know that Buddhists are
grappling with this (what about ethics? what about wisdom? – the
other two parts of the basic 3-fold path). And it’s also important
to point out that mindfulness is being used on this spectrum,
ranging from very overtly Buddhist-connected to the “Mindful
Glamour” label being used to sell jewelry and mindful sex
books.
Oh, and there’s an excellent question/point brought up by Jon
Kabat-Zinn himself at the end of the talk, don’t miss
that.