Mindfulness-based Therapy in Modern Psychology: Convergence and Divergence from Early Buddhist Thought

Abstract

This article offers a comparative analysis on mindfulness from mindfulness-based therapies in the contemporary literature and from Buddhist meditation practices in the Pāli Canon. This includes a review of the presiding definitions of mindfulness, recent scientific findings in the literature and the current theories on the underlying mechanisms of mindfulness. The meditation practices from the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme are compared to the origins of mindfulness of breathing meditations from the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10). Further, recent research into the cultivation of skilful states of mind including compassion, self-compassion, loving-kindness, equanimity and sympathetic joy are reviewed and compared to an anthology of texts from the Pāli Canon. Ethical issues emerging from the convergence of science and Buddhist philosophy are also discussed for further consideration.

Abbreviations: AN: Aṅguttara Nikāya; BPS: Buddhist Publication Society; Dhp: Dhammapada; Dhs: Dhammasaṅgaṇī; DN: Dīgha Nikāya; Iti: Itivuttaka; MN: Majjhima Nikāya; Miln: Milindapañha; Paṭis: Paṭisambhidāmagga; SN: Saṃyutta Nikāya; Sn: Sutta Nipāta; Ud: Udāna; Vibh: Vibhaṅga; Vim: Vimuttimagga; Vsm: Visuddhimagga

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Shaw, of Oxford University, Oxford, and Dr. Nick Swann, of the University of South Wales, Newport, for all their support, guidance and reviews during the writing of this paper.

Notes

1. See Johnson et al. (2014); Stanley et al. (2011); Jha et al. (2010).

2. See comments in (Heuman 2014).

3. For a review, see Baer (2011).

4. For a full review, see Baer and Krietemeyer (2006); Shapiro and Carlson (2009), Chap. 5.

5. For reviews, see Speca et al. (2006); Smith et al. (2005).

6. For a review, see Keng et al. (2011).

7. Other references are AN IV 336-347; Vibh 193-207; Paṭis II 232-235.

8. See SN IV 363, SN V 158, and SN V 181-182.

9. For a more in-depth review on Theravāda Buddhism and MBCT, see Gilpin (2008).

10. For example, see Booth (2014).

11. See also Khantipalo (2008) ‘Dangers to meditation’.

12. For example, Goenka vipassana, IMC, FPMT.