Mindfulness - a concept between the worlds

Part One - The Psychology of Buddhist Presence of Mind

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to elucidate the the concepts of mindfulness, presenceand awareness. It shuttles in the use of these terms between Buddhist contemplative and psychotherapeutic contexts. It also uses these terms synonymously as the translation of the Buddhist concept of sati. Mindfulness has become a buzzword. As a consequence, the notion of mindfulness on one hand enjoys increasing popularity; this holds out the promise of a wider acceptance of contemplative approaches in psychotherapy. On the other hand, mindfulness simply risks being reduced to yet another tool in the arsenal of cognitive behavioural techniques. This state of affairs leads me to revisit some of the ethical, emotional and social dimensions of the Buddhist conception of mindfulness and a brief glance at the risks we take if satiis denuded of its relationship to other factors of mind and a ‘clean’ cognitive awareness is instead made out to be stand-alone panacea.