Abuse of the Buddhist term "mindfulness"

(Natasha Yehenara) Psychology's corporate takeover of Buddhist mindfulness (sati)

• "Mindfulness" defined by Ven. Analayo Bhikkhu
• The field of psychology appropriated (hijacked) the Buddhist term "mindfulness" (originally sati but now just "awareness" or "paying attention")
• Anyone who thinks it was a commonplace practice in ancient India during the time of the Buddha should look up the Hindu definition of sati, which reveals it used to mean throwing a wife on the pyre when her husband died 😲
• The great work of Jon Kabbat-Zin to help therapists led to the unexpected disconnection of the practice with anything, as if it could be a standalone endeavor
• "Bare attention" is a component of sati, but it must be coupled with dispassionate (unbiased) looking on, free of greed, hatred, and delusion (wanting, aversion, and confusion)
• What is one to be mindful of to advance to insight, realization, and awakening? The Buddha pointed at four things: body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects. What does this mean? Psychology cannot tell us, but the Dhamma can
• Who needs Dhamma when we have a corporate bottom line to advance, productivity to raise, and mental health symptoms to abate?
• Why call it "mindfulness," Psychology? Why not pick a new name for what you've turned this into?

Ego (buddhism podcast) The Buddha didn't teach us only to be "present." He taught us to remember (recollection, memory, bearing in mind, the faculty of sati)

On the road to Berkeley like Benji (The Graduate)

Personally, in college at UC Berkeley many years ago, I took a "Buddhist Psychology" course in the department and was so excited to finally be able to learn what "cognition" meant and what the Buddha had to say about all these psychological things. Our assigned textbook, written by a psychologist, was called Mindfulness. "All right," I thought, "I'm finally going to advance in my practice and being in college is going to help me. Imagine my surprise when, as I read, I did not recognize what was being called "mindfulness." It did not align with all the translated ancient texts I had read and was continuing to read from the Buddhist Publication Society and the Pali Text Society. A few years in the future I would even visit BPS Editor Bhikkhu Bodhi in Kandy, Sri Lanka, to ask him about all this.

The Art and Science of Mindfulness

Not yet having him as a direct resource, except through his translations and BPS newsletter messages, I asked my professor in class about how I was left perplexed by reading our textbook. She looked at me and shrugged, "Of course! This "mindfulness" isn't the Buddha's mindfulness. It is psychology's," she explained. I looked around and many students were nodding their heads in agreement. "There are two mindfulnesses?!" I balked. "There are now" was the implicit answer. "Does Berkeley know about this? Why is this class called Buddhist psychology if all we're going to talk about is Western psychology?" She winked because she was subverting the system and introducing Buddhist ideas back into class, but we had to know that the new mindfulness had been taken, changed, and applied in rigorous scientific ways to the behavioral sciences, therapy, counseling, and the mental health field. Sure, it wasn't the Buddha's mindfulness, but that's because it had to be stripped of all spirituality and/or religiosity to get by the gatekeepers of the university system. What a gyp.

• The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating Mindfulness Into Psychology and the Helping Professions (Shauna L, Shapiro, Linda E. Carlson
• Amazon.com: psychology mindfulness textbooks

Remembering Past Lives (video)

Real Families, Real Life Reincarnation, 7/11/19; Crystal Q., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

These children remember their past lives

What we say matters to old souls in new bodies

(Real Families) Do anyone believe in reincarnation or, more correctly, rebirth? Follow the journeys of young children recounting their past lives -- and the people willing to connect them to the truth.

REAL FAMILIES: The Good, the Bad, and the Messy – the Real Families channel features documentaries and shows about stories of modern parenting. Through a mixture of original and archived content, it explores a range of captivating subjects, education styles, complex relationships, food habits, and the challenges of large families. Want more insightful and wholesome content? Subscribe. Facebook.com/RealFamillies, instagram.com/realfamilies. Content licensed by DRG to Little Dot Studios. For any queries, contact: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com.

Rebirth Science: "Previous Lives" (BBC)

CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; "Supernatural Science" (BBC LEARNING) 

Rebirth (French, Renaissance) painting in Europe (Avon Camille/isleta-avon)

 

What was life like? Four Noble Truths?

(NH) BBC documentary "Previous Lives" shows a young boy killed in World War I and reborn with disturbing dreams and problems in the region of the body he was shot until releasing those memories, as his medical doctor father attests. Of course, most Westerners being Christian no longer believe in rebirth and past lives (post Constantine and the Christian Councils). This episode of Supernatural Science also shows that, for example, Jewish affiliation is not permanent; one can be reborn into and out of Judaism or any religion, race, ethnicity, or social status. We may find ourselves standing in the shoes of those we now harm, be they gays, Jews, women, Middle Easterners, African-Americans, or any other sentient beings. Karma (actions motivated by nongreed, nonhatred, nonfear, and nondelusion have the power to bring about resultants, just as their opposites do).

Fasting: Eat Less, Remember More

"Less food, more thought," long a sta-ple of Buddhist meditators, Himalayan yogis, and other religious seekers, fasting is gaining credibility due to modern research. The more weight lost, the more memory improved. A preliminary study suggests that restricting calories (or regular, vigorous exercise -- such as yoga -- for those who are already at a healthy weight) is proven to improve memory.

• ABC News: How diet could help
• ABC News: Can Less Money Equal Better Eating?

Staying Connected, Faith Online: Sermon Via iPod?
(1/22/09)

Are you a person of faith who doesn't have enough time in a fast-paced world to go to a temple, church, synagogue, mosque, or other sacred place?

ABC News Wants to Hear From You (AP Photo)

Do you or does anyone you know download sermons onto an iPod, or listen to sermons online, or receive text messages with bits of spiritual wisdom on them?

Have you ever bought any "One-Minute Bible" books, or books reflecting a quicker way of attaining some spirituality in your life?

ABC News would like to hear from you. We are looking for people who turn to new, often abbreviated means, as a way to keep religion in their fast-paced lives.

Please tell us how you stay connected to your faith in the digital era and include a daytime phone number and an evening phone number, and an ABC News producer might reach out to you to include you in our story.