Where did mindfulness originate from?
Mindfulness has been around for over 2,500 years and originates from Buddhism. In 1979, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts created a mindfulness based stress reduction program (MBSR). This program was originally intended to assist patients that resisted treatment. The MBSR program that Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn created is based on a certain type of Buddhist meditation known as Vipassana. The word Vipassana originates from the ancient Pali language of India. When this word is translated to English it means, “clear awareness” or “insight”. While practicing Vipassana meditation there are two qualities that are developed: mindfulness and concentration.
There is a strong connection between Buddhism and the practice of mindfulness. An ancient text called the Satipatthana Sutta; which in English means “The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness”. In this text the first-ever set of instructions for practicing the act of mindfulness have been set out to guide practitioners through their mindfulness practice. The four foundations that are outlined in this text are: the body (mainly focusing on the breath), the mind/consciousness, sensations or feelings, and mental contents.
How has mindfulness emerged and changed over time?
It is augured that mindfulness, out of the many practices that have been developed throughout history and around the world that mindfulness is one of the simplest, easiest to understand and engage in, most universal, most powerful and the most needed in today’s society.
Mindfulness has emerged over the course of the last several decades. Starting from it’s roots in Buddhism, to Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn MBSR program, to many commonly used mindfulness practices used today in a variety of institutions and fields. The practice of mindfulness has dramatically increased especially over the past decade as the benefits of it’s practice has become widely known. Mindfulness has become more acknowledged, due in part to researched conducted by professionals, specifically highlighting improvements on participators mental and physical health through the practice of mindfulness. Additionally, mindfulness practice has also been increased through the large variety of conditions that are improved through this practice, such as anxiety and stress.
As mindfulness has become more widely accepted it is more and more common that it is taught with little to no mention of it’s Buddhist roots. This is in part due to the association of this Buddhism practice of mindfulness with religion. There is typically a lot of controversy around religion, especially in a practice that has direct links to Buddhism, and over the years there has been this distancing from the practice and it’s roots in order to make mindfulness more accepted by society.
Over the past decade the use of mindfulness practice has increased significantly with the benefits of its practice becoming more widely known and acknowledged. Mindfulness has seen much growth from the origins of meditation in its western applications in medicine to a larger variety of fields today, such science, medicine and, education. Over the years, and through the growth of mindfulness practice, a variety of different types of mindfulness and ways in which one can practice have emerged.This variation of practices has made mindfulness relevant and allowed itself to be used in many different settings with people of all ages. Even though mindfulness has emerged over time, the key four foundations that outlined this practice: the body (mainly focusing on the breath), the mind/consciousness, sensations or feelings, and mental contents, still remain the body of mindfulness practice.
References:
Bauer-Wu, S. (2010). Mindfulness meditation.Oncology (Williston Park, N.Y.), 24(10 Suppl), 36.
Fossas, A. (2015, January 27). The Basics of Mindfulness: Where did it come from? Retrieved April 01, 2016, from http://welldoing.org/article/basics-of-mindfulness-come-from
Ross, A. (2016). Mindfulness Origins. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from http://www.mindful-moments.co.uk/pages/mindfulness-origins.php
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