What is Mindfulness?

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a technique usually spoken of in terms of meditation. But it can be defined as: becoming intentionally aware of your thoughts and actions in the present moment without placing values, labels or categories on these mental phenomena. It is a process of observing your thoughts, feelings, everything around you, and staying right here in the present moment.

Mindfulness meditation has been practiced by many different wisdom traditions for centuries. Its ability to shed insights into perception beyond the senses is well known in these traditions. Only recently has the Western world, and science in particular, picked up on the role that mind plays in how we view ourselves, and the world around us. Because most people are extremely busy these days, being aware of your thoughts and emotions in every moment is not simple. We can get caught up in our daily activities easily, sometimes going on autopilot for hours. Our mind carries us from one idea to the next, without being truly aware of this process or even the individual thoughts themselves. We can get carried away with memories of the past and projections into the future. Have you ever experienced a train of thought that goes something like this: Remember that pizza from my New York holiday…oh but the seats were very uncomfortable …seats…I need a new chair…chairs…pool chairs…oh my god when I am going to get the pool cleaned…I never have enough time to myself. Does that seem familiar? You can go from having a memory of a lovely holiday to getting stressed by some unfinished work within a split second, and without even noticing each individual thought.

This mental chatter is a result of a lack of mindfulness. Being mindful, therefore, requires practice in order to master. One of the easiest ways to practice mindfulness is to meditate. It gives you the mental space required to focus on the process. You don’t need to find a mountain retreat to meditate, you can practice mindfulness meditation at work, in a park or garden on your lunch break, on the train to work or even while walking. You don’t need to adopt a certain lifestyle or belief system. Mindfulness meditation can be practiced by anyone at anytime.

Recently, there has been a lot of research published on meditation. This science has shown the effects of mindfulness meditation on the brain, detailing just how the simple process of watching the breath or your thoughts can have remarkable positive effects on your health, blood pressure, improve your sleep, decrease stress levels and even improve your immune system.

We focus on emotion-related brain activity because meditation has been found in numerous studies to reduce anxiety and increase positive affect. In an extensive corpus of work on the functional neuroanatomical substrates of emotion and affective style, we have established that the frontal regions of the brain exhibit a specialization for certain forms of positive and negative emotion. Left-sided activation in several anterior regions is observed during certain forms of positive emotion and in subjects with more dispositional positive affect. – Richard J. Davidson, PhD.

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is simply observing your thoughts through introspection. Bringing your awareness inside to the inner world of the mind, you let go of memories of the past or thoughts of the future. Simply watch your thoughts emerge and dissolve within the space of your mind without judgment. This starts with watching the breath. Watching the breath calms the mind. A meditator will then turn his or her attention to the mind itself. Watching thoughts, analyzing to determine the real nature of those thoughts and their functions. You can do this at any time by closing your eyes and turning your attention to the inner world of the mind. Not only does meditation support your present life in terms of health, you will also become more productive and even more creative. Through mindfulness
you will get to know who you are and why you do things.

Therefore, mindfulness is a key component to a happy and productive life. Some may object at this point saying, “how can I find time to meditate? I’ve got too much to do to stop and idly watch my thoughts!” However, many studies have shown that mindfulness meditation reduces stress and anxiety. Which in turn, allows you to be more productive with greater efficacy, and with a higher level of satisfaction. So instead of meditation taking up time that could be better served working or “doing something”, meditation helps you get these things done more easily thus leaving you with more spare time not less.

For those who would like to learn about meditation go here…Learn how to meditate and signup for the free 4 Day Meditation Course delivered to you via email. The course is devidied into 4 parts and has guided meditation on MP3 for you to download. I hope you enjoy them.

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What is Meditation?

What is Meditation

Meditation is an integral part of a larger process of becoming healthy. It is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool used in this endeavour. In the classical Buddhist context, the term meditation is used to translate the Sanskrit term bhävana and its Tibetan equivalent gom.

The Sanskrit term carries with it the connotation of cultivating particular consciousness or perception, while its Tibetan equivalent gom has the idea of developing a familiarity of that perception and emotions like such as compassion. Together they imply the idea of a process of repetitive cultivation of functional states of mind, and in this regard you could call it “mind training”.

In the west, we are very familiar with the notion of physical training to become physically fit, but not so when it comes to our inner world, the world of the mind. As mind play such a major role in our life, it makes sense to spend some time training to become mentally fit. This is what meditation does. Minds such as friendliness, citizenship, open-mindedness, humor, integrity, prudence and so on are the actual causes of happiness. The implication of cultivating functional states of mind, is the discordant minds such as stress, depression, anger and so forth, cannot manifest at the same time as the mind of love, compassion or wisdom. It is difficult to be cheerful, relaxed yet stressed all at the same time. Becoming aware of this fact, we can start to develop these minds bringing them more and more into our everyday experiences.

By doing so we are in fact developing the actual causes of peace and happiness. Whether it is with respect to a habit, a way of seeing yourself and the world around you, or a way of being. It can be said that meditation is about becoming familiar with functional states of mind and views of reality that are concordant with happiness producing experiences and states of mind.

Why Is Meditation Important?

Greek philosophers diagnosed the weakness of will to be the problem of why knowledge does not immediately translate into action. Smokers are a good example of this. They know fully well, that every cigarette is killing them, yet they continue to smoke. The Eastern wisdom traditions like Buddhism on the other hand, would argue that the problem is the failure to integrate such knowledge into the person’s being. It is meditation that serves as the link and the tool in the integration of intellectual knowledge and the desired changes in our behavior. Therefore in order to make meaningful changes in our physical actions, we need to change our perspective on life.

We Need to Meditate.

Three Levels of Understanding: It is said that there are three levels of understanding.
1. Intellectual knowledge
2. Knowledge that has been gained by thinking and contemplation
3. Knowledge that has arisen from meditation.

It is the third type of understanding that we are trying to cultivate. These three levels of understanding are a process of deepening stages of insight into the truth of a given subject. First one hears or reads, for example, unhappiness comes from the mind and that we have the capacity to change this situation. At first the understanding remains somewhat superficial and tied closely to understanding the meaning of the words. We then reflect deeply upon the meaning of those words using analysis as well as relating their meaning to our own existence. Eventually a deep sense of conviction will arise of the truth and this is the second level of understanding.Taking the knowledge from reflection – the second level – and applying it in meditation we gain the third level of understanding. We alternate between analysis and absorption meditation to refine our understanding. Finally this level of understanding will pierce the psyche so that it is totally integrated into our very being, such that it is incorporated into the habit of our mind. This third level of understanding arises as a result of prolonged internalization of the insights gained through meditation. This level of understanding is characterized as being “experiential,” “spontaneous,” and “effortless”. A good analogy here is the process of acquiring a skill, such as swimming or riding a bicycle where the key factor is actual practice.

Different Types of Meditation

There is the classic mindfulness meditation, wherein the individual learns to pay deep attention to the minute processes within the flow of his or her breath or mental processes, while remaining undistracted by sensory or discursive thought. Then there is the meditation in the form of taking something as an object, such as when the person takes the fundamental truth that we as all beings want to find happiness and do not want to experience suffering, and that in this regard all beings are equal – thus developing equanimity towards all beings. Then there is the meditation in the form of cultivation of positive mental qualities, such as compassion and loving-kindness or friendliness. Here compassion and loving kindness are not so much as the objects of meditation; rather we are seeking to cultivate these qualities within our heart. There is also the practice of meditation as visualization. Here we use visualization as a tool to overcome deeply ingrained psychological assumptions about ourselves and our capacity for change.

Given the various types of meditation you can see that it requires such different terms as “cultivation,” “visualization,” “aspiration,” “reflection,” “meditation” and so on in different contexts. However broadly speaking, the practice of meditation can be broken into two generic categories: absorptive meditation and analytic meditation. Absorptive meditation is a type of meditation whereby the meditator focuses single-pointedly on a given object or emotion so that one becomes completely absorbed into this experience. Analytic meditation on the other hand is a refined process of analysis and critical thinking whereby we take an object and investigate its nature, function and impact on our continuum.

Understanding this diversity of meditation practices and their associated states is crucial if we are to avoid the temptation of viewing meditation as constituting some kind of homogeneous mental state, characterized primarily by absence of thought. This way meditation acts as a therapeutic process whereby we learn to let go of even the most deep-seated tendency to view ourselves and the world around us, as being inherently and concretely a certain way. I would argue that meditation plays a major role in teaching us how to see ourselves and the world, in a new, “enlightened” way.

Benefits of Meditation

Through meditation you will gain insights into who you really are, and what makes you do certain actions. Most people have a narrow and naïve view of themselves. They assume that what appears to them exists the way it appears. Through having greater access into the psychological aspects that motivate your actions you will have greater understanding of what constitutes actions that produce a constructive result. Thereby making your life a series of positive results.

• Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
• Broader Comprehension and Improved Ability to Focus
• Increased Creativity
• Deeper Level of Relaxation
• Improved Perception and Memory
• Development of Intelligence
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Increased Self-Actualization
• Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress
• Improved Health and More Positive Health Habits

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Scientist studies brain from the inside out.

In a truly inspirational video (although I’m not a fan of overly flowery language) neuroanatomist Jill Taylor describes an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

Clearly there are meditators who can identify with the experiences she describes. Either way I have confidence that scientists will over time expand on the current theories of consciousness espoused by people like Dan Dennet to one that is closer a line to Buddhist theory of consciousness. I also think that we as Buddhists need to be open minded about the theory of consciousness.
Simply dismissing the western science view outright is not useful for the individual or Buddhism. We can learn from each other. There is no doubt that the brain plays some role in how we experience the world. I believe this video shows this. I also think it shows that subtle consciousness is not reliant on the brain.
Regardless it is a good watch!

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A possible reason for unexplained gamma increases in Tibetan Monks

Yesterday I read with interest, Daniel Goleman’s blog post on the unexplained gamma increases in highly trained Tibetan Lamas. This morning I had an idea that might shed some insight into the reason why some meditators, with roughly the same amount of training as others, can have massively different gamma readings.

The idea is based on how these monks engage their object of meditation. Daniel did state that all the participants were meditating on compassion, however his findings assumes that all participants engaged in this meditation on compassion are of the same type of compassion. According to Mahayana Buddhism there is more than one type of compassion.

Candrakirti a 7th CE Buddhist scholar-yogi, abbot of the famous Nalanda monastic university, and author of many famous Buddhist treatises enumerates in his treatise of Madhyamaka philosophy entitled Engaging in the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara) three types of compassion.

Three Types of Compassion

1. Compassion observing mere sentient beings.
2. Compassion observing impermanent sentient beings.
3. Compassion observing dependently-related sentient beings.

This theory says that all three compassions have as their observed object sentient beings, with a subjective aspect of wishing them to be free from suffering and wanting to protect them from suffering but, their engaged object or conceived object are (1) real sentient beings, in the sense of being substantially existent; (2) Impermanent sentient beings and; (3) Sentient beings that do not inherently exist. Candrakirti states that the three compassions increase in depth, scope and power from the first through to the third. I would add, a meditator who possesses this third type of compassion has fewer dysfunctional states of mind compared with one who only has the first or second type. This perhaps is a way of explaining the different degrees of gamma in the participants. Although a person with the 3rd type of compassion may look simpler in appearance to another monk or Lama, their mind would be far from simpler.

I believe that in order to get to the bottom of this conundrum, scientists need to starting asking questions of meditators. Get them to describe their meditational objects, rather than assume they are all meditating on the same objects. Currently scientists are reluctant to do this or at least reluctant to speak about it in public. Yet, this is the area that will show in my opinion how dualistic thought processes are the root cause of suffering. I believe science can play a role in this endeavor but, only after they get over their fixation with the materialistic notion of consciousness.

If you would like to particpate in a free online Buddhist meditation course you can by going here

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The benefits of understanding Buddhist Epistemology and Psychology

Awareness and Knowledge an Introduction

Buddhism asserts the mind is not merely a function of the brain nor is it an emergent property of physical processes. Buddhist epistemology – a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of knowledge – defines consciousness as: that which is clear and knowing. Consciousness, knower and awareness are synonymous. Awareness is ‘clear’ as in it is not obstructed by physical phenomena. It is the luminous aspect of mind and the knowing is the minds capacity to know or cognize phenomena – both internal and external phenomena. Therefore it is that which is clear and knowing.

Regardless of your inclination toward either the current Western notion of the nature of consciousness or the Buddhist definition. The project of developing a ‘good life’ or to use Buddhist terminology ‘practicing Dharma’ or ‘the path to Enlightenment’ is contingent upon understanding your own mind. Given that consciousness in the Buddhist tradition has been the primary object of investigation for more than 2500 years, it makes sense to at least understand what Buddhist literature has to say about the subject regardless of whether you are Buddhist or not.

The Buddhist approach to epistemology and psychology is one of enumerating the basic functions of the mind, as opposed to understanding it through brain processes or behavioral manifestations. By understanding how perception, conception and various mental factors such as the mental factor of feeling – one of the Five Omnipresent mental factors - operate and how the mental factor of feeling plays a crucial role in determining how we relate and react to most of life’s events, one can develop a greater understanding of our dependent nature. We, that is, you and I are after all dependent on various factors other than ourselves. My mind is not me, although it is a part of what makes up me. So by developing a deeper understanding of this very fact, we can better understand who we are, and how we exist. To a greater of lesser extent, it is this process that Buddhists are undertaking.

The lineage of Buddhist epistemology comes from two Indian scholars Dignaga 5th CE and Dharmakirti 7th CE. Dignaga wrote a treatise on what constitutes valid cognition, valid ways of knowing, called Compendium of Valid Cognition. While Dharmakirti wrote Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition his treatise called Commentary on (Dignaga’s) Compendium of Valid Cognition is the foundational text for much of Tibetan monastic education of Buddhist logic and epistemology . The study of mental factors or psychology comes from Compendium of Knowledge written by Asanga 3rd CE.

In the Tibetan monastic education system, the study of epistemology and psychology are studied under the topic of Awareness and Knowledge (blo-rig) pronounced Lo-rik. Lo-rik is the study of consciousness, of mind and the understanding of mind is seen as essential in both it’s practical and theoretical aspects, as the process of the enlightenment project is one of replacing dysfunctional mind with functional ones. Therefore the clear identification of dysfunctional states of mind and the recognition of why they are dysfunctional is of vital importance in the progression from an unenlightened experience to an enlightened one. Meditation which is seen as an indispensable tool in a spiritual aspirant life, is used as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in this process. The culmination of this process is a state of mind, an experience that is free from all dysfunctional states. According to Buddhism, such a mind has the capacity to know all objects of knowledge without error. Buddhists merely label this experience Enlightenment. Perhaps this is what can explain gamma levels leapt’s of 700 to 800 percent

In Lo-rik, consciousness is studied by dividing it into types and sub-types from several different point of view, such as the seven-fold division of:

1. Direct Perceivers
2. Inferential cognizers
3. Subsequent cognizers
4. Correctly assuming consciousness
5. Inattentive awareness
6. Doubting consciousness
7. Wrong consciousness

The Three-fold division:

1. Conceptual consciousnesses that take a meaning generality as their apprehended object.
2. Non-conceptual non-mistaken consciousnesses that take a specifically characterized phenomenon as their apprehended object.
3. Non-conceptual mistaken consciousnesses that take a clear appearance of a nonexistent as their apprehended object.

The Two-fold division:

1. Self-knowers
2. Other-knowers

Another Two-fold division of:

1. Minds
2. Mental factors

This enables a student to develop a sense of how consciousness exists and manifests, by understanding the various types, their functions and how they interrelate. The study of Lo-rik also plays the role in formulating foundational concepts that a student will use in their future studies of Madhyamaka, as well as the Grounds and Paths found in texts like Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realizations.

Awareness and Knowledge – Table of Contents

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Happiness and it’s causes

In 2007 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was a part of an Australian conference called happiness and it’s causes. It brings together clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and Buddhist practitioners. I think this is a wonderful idea having a conference on the causes of happiness is something that really serves the community as a whole well. Don’t you think?

I’ve just applied for a press pass as I hope to go up to Sydney and report on the goings on. There are a couple of well known Buddhists speaking, and in particular I would like to see these two.

Matthieu Ricard
Shechen Monastery, Nepal
Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk at Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu and French interpreter since 1989 for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He received his PhD in Cellular Genetics at the Institute Pasteur in France, before forsaking his scientific career to concentrate on Tibetan Buddhist studies. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work setting up clinics, schools and orphanages in the Himalayan region. Mr. Ricard’s photographs of the spiritual masters, the landscapes and the people of the Himalayas have appeared internationally in books and magazines. The dialogue with his father, Jean-Francois Revel, The Monk and the Philosopher, was a best seller in Europe, and The Quantum and the Lotus reflects his long-standing interest in science and Buddhism. His new book, Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill, explores the meaning and fulfillment of happiness.

Dr. Alan Wallace
President Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, USA
Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, Dr. Wallace went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford. His books include Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment and The Attention Revolution – Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind.

You can see a full list of speakers for the 2008 conference here.
http://www.happinessanditscauses.com.au/speakerList.stm

I’ve been reading Alan’s book for years and he is particularly interested in the science Buddhist conversation that seems to be getting more and more popular. For me I definitely see the benefit of this conversation as long as we don’t start trying to, as the Dalai Lama says put a Yaks head on a cow’s body. Alan is aware of this potential problem and has started the http://www.sbinstitute.com/ an organization that is not based on one system of thought.

This topic is very close to my heart as we all have a natural and basis aspiration to have more and more happiness. Yet many of us misunderstand the true causes of genuine happiness.

The great 8th Indian saint Shantideva said as much in his classic style of in your face poetry…

Although they do not want suffering, they run to suffering itself.
And although they wish for happiness, they destroy it like an enemy!

Yet, even in the so called modern era we are no closer to understanding his basic fact! There are still people/countries fighting over oil etc etc. The human race is like a dysfunctional family…we ARE The Simpsons.

I have set aside a category for posts just on this wonderful conference, and I will be blogging about it.

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New book by Alan Wallace Hidden Dimensions

Just picked up the mail and new the Alan Wallace book Hidden Dimensions: The unification of physics and consciousness arrived from Amazom.com

I’m very much looking forward to reading this, although it’s about third in line!

Amazon.com link below

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