emptybill: > So called "mindfulness" (as advertised and taught > in the Western world) is a meditation practice > based upon Pali Buddhist scriptures but truncated > to the Western sense of "practicality"... > 'Mindfulness' is meditation, Sanskrit 'dhya-na'. It is a process for realization of Pure Consciousness, Sanskrit 'vijnana'. It is very similar to the practice of 'TM', but without the factor of concentration.
The practice Zen meditation is a specific technique. Zen emphasizes experiential transcendental wisdom Sanskrit 'prajna', as realized in the attainment of enlightenment, Sanskrit, 'nirvana'. "The most important doctrine issuing from the Lankavatara Sutra is that of the primacy of consciousness and the teaching of consciousness as the only reality." Lankavatara Sutra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lankavatara_Sutra > As conducted, it is founded upon the attentional function of > observation. > > Get it? Observation! > > "Mindfulness meditation" is nothing more than observation of the > activities of the (omni)-perceptional process sensations, > volitions, thoughts. > > While valuable as a self-monitoring process, it is shallow when compared > to the requirements of classical Buddhist dhyana-samaapatti total > absorption in the "object" of attention through multiple level > of subtly until the subtlest value of experience (neither perception nor > non-perception) is recognized. > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" wrote: > > > > I never said that mindfulness is unhealthy. > > > > There are many health benefits associated with mindfulness. > > > > However, the success is due mostly to a very nicely coordinated effort > by American Buddhists to publish research and promote its practice. The > specific health benefits (cognitive benefits may be a different issue) > of mindfulness are NOT, in general, comparable to those found in TM, but > mindfulness teachers are more easily created than TM teachers, and the > practice itself is less subject to distortion (being a distortion in the > first place, IMHO). > > > > L > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 no_reply@ wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" wrote: > > > > > > > > > http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/choke/201106/how-mindfulness-meditat\ > ion-alters-the-brain > > > > > > > > How Mindfulness Meditation Alters the Brain > > > > Mindfulness quiets brain regions responsible for our sense of self > > > > > > > > > > > > TM, on the other hand, actually brings about a higher activation > of some of the same regions of the brain that mindfulness represses. > > > > > > > > > > > > Mindfulness represses self. TM broadens/expands/enhances self. > > > > > > > > L > > > > > > It seems mindfulness is unhealthy yet it is having a huge success in > the West today. Do you have any explanation for this ? > > > > > >
