Mindfulness: Significant Common Confusions (Journal article, link below) <excerpt> Buddhist Perspective The Buddhist path requires the cultivation of both concentration and awareness, but in practice, there is considerable variation in the sequencing and balancing of these two. For example, in some vipassana centers, the students begin with concentration until their minds are stabilized enough to optimize awareness practices. In other centers, students begin with awareness practices, and concentration gradually evolves as a by-product. And skillful teachers often individualize such that at any time, one student may be instructed to emphasize concentration while another is told to emphasize awareness. The Buddhist path also emphasizes ethical and virtuous behavior (sila), as in the Eight-Fold Path and various collections of precepts. This is a central point in the Teravada literature (e.g., Buddhaghosa 1975 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html#CR2> ) where it is emphasized that there are mutual interactions among sila, concentration, and prajna (mindfulness-produced insight). The point is that the development of concentration and awareness are both impacted by how ethical and virtuous one's behavior is (Grossman 2010 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html#CR4> ). From a Buddhist viewpoint, to try to cultivate mindfulness without attending to sila is a serious mistake. This is one example of a general concern that some Buddhist scholars have about extracting mindfulness from its Buddhist context. These scholars feel that mindfulness needs to be embedded in the whole Buddhist program (Kwee 2010 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html#CR7> ). This includes how mindfulness relates to concentration, ethics, insight, dependent origination, karma, social/cultural factors, nature of the "self," and awakening, among other topics. The ultimate purpose of all Buddhist practice is enlightenment/awakening. The fact that mindfulness can help reduce many types of suffering and improve the overall health of body and mind is wonderful. But more important is the awakening that results from mindfulness-produced insight (prajna). Based on his own experience, the Buddha (awakened one) taught that the path of concentration/absorption could lead to suppression of suffering and defilements, but not to their elimination. Rather, he taught the path of insight which leads to the uprooting of defilements and complete enlightenment. The average person gets readily pulled into and lost in the contents of mind. This includes clinging to those contents that one associates with one's self. The process of awakening includes a disidentification with the contents of the mind and an experiential movement into a broader domain of consciousness. By quieting the mind through concentration, one can more easily disidentify with the contents and find the doorway of consciousness between thoughts. This creates the space for insight knowing, which is encouraged by awareness practices. This aware disidentification with the contents of the mind leads to what I call the witness level where one is a more detached and objective observer of the contents. For some people, this small awakening is very powerful. Previously, they had identified themselves and their realities with contents of their minds; now they know there is much more to both. This facilitates reducing clinging, altering cognitions, and self discovery. Shapiro and Carlson (2009 <http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html#CR16\ > ) call this shift in perspective "reperceiving" and suggest that is a primary way that mindfulness works in therapy. http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html <http://www.springerlink.com/content/d25579n382m30230/fulltext.html>
