Untitled - Api-fellowships.org

MULTIPLE IDENTITIES VIA SPIRITUALITY, HISTORIES AND CULTURAL RE-PRESENTATIONS 139Theories and Practices of Mindfulness in Asian Traditions: HistoricalContext and Relevance to the Modern WorldDante G. Simbulan, Jr.Introduction and MethodologyI embarked on a four-month API Fellowship 2010project 1 in Japan to answer the question: How relevantis “mindfulness” from Asian traditions in the modernworld? To answer this, I searched the literature on thehistorical context and the theories and practicesunderlying mindfulness. Finally, I reviewed themodern applications of mindfulness. The paper wasinspired by the pragmatic goal to contextualize thephysiological research.Mindfulness refers to a state of focused awareness ofbeing in the present moment, of recognizing withacceptance and equanimity present events, past eventsand events that are about to unfold. Mindfulness isassociated with meditation and its purpose, “in itsancient context is to eliminate needless suffering bycultivating insight into the workings of the mind andthe nature of the material world” (Siegel 2009). Thepractice of mindfulness arose within various Easterntraditions, especially in Indian Yogic, Buddhist, Sufiand Daoist traditions (Gunaratana 1992; Odier 1986).I have wrestled with mindfulness as a concept and as apractice concerned with the intuitive acceptance ofreality, and as a cognitive appraisal of the contents ofthe mind, especially in the defining and labeling ofvarious “sins” or “defilements (kleshas” (Figure 1,Figure 2) which bring about “suffering” according toEastern traditions. 2Figure 2. Kleshas or “poisons” in the Buddhist tradition are theequivalent of “sin” in other traditions. The original Buddhistteachings prescribe mindfulness practices, including TranquilityMeditation (samatha) to pacify the “kleshas” while InsightMeditation (vipassana) is said to help one to realize the true natureof reality.Mindfulness: Historical Context and CognitiveFramework“In the wars and violence of the industrial age, our specieshas been neglecting our heart needs. We have alsoneglected the needs of other beings with whom we sharethis planet. We need to probe more deeply and morecommunally into who we are as a species: our strengthsand our weaknesses, our power and misuse of power.Paying attention includes going into our capacity fordestruction and self-hatred, our resentments and ouravarice, our envy and our listlessness, our despair and ourcynicism, our addictions and our projections, ourarrogance and our malice - in short, for lack of a betterword, our sins”. (Fox 1999)I found the above quote a fitting introduction to thissection of my paper on mindfulness, the practice ofwhich takes the mind on a tour not only of humanexperiential comfort zones but also of unpleasantzones that are causes of human suffering - manifestedin what Buddhists call “greed, anger and delusions”.Figure 1. Five defilements (kleshas) in the Yoga SutraFox (1999) adds: “As our species evolves spiritually, wemust take another and harder look at our complicity inThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows