History of Mindfulness: From East to West and Religion to Science

Buddhism was founded around 400-500 B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama, who became referred to as the Buddha. Since the Buddha's lifetime, it has split into several different traditions, including Theravada Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.

Buddhism and Hinduism share many commonalities. One is they're both concerned with the concept of dharma - a way of life that is in harmony with the universe's natural order. Mindfulness (Sati) is considered to be the first step towards enlightenment.

Some mindfulness meditation practices, such as the body scan, are very similar to yoga as they both involve awareness of one’s body.

The origin of yoga coincides with the origin of Hinduism, and the recent rise of yoga’s popularity in the West coincides with the rise of mindfulness. This underscores the intertwined nature of Buddhism, Hinduism, mindfulness, and yoga.

Jon Kabat-Zinn was the biggest influence on bringing mindfulness from the East to the West.

Kabat-Zinn founded the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training. Here, he developed his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.

Kabat-Zinn learned about and studied mindfulness under several Buddhist teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh, which gave him an Eastern foundation in mindfulness that he integrated with Western science.

Mindfulness plays an important role in the greater field of psychology and positive psychology.

Mindfulness has become a tool for any practitioner’s toolbox. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) are used to treat a variety of patients. Mindfulness meditation is also used to increase an individual's level of well-being.

• Mindfulness could be a yoga practice that involves mindfulness
• It might involve setting aside time for mindfulness meditation sessions
• It could involve practising mindfulness during everyday activities, such as washing dishes.

Very few mindfulness traditions are based on restricting their teachings to an exclusive group. Therefore the versatility of mindfulness is the key part of the philosophy of mindfulness, whether it is practised religiously or in a secular matter.