PLoS One
April 26, 2016
Kirk Warren Brown, Robert J. Goodman, Richard M. Ryan et al.
105 citations
Mindful attention, a receptive focus on present-moment experience, improves episodic memory—a key form of long-term memory. A three-study series using the Remember-Know paradigm and free recall found that self-reported mindful attention predicted better recognition memory (Study 1, 143 participants). Very brief focused-attention mindfulness training enhanced recognition memory compared to an active control (Study 2, 93 participants) and generalized to free recall (Study 3, 57 participants). The effect was mediated by intrinsic motivation. These results suggest mindfulness can benefit motivation and episodic memory, with implications for education and work performance.
Mindfulness
October 1, 2023
Bhikkhu Anālayo
An examination of early Buddhist texts reveals that the concept of 'skill in means' is closely tied to mindfulness practice, with the shared goal of cultivating wholesome mental states and preventing unwholesome ones. However, a story about the Buddha's half-brother Nanda grappling with sensual desire shows early signs of a different understanding of skill in means, which the author suggests could be seen as an early form of proto-tantra.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2022
Bhikkhu Anālayo, Christiane Steffens-Dhaussy, Fred Gallo et al.
Mindfulness and insight meditation can affect the body's energy system, sometimes causing hypersensitivity. Energy psychology, supported by research, offers techniques to address this hypersensitivity and meditation hindrances.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2022
Bhikkhu Anālayo
This essay, the second of three, examines early Buddhist concepts—mindfulness, awakening, not-self, and the four noble truths—to assess their relevance for psychological research on mindfulness. Engaging critically with Donald Lopez Jr. and Evan Thompson, the author argues that critiques of Westernized Buddhism have sometimes gone too far, producing inaccurate evaluations. The essay concludes that a sober reassessment of early Buddhist evidence reveals considerable common ground between contemporary psychology and Buddhist meditation traditions, both aiming to understand the mind to alleviate unnecessary suffering.
Mindfulness
December 1, 2021
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Criticism of mindfulness is necessary for the field to progress, but such criticism must be reasonable and grounded in facts, not subjective imagination. The claim that mindfulness is intrinsically dangerous has been influenced by unreasonable allegations from Daniel Ingram, which some scholars have taken seriously due to their lack of familiarity with Buddhist doctrine and genuine insight meditation practices.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2021
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Equanimity, a key dimension of mindfulness cultivation, is not a single construct but encompasses different types recognized in Buddhist traditions. One type is equanimity as a divine abode or immeasurable, while another is equanimity as the absence of compulsive reactivity driven by likes and dislikes. This article surveys early Buddhist passages to provide a more nuanced understanding of equanimity and its relationship to mindfulness.
Mindfulness
October 1, 2021
Bhikkhu Anālayo
An examination of early Buddhist tranquility meditation texts reveals that the Indic term kāya, usually translated as 'body,' covers a broader range of somatic experiences than simple materiality. In critical dialogue with Eviatar Shulman, the author explores the mind-made body conjured through supernormal feats, mindful contemplation of bodily dimensions during absorption states, and the transition to immaterial spheres. The patterns suggest kāya encompasses a continuum from gross physicality to subtle embodiments. Even after complete transcendence of materiality, the term kāya can still be used to describe direct, personal experience in immaterial states.
Mindfulness
January 1, 2021
Bhikkhu Anālayo
The four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—represent solidity, cohesion, temperature, and motion in mindfulness exercises from the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta and its parallels. Within ancient Indian thought, early Buddhist analysis of matter into these elements avoids the extremes of materialist annihilationism and eternalism. Contrary to Alexander Wynne's assumption, their use does not reflect Brahminical cosmology. The ultimate aim of mindful contemplation of the elements is their transcendence, achieved by cultivating liberating insight into their impermanent and empty nature.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
The proposal to define external mindfulness as objectivity rather than subjectivity lacks support from Buddhist sources and is not useful for meditation practice. The prevailing view in both Buddhist traditions and modern research—that external mindfulness means being aware of other people—remains the most meaningful and practical interpretation. Adopting this understanding could expand mindfulness research beyond its current focus on internal experiences to include how the same mental quality can be applied to understanding and relating to others.
Mindfulness
October 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Racial oppression has deep roots in European culture and harms health. The author argues that mindfulness, especially its external dimension, can contribute to needed change. Examining early Buddhism's rejection of caste and prioritization of ethical conduct over birth provides a background. This perspective opens a new dimension for mindfulness research, which has mostly focused on internal cultivation. It also suggests diversity work can be part of the Buddhist path, particularly for white Buddhists, who must confront superiority conceit as an obstacle to liberation.
Mindfulness
September 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
A case study of Daniel Ingram's descriptions of Buddhist insight meditation illustrates how forceful mindfulness and high-speed mental noting can construct meditative experiences that match expectations from maps of insight progress, culminating in claims of awakening. This reveals personal bias challenges in meditation research and cautions against overvaluing subjective reports. The contention that even non-intensive meditators can suffer adverse effects from insight knowledges is not accurate. Progress in mindfulness research requires evaluating meditative experiences within their psychological, doctrinal, cultural, and social contexts to avoid uncritical enthusiasm or exaggerated apprehensions.
Mindfulness
August 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
An examination of Pāli discourses in the first five chapters of the Majjhima-nikāya and their parallels reveals that references to mindfulness-related meditations are widespread, indicating that contemplative practices were a central concern in early Buddhist thought. These texts show that such practices were not limited to monastics but also involved lay practitioners. The survey suggests that meditation was a key element of early Buddhist thought, situated within a broader doctrinal and cosmological framework.
Mindfulness
July 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
The formal cultivation of mindfulness described in the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta and its parallels includes both internal and external dimensions. Later traditions have interpreted these dimensions in various ways, leading to uncertainty. Contemporary research on mindfulness has largely focused on internal aspects. An examination of the historical evolution of these texts suggests that the primary aim of external cultivation is directing mindfulness toward others.
Mindfulness
June 1, 2020
Bhikkhu Anālayo
In early Buddhist thought, the body is central to mindfulness practice, without assuming a mind-body duality or locating the mind in a specific physical place. The various body-directed mindfulness exercises should be considered together to understand their overall purpose. Among these, awareness of one's own bodily postures is described as a practice the Buddha-to-be undertook while seeking awakening, using it to face fear. This exercise offers grounding in embodied mindfulness, being fully present in the here and now, which is especially relevant to challenges posed by the current pandemic.