Situating Mindfulness, Part 2: Early Buddhist Soteriology

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.

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Abstract

AbstractAs the second of three articles, the present essay continues to explore the character of selected aspects of early Buddhism in order to assess its potential relevance as a reference point for those engaged in research on mindfulness in psychology. The exploration, which proceeds in critical dialogue with suggestions made by Donald Lopez Jr. and Evan Thompson, covers the topics of the role of mindfulness as a means for progress to awakening, the path to and the realization of awakening, the implications of the doctrines of not self and of the four noble truths, and the centrality of meditation in early Buddhism. The proposed conclusion is that a deserved criticism of a tendency toward unbalanced presentations of Buddhist thought, so as to be palatable to Western preferences, has gone overboard in the opposite direction, resulting in inaccurate evaluations and exaggerated claims that call for a correction and a sober reassessment of the actual evidence. Such reassessment shows that there is considerable room for an open dialogue between contemporary psychology and Buddhist meditation practice traditions regarding their common ground in the aspiration to understand the workings of the mind with a view to alleviating unnecessary suffering.