Mindfulness in Simple language

The_Fruit_Punch_Wiza · November 2010

A Task/Challenge for the Advanced practitioners: Try to describe mindfulness in a simple way that can be understood universally by beginners unexposed to Buddhism.

Dazzle · November 2010

I humbly suggest that instead of members giving different explanations about mindfulness and possibly confusing beginners, that beginners read this booklet "Mindfulness" at Buddhanet by Ajahn Sumedho who's an excellent teacher and uses simple everyday language and personal experiences as teaching vehicles.

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/deathless.pdf

Kind wishes,

Dazzle

andyrobyn · November 2010

I also humbly suggest it is a complete explanation from Ajahn Sumedho, as is this resource on the Four Noble Truths http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm

Cinorjer · November 2010

The_Fruit_Punch_Wizard wrote: »

A Task/Challenge for the Advanced practitioners: Try to describe mindfulness in a simple way that can be understood universally by beginners unexposed to Buddhism.

Pay attention!
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, that is your Teacher.
How can you learn anything if you don't pay attention?
Whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, that is your Purpose.
How can you do the correct thing if you don't pay attention?
That is mindfulness. Paying attention. It's not hard to understand.

When I was first learning my Zen practice, I borrowed a camper from a friend of mine and went on a solitary retreat into the back woods of Southern Ohio. I was inspired by the stories of Zen Masters spending years in caves, contemplating stuff.

After a few days of meditation I was so bored I wanted to scream and couldn't take another minute of sitting and watching grass grow. So I decided to try some walking meditation, being especially mindful of what was around me. So I strolled through the woods, being mindful of every tree, leaf, stump and bird. And after walking for a good part of the day, I stopped at a stream, looked around me...and realized I was totally lost. I had no idea where I was or how I got there. I eventually stumbled across a road that led me back to the camper, after dark.

I was not being mindful. I was not paying attention to what I was doing. I was confusing focus for mindfulness. I was so busy focusing on the leaves and twigs that I was not being mindful to where I was going and what I was doing. I was supposed to be taking a walk in the woods. If I was mindful of where I was going and what I was doing, I would have just been taking a walk instead of memorizing what the leaves looked like.

Pay attention!
What is your purpose right now?
What are you doing, right now?
What is your correct action, right now?
The coffee smells good and the dog is barking to be let out.

Hope this helps.

fivebells · November 2010

Someone wrote a book on this topic.

Lostie · November 2010

The OP said "describe". It need not be in words. Could be a drawing or even a song, right?

And it has to be "simple" for beginners.

The_Fruit_Punch_Wizard wrote: »

A Task/Challenge for the Advanced practitioners: Try to describe mindfulness in a simple way that can be understood universally by beginners unexposed to Buddhism.

sukhita · November 2010

fivebells wrote: »

Someone wrote a book on this topic.

I've read just a few pages of the eBook: I beginning to see how "mindfulness" can be looked at as "vipassana practice". I say "vipassana practice" rather than "vipassana meditation" because the awareness we develop in meditation is the same awareness we need to cultivate 24/7.

But I need to read more of this book to get a better understanding.

Jason · November 2010

The_Fruit_Punch_Wizard wrote: »

A Task/Challenge for the Advanced practitioners: Try to describe mindfulness in a simple way that can be understood universally by beginners unexposed to Buddhism.

Mindfulness = the ability to keep something in mind.

seeker242 · November 2010

It is what you do when you take a hot bath and forget about everything else, except a hot bath.

fivebells · November 2010

That might be a type of mindfulness, but not the one Buddhist practice cultivates.

seeker242 · November 2010

fivebells wrote: »

That might be a type of mindfulness, but not the one Buddhist practice cultivates.

How so?

Mountains · November 2010

Pay attention. That's about it.

megahuman · November 2010

It is not thinking about peeling the potatoes, it is just peeling said potatoes.

if you are thinking 'I am peeling the potatoes' you are thinking about peeling them, instead of just peeling said potatoes.

The_Fruit_Punch_Wiza · November 2010

Lostie wrote: »

Could be a drawing or even a song, right?

And it has to be "simple" for beginners.

Absolutely.

sukhita · November 2010

If I were to describe mindfulness (7th factor of the 8FP) in just one sentence, I would say: "Living in the present moment, with full alertness, watching all mental and physical sensations as they arise in their prestine condition without defiling them with labels, moral judgements, stories, and the like". But, as others have suggested, minfulness (in the Buddhist sense) could mean much more than this.

fivebells · November 2010

seeker242 wrote: »

How so?

Because it doesn't leave room for experience of mental phenomena during the bath time.

seeker242 · November 2010

fivebells wrote: »

Because it doesn't leave room for experience of mental phenomena during the bath time.

Wouldn't the mental phenomena simply be the awareness of the experience of your body laying immersed in hot water? The relaxed muscles you get from the hot water. The smell of the shampoo. The sound of the water splashing as you wash. The sight of the steam rising from the water, etc., etc. Is there something else to do in order to properly practice mindfulness, according to the teachings, when taking a bath? Would that not be considered using the body as a frame of reference to establish mindfulness? "A meditator remains focused on the body in and of itself — ardent, alert, and mindful"

Are you saying it involves a focus on all 4 frames of reference (body,feelings, mind, mental objects) simultaneously? Or is it supposed to be one, then the other, then the other, etc.?

Thanks!

sukhita · November 2010

seeker242 wrote: »

..... Are you saying it involves a focus on all 4 frames of reference (body,feelings, mind, mental objects) simultaneously? Or is it supposed to be one, then the other, then the other, etc.? .......

This should be interesting....
Presently, I understand it as follows:

[1] Shamatha meditation - mindfulness on one object only.

[2] Vipasana meditation - mindfulness on anything that arises, nothing is distraction. You place focus on the object which is most prominent and be mindful of it. So the objects of focus can be from any frame of reference in any order.

[3] Day-to-day Activity - If you are engaged in doing something, like bathing, that object should be the sole object of focus; everything else is distraction. Especially applicable if you are handling dangerous equipment like saw-mill machines.

.... but I'm not sure if this is how it should be!

fivebells · November 2010

seeker242 wrote: »

Are you saying it involves a focus on all 4 frames of reference (body,feelings, mind, mental objects) simultaneously? Or is it supposed to be one, then the other, then the other, etc.?

Not a focus. "Concentration is something you do to oranges." The goal of Buddhist practice is awareness of and opening to every aspect of experience. That means that if I'm taking a bath and I happen to start grieving about the fact that my Mum is dying of lung cancer, I include that grief as part of the current moment of experience. I don't see the arising of the grief as a failure of mindfulness because it is in some way unrelated to the current physical experience. Otherwise, practice corrupts into a reification of physical experience, which is potentially just as confounding as a reification of mental experience. The point is to learn not to collapse down on awareness of any particular aspect of experience.

LiveToLearn · November 2010

My simple take on it: mindfullness = observation without judgement.

Just look how life is. It just is.

LiveToLearn · November 2010

Oh yes, and Dazzle from the book you posted, which I am really enjoying by the way thank you for that, I really enjoyed this quote.

"[FONT=&quot]As a human being we have a mind that can reflect and observe. You can observe whether you are happy or miserable. You can observe the anger or jealousy or confusion in your mind. When you are sitting and feel really confused and upset, there is that in you which knows it. You might hate it and just blindly react to it, but if you are more patient you can observe that this is a temporary changing condition of confusion or anger or greed."[/FONT]

Dazzle · November 2010

LiveToLearn wrote: »

Oh yes, and Dazzle from the book you posted, which I am really enjoying by the way thank you for that...

Delighted that you're finding it helpful, LiveToLearn !

Regarding mindfulness, here's a quote from Ajahn Sumedho in his book "Don't Take Your Life Personally"

Mindfulness or awareness is knowing, isn't it? It is a direct knowing, immanent here and now. It is being fully present, attentive, to this present moment as is.

But defining mindfulness tends to make it into something — and then it is no longer mindfulness, is it? Mindfulness is not a thing; it is a recognition, an intuitive awareness. It is awareness without grasping.

With this recognition, we have perspective on the conditions that we experience in the present — our thoughts, identities, and the conditioning we have.

Concentration, on the other hand, is usually on a form. We choose an object and then put our full attention onto it in contrast to mindfulness which is formless and immeasurable, and does not seek a form.

That is why describing mindfulness or awareness leads to the wrong attitude. Terms like 'wake up', 'awakening' or 'pay attention' are not definitions; they are suggestions to trust in this moment, to be present, to be here and now.

http://www.buddhistpublishing.com/BN/application/Application.php?ProductCode=DTYLP

With kind wishes,

Dazzle

LiveToLearn · November 2010

I'm really enjoying Ajahn's simple and straight forward way of communicating his thoughts. He doesn't try to complicate things or make it overly eloquent, he just tells it how it is, clearly.

I'm sure no one will mind if we keep quoting this guy, I also like this one.

"[FONT=&quot]Sometimes we get too serious about everything – totally lacking in joy and happiness, no sense of humor; we just repress everything. So gladden the mind, be relaxed and at ease, taking all the time in the world, without pressure of having to achieve anything important: nothing special, nothing to attain, no big deal. It’s just a little thing; even when you have only one mindful inhalation during the morning, that is better than what most people are doing – surely it is better than being heedless the whole time."[/FONT]

seeker242 · November 2010

fivebells wrote: »

Not a focus. "Concentration is something you do to oranges." The goal of Buddhist practice is awareness of and opening to every aspect of experience. That means that if I'm taking a bath and I happen to start grieving about the fact that my Mum is dying of lung cancer, I include that grief as part of the current moment of experience. I don't see the arising of the grief as a failure of mindfulness because it is in some way unrelated to the current physical experience. Otherwise, practice corrupts into a reification of physical experience, which is potentially just as confounding as a reification of mental experience. The point is to learn not to collapse down on awareness of any particular aspect of experience.

That makes sense. I don't think grieving coming up would be a "failure" either. Unless of course you get taken away by it and forget to turn off the water thereby flooding out the whole bathroom... However, what if nothing comes up, other than simply the things associated with taking a bath? If that is the case then the only thing I can see to be open to is simply the complete act of taking a bath, which I don't think precludes things like grief, etc. from coming up if they were to happen to come up. But your first comment made me go "Mental phenomena? What mental phenomena? It's just a bath." The thing that come to my mind when thinking about all this is putting down or letting go of the past and the future, and all the things that come with that, which causes your mind to stop living in the past and the future and if your mind is no longer living in the past or the future, then what more is there to be concerned about other than just taking a bath? Perhaps that is totally wrong, I don't know! Perhaps this is why Ven. Henepola Gunaratana says "Mindfulness is an extremely difficult concept to define in words" I agree!

LiveToLearn · November 2010

I think it clearly depends on one's mental state.

Some of us tend to be more neurotic than others. While one person may be able to simply jump in and take a bath and having nothing on their mind other than relaxing their muscles, another person may jump into the bath and have their mind filled with thoughts about their work day, about what they are going to make for dinner, about what they are going to get the kids for Christmas, etc.

In either case, one can be mindful.

fivebells · November 2010

seeker242 wrote: »

Perhaps this is why Ven. Henepola Gunaratana says "Mindfulness is an extremely difficult concept to define in words" I agree!

Different terms come up for this, and their usefulness of each term fades as concepts accrete to them. "Mindfulness" has been a pretty useless term for a while now.

Mountains · November 2010

fivebells wrote: »

Because it doesn't leave room for experience of mental phenomena during the bath time.

Is that where your mind gets all shriveled like a prune?

fivebells · November 2010

Actually you get the folds in your brain from when your Mum forced you to bathe as a toddler, and you were all mindful, because you were in a state of innocence. Little-known fact.

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