Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
On mindfulness turning some people into assholes
Sam8
Hamilton, NZ Explorer
Hi all,
I was just wondering what you all think about the recent research (if you know about it) showing that mindfulness can actually make some people less compassionate and more selfish. I explain it here:
https://samweston.org/2021/06/22/mindfulness-and-compassion-busting-the-myth-of-individualism/
1
Comments
I've become the butt of other people jokes....
Jokes aside...interesting blog Sam@
Yes, the difference between the secular world and what the Buddha taught is the word "Right" or "Wise" before Mindfulness.
Yes @Bunks makes a good point...
From what I gather if one is practicing mindfulness as part of one's "Dharma" practice, compassion for self and others will arise naturally...
Through mindfulness one becomes more aware of ones thoughts feelings and emotions ...compassion (not just for oneself but for others to) begins to arise out of this awareness...
"And what is right mindfulness?
There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness...
"This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four frames of reference."
DN 22
Mindfulness is good at revealing what’s really going on and centering your being, it would make sense that if you were already spending a lot of time living from compassion that it might make the pendulum swing the other way.
My teacher recommend to practice Metta (loving kindness), otherwise we may become indifferent.
Well that's the idea, but the trouble is that that doesn't seem to be the case for people who view themselves in individualistic terms, as opposed to collective.
Thank you 😊
Each of us illustrates/expresses what we are. We are individuals and collections of individuals in terms of wider society.
I once went to a meeting between pagans and anarchists. Someone made the comment that people are 'lumpers' or 'splitters' in their primary being.
We can find this in political and Buddhist Hierarchical and Sangha methodologies. In our own being and different interactions. Very often both are moved between …
So preferring one as more compassionate, illustrates limitations.
The limitless or unformed is innately compassionate and understanding of the needs of the situation beyond appearances.
In a similar way nobody enters the Middle Way except for selfish/limited reasons. Does that change for example when leading a community or being subservient to spiritual elders?