Theoretical Foundations to Guide Mindfulness Meditation: A Path to Wisdom

Abstract

Mindfulness interventions are becoming increasingly popular across a wide variety of clinical and non-clinical settings where they are often employed to promote psychological well-being. Mindfulness in its original context presented in Buddhist practice is used to systematically understand one’s moment-to-moment experience, and to gradually develop self-knowledge and wisdom. Buddhist teachings describe wisdom as seeing things just as they are - a requisite for the complete freedom from suffering. In psychological writings, although the construct of wisdom lacks a commonly accepted definition, direct experiential self-knowledge is considered to be an essential element of wisdom. The purpose of this article is to examine the three major trainings of the Buddhist path, as well as some of the key Buddhist theoretical constructs, in order to explore their contribution to the gradual development of experiential self-knowledge and wisdom. In Buddhist traditions, mindfulness is practised in the context of a moral and philosophical system, and the mind is described as a sequence of momentary mental states, each distinct and discrete, their connections with one another being causal. We explain how a clear understanding of mindfulness within the context of this broader theoretical framework can be helpful to individuals engaging in different levels of the mindfulness meditation practice, and how this understanding can result in more sustained outcomes for mindfulness interventions. Further explorations are made into how various barriers and motivators to mindfulness meditation can be better understood by linking the theoretical aspects with current research literature on mindfulness.

Drawing the experience dynamics of meditation

“…James observed that “personal consciousness thought is always changing” and that it is “sensibly continuous” and as such comparable to a river or stream 17 . Similar analogies exist in early Buddhist scriptures, describing sensory experiences and mental events, such as feelings, perceptions and volitions, to flow in a constantly changing “mind stream” 18 . It remains a challenge to reliably capture the stream of consciousness, which would enable the study of the dynamics of continuous experiences, such as altered states of consciousness, flow states 19 , or the affective states associated with mental disorders 20 .…”

How does the first-person perspective relate to the third-person perspective?

“…a In this regard, our sensory experiences (i.e., seeing, hearing, olfactory, taste, and bodily/tactile experiences) happen only in the present moment, which is constantly becoming the past. 34 For example, for the reader, seeing this text in this paragraph happens in the present moment, and thinking about something one experienced through the five senses yesterday (past) or thoughts related to various tastes and smells one may experience during the next meal (future) involve thoughts in the present moment (see Box 1).…”

“…However, what was presented reveals that individuals' experiences from the first-person perspective can be understood as a system that only consists of constantly changing sensory experiences and mental a However, this fact may not be noticeable to most people. 34 events, where it is also possible to distinguish the present moment, the past, and the future.…”

Kalyana Mitta as the fundamental potential for happiness and suffering in Buddhist mindfulness counseling

“…The aggregate of wisdom that flows into moral commitment includes right speech (sammā vāccā), right action (sammā kammanta), and right livelihood (sammāājīva). Moral nature will naturally bring a commitment to right effort (sammā vāyāma), right mindfulness (sammā sati), and right concentration (sammā samādhi) (Karunamuni & Weerasekera, 2019).…”