While the term originates in Buddhism, the concept of mindfulness has grown to describe a general state of consciousness in which a person is more aware and accepting of their physical senses and thoughts in the present moment. Practicing mindfulness is believed to help alleviate mental suffering.

Mindfulness

Kinds of Buddhist meditation practices for the development of a relaxed, stable, and clear mind. Shamatha involves the stages of meditation proposed by Kamalashila in the eighth century. The stages start with a mind, which cannot focus for more than a few seconds (stage 1), culminating in a state of stability and vividness which can be sustained for hours (stage 9). Excitation and laxity are seen as imbalances and their effects are reduced during the progress in these stages. 

Shamatha Practices

Given the following scenario, describe the mental process a person should employ to handle their distraction, based on the core practice of mindfulness as a developed ability to direct focus.

Applying Mindfulness to Distraction

Mindfulness originates in Buddhism as a spiritual or psychological sense of awareness also known as sati. According to traditional Buddhist texts, it is the faculty of focus. To practice mindfulness in the Buddhist sense means to notice the path of your attention and intentionally direct it towards a particular object. The practitioner develops mindfulness as an ability.  

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There are two further ways of interpreting Dhyana: one is to Contemplate while the other is to Meditate. The contemplating version proposed that one must ponder and obtain the answers one was on a quest for, while the Meditative version suggests that one mustn’t ponder, that one should still one’s mind and eventually seek wisdom. Both gave rise to various kinds of meditative practices that fall under the banner of Vipassana (mindful) and Samatha (mind-less) meditations, respectively. 

Dhyana

It was during the period of ritualized worship that people began questioning the Artha (philosophies) behind its Karma (actions). Buddha questioned their fundamental beliefs- the Tapa (penance; act of depriving one’s senses from experiencing pleasures such as eating, drinking water, etc.) one puts themselves through and these Yajnas (rituals) one organizes, the concept of believing that doing the work alone would help attain Nirvana (enlightenment), won’t provide any wisdom, and that one must do Dhyana/Chintan (contemplate/ponder) over the Karma (actions) one’s performing to understand the Artha (philosophies) behind it. That was the proposed path for Enlightenment. 

Birth of Buddhist Meditative Practices

Bhante, Vimalaramsi (2015). A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation. Annapolis, MO 63620: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 4. ISBN 978-1508569718.

A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation

Kozasa, E.H., Lacerda, S.S., Menezes, C. et al. Effects of a 9-Day Shamatha Buddhist Meditation Retreat on Attention, Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in Participants with a Broad Range of Meditation Experience. Mindfulness 6, 1235–1241 (2015). https://doi-org.ezproxy.haverford.edu/10.1007/s12671-015-0385-8

Effects of a 9-Day Shamatha Buddhist Meditation Retreat on Attention, Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in Participants with a Broad Range of Meditation Experience

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

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