The post titled Is There Such a Thing As Wrong Mindfulness? is now up on Buddhism for All. Angela from the Buddhism.net team reflected on it, and invites you to do so too.
🌕 Angela’s Reflections:
Right, or sammā is correct, complete, whole, proper, perfect. What makes it right, is right view. That is why the Noble Eightfold Path starts with right view. With right view, the other aspects of the path will be right. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains: “right view is view that is free from all wrong views born from notions, like being/non-being, birth/death, coming/going, sameness/otherness, and so on. Right View is a kind of insight that helps us to be liberated from all kinds of discrimination, dualism.”
This is also why secular mindfulness is not right mindfulness if it is not based on right view of reality as it is, the way things are, and nature of mind. It is merely “mindfulness”. No doubt, they may teach Buddhist methods, and you may experience some positive outcomes like stress relief and calmness. But, wherever secular mindfulness practices are not based on right view, they do not lead to fully transcending samsara, complete liberation, nor to the full awakening of the Buddha.
Mindfulness has to be infused with right view, to be “right”, or “sammā”.
🌱 Journal Reflection Prompts for You:
- 📝 What is right mindfulness to you? Why would practicing right mindfulness be important (instead of wrong mindfulness)?
- 📝 How can you start to practice right mindfulness? (Hint: review the curated Guided Meditation section of Buddhism.net).
Featured image, an AI-generated artwork, by Angela Ho.
