Summary
Chapter 2 introduces the main mechanisms underlying changes in the mind and brain resulting from long-term meditation and associated factors such as temporary and lasting effects of meditation, quantity and quality of meditation, formal and informal practice and possible adverse effects of meditation. The chapter starts by discussing the principles of neural plasticity of the brain (changes in brain structure and function resulting from repeated practice) and their modulation by meditation. The chapter then outlines how temporary changes in the mind and brain resulting from meditation practice (state effects) could result in more lasting changes in neural plasticity and personality (trait effects) and how both state and trait changes could interact with natural dispositions towards meditation practice. These considerations lead to a discussion about the research evidence linking more hours of meditation practice with distinct patterns of changes in the brain. However, quality of meditation may also impact on the resulting changes in neural plasticity, health and well-being, even though the evidence base reporting on such effects is currently very limited. Both quantity and quality of meditation are impacted by the distinction between formal and informal practice, which is also rarely considered in the current research on meditation; therefore the next section outlines their differences in the context of embedding meditation in everyday life. The final section of the chapter discussed possible adverse effects of meditation associated with long-term practice; these are currently poorly understood by Western research, but have been clearly outlined in the traditional Buddhist meditation training.
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Chapter 3
Mindfulness
Mindfulness practice has been popularized over the last three decades in the secular healthcare context as a method of improving health and well-being. There are various conceptualizations of mindfulness in both secular and traditional Buddhist contexts and also marked differences between some of them. In this chapter we will explore some of these approaches to mindfulness and consider their implications for applications and research on the effects of mindfulness in everyday life. We will start by discussing various definitions of mindfulness and approaches to cultivating mindfulness. Then we will turn to neuroscientific evidence regarding the effects of mindfulness on brain function and structure. We will also discuss the possible role of mindfulness in our health and well-being from the perspective of the framework outlined in the first chapter – in terms of self-regulation and existential well-being. Finally, we will explore how mindfulness could be cultivated in everyday life, both in formal and informal practice.
What is mindfulness?
There is no consensus on definitions of mindfulness, with various accounts presented both in secular and Buddhist contexts (Williams and Kabat-Zinn, 2013). However, there are some most commonly applied definitions which we will explore now. In mindfulness-based approaches (MBSR and MBCT) mindfulness is frequently defined as an awareness arising by purposefully paying attention in the present moment with an attitude of non-reactivity, non-judgement and openness (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 2013). This definition is based on foundational work of Jon Kabat-Zinn who, together with his colleagues, developed the MBSR course in 1970s as a means to support patients with chronic health problems. The MBCT followed and was largely based on MBSR combined with elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (Teasdale et al., 2000). The MBCT was developed as a treatment particularly intended for recurrent depression (Teasdale, Segal and Williams, 1995) whereas MBSR had from the start a broader client focus in both treatment and prevention of illness.
Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness influenced other conceptualizations of mindfulness in the context of mindfulness-based approaches. One of the first theoretical studies about mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of mindfulness suggested two core components of mindfulness: attention and attitude (Bishop et al., 2004). The attention component describes the ability to notice thoughts, emotions and sensations, sustain attention on them and shift attention away from distractions. The attitude component relates to the quality of attention in mindfulness which can be characterized by non-reactivity, curiosity and openness. A few years later this model of attention was expanded by an additional component – the intention one brings to the practice of mindfulness (Shapiro et al., 2006). The intention can be simply a wish to engage in mindfulness practice in order to have better health, e.g., to reduce anxiety or have a better sleep, which is likely the case for most participants in secular mindfulness courses. Some participants though may attend the courses in order to deepen their understanding of themselves, which could be termed as ‘self-exploration’ (Shapiro, 1992).
Definitions of mindfulness in the Buddhist context often describe mindfulness in a narrower sense than in mindfulness-based approaches. Mindfulness (Pāli: sati; Sanskrit: smṛti; Tibetan: trenba) is here defined as a mental faculty which enables sustaining of attention on the meditative object and also entails an element of remembering to stay focused (Wallace, 1999). In Buddhism, mindfulness is typically distinguished from the mental faculty of meta-awareness (Pāli: sampajañña; Sanskrit: samprajanya; Tibetan: shizhin), which monitors for distractions and signals when the practitioner loses focus on the meditation object (Wallace, 1999). Both mindfulness and meta-awareness work together in meditation practice, enabling the practitioner to refine her attention skills. In some accounts of Buddhist psychology (Nyanaponika, 1998), mindfulness is considered a neutral mental faculty. Mindfulness becomes virtuous or non-virtuous based on the motivation and intention the practitioner brings to the mindfulness practice. For example, if mindfulness is applied in meditation to cultivate qualities such as loving kindness and compassion with the intention to become a more caring person, it would be considered virtuous. However, if mindfulness is practiced with the intention of greed, for instance to have more wealth, the mindful activity would be considered non-virtuous.
So the secular and Buddhist approaches seem to both overlap and differ in several regards. Both approaches consider attention as the central characteristic of mindfulness with the secular approaches considering mindfulness to involve a range of attention skills including meta-awareness. In contrast, mindfulness is conceptualized as separate from meta-awareness in the Buddhist approaches we have discussed. In addition, mindfulness is also described in terms of further qualities such as non-judgment, non-reactivity, acceptance and in some cases also loving kindness (friendliness) and intention for the practice in the secular context (Kabat-Zinn, 2003; Shapiro et al., 2006; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012). These qualities are not explicitly discussed as inherent to mindfulness in the Buddhist accounts. However, any training in mindfulness and meta-awareness in the traditional context typically involves cultivation of loving kindness, compassion, rejoicing and equanimity alongside development of mindfulness and meta-awareness. This can be done in separate practices alternating as part of meditation training, e.g., breath-awareness training in mindfulness and meta-awareness alternating with practices developing the emotional qualities.
Other Buddhist approaches develop mindfulness, meta-awareness and the emotional qualities of loving kindness, compassion, rejoicing and equanimity within one type of practice, as is the case of sacred visualization-based meditations in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In these practices the meditator trains in sustaining attention on the visualization, often while reciting a mantra, and monitors for distractions away from the visualization. At the same time, the visualizations contain elements which embody qualities of loving kindness, compassion, rejoicing and equanimity. Each visualization practice also starts with development of virtuous motivation and intention for engaging in meditation which is, again, a separate component from mindfulness, but it is cultivated in each meditation session
regardless of its specific focus as a necessary pre-requisite for engagement in meditation. This shows that the majority of attitudinal qualities together with intention for mindfulness practice as described in the secular context are considered in Buddhism more general qualities of meditation practice, not inherent to mindfulness.
The broad conceptualization of mindfulness in the secular context has both advantages and disadvantages. One of its advantages is that usage of mindfulness as an overarching construct including various meditation elements might have enabled simplification of the complexity of meditation practices and their more intuitive grasp in secular healthcare and other contexts. At the same time, however, the more inclusive construct of mindfulness led to much terminological confusion in the literature (Dorjee, 2010) with mindfulness often interpreted as the essential all-inclusive meditation practice. The secular literature on mindfulness often also uses the term ‘mindfulness’ without distinction as a reference to the practice, underlying psychological or cognitive processes and outcomes of the practice. Here the process could be described as the actual paying of attention combined with noticing distractions whilst applying the attitudes of non-judgment, kindness, curiosity and a particular intention for engaging in the practice. The outcome of mindfulness in this broad conceptualization is often characterized in terms of non-elaborative awareness of sensory experience or as ‘direct perception’ (e.g., Brown, Ryan and Creswell, 2007) which, confusingly, is a term traditionally used in Buddhism for very advanced states of realizing the nature of mind (Dorjee, 2010).
Such very broad and indistinctive descriptions of mindfulness can lead to marginalization of other meditation practices and also misrepre-sent the progression of practices, processes and outcomes on the path of long-term meditation training. The marginalization can arise if mindfulness is presented as the meditation practice which includes all essential ingredients of meditation. This may lead to the assumption that there is a limited need for other meditation practices specifically developing emotional qualities of compassion etc., visualization practices, mantra-based practices, devotional practices, energy practices and many other practice types frequently applied in the traditional contemplative context. The different types of practices play specific roles in long-term meditation training; they often build on each other and can also complement each other to enable a practitioner’s progress on the contemplative path. The multitude of meditation practices was also developed to accommodate the variety of propensities meditation practitioners bring to their meditation practice; a skilled meditation teacher is able to accommodate these through selection of practices which are most suitable for each practitioner at each stage of their meditation progression (Rinpoche, 1998).
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