Questions about secular mindfulness practice

In the previous entry I talked of the mindfulness conference I helped to organise at the University last month. This was the annual conference of the British Psychological Society's Transpersonal Psychology Section, and was on the theme of "Contextualising mindfulness: Between the sacred and the secular." My brother monk, Shinro, wanted to know a bit more now that he conference was over. He has, he says, "a lot questions about secular mindfulness ... and no formulated answers," and I have much sympathy with that view.

I wrote a long response to his comment, but it turned out to be too long to publish as a comment, so I've tweaked it a little and it's turned into this new post.

First - reflecting on Shinro's concerns, I will admit that I also have a lot of questions about secular mindfulness. I think perhaps it would help me if I were to prepare a 'position statement', to force me to clarify for myself where I stand on mindfulness.  I find myself very torn - and the conference served to express both my reservations and my enthusiasms in equal measure. I'm afraid I too have few formulated answers myself.

The evidence is very clear that there is something in mindfulness that has a reliable, replicable effect on people which seems to relieve their suffering in a wide variety of ways, but chiefly in the management of stress and notably also in the prevention of relapse of depression. In psychological terms, exactly what mechanisms are involved have yet to be entirely mapped out, and much of the work to understand what mindfulness does is clothed in modern cognitive language around emotional reactivity, cognitive appraisal and regulation of mechanisms of attention. However, underlying much of modern psychology is, I repeatedly find, a harmonisation of views with those of Buddhist psychology: notably the refutation of a fixed self (anatta) and a focus on process and change (anicca). Dukkha, it seems, has yet to be found by psychologists! (Interestingly I always thought the existentialist philosophers of the early 20th century certainly discovered dukkha an even its causes - but never quite made it to Noble Truths Numbers Three and Four!)

My reservations around this secular thing, like those of many others, are around issues of instrumentality (mindfulness for something) and also very much around ethics. The Buddha talked not only of mindfulness but of Right Mindfulness. Is it OK that the US Marine Corps teach their troops mindfulness? This is the equivalent of "Godwin's Law" when discussing mindfulness, so apologies! But... one response to this prototypical reservation that I've come across (and I wish I could find the source, but it's slipped away!) was from a westerner ordained in the Thai tradition, who wrote not too long ago that he was entirely fine with Marines learning mindfulness. He wrote that his faith in the Buddha's teaching was strong enough that he is of the opinion that should a Marine engage steadfastly in mindfulness training that he will come to a point where he will put down his weapon.

Right now, I think it's important that these conversations are happening, that enough people are asking questions about the nature of this thing - what one (actually pro-secular-mindfulness) speaker at the conference called the "mindfulness epidemic"! - that they can serve as a brake on the van, not perhaps changing course and certainly not moving backwards, but keeping speeds down to so that the curves ahead can be negotiated safely.

Soon, hopefully, we'll have audio & video of the keynote speakers up on a Youtube channel - I'll definitely share the link here - and perhaps you'll get a flavour of the range of opinions expressed at the conference. Tellingly, Peter Malinowski (a mate of mine from Liverpool days, pictured below) talked in his keynote about his dual role as neuroscientist and as teacher of Diamond Way Buddhism and the tensions and contradictions involved there. Think you may find that of particular interest.

I do worry that some of the people teaching people to meditate right now have very limited experience of their own. In some cases, it seems they're not even regular practitioners at all, and yet are introducing what is potentially a very powerful transformative tool to people without having experienced much (or any) of what can come to pass on the cushion. I also worry about the current model, based on Kabat-Zinn's model (which in turn was based on the length of an academic term at U Mass Medical School!!!) of an 8-week intervention with little or no follow-up (and certainly no life-long supervision).

I've actually recently started delivering a 'secular mindfulness' programme myself at work. It's called MEOW (not my acronym...) - Mindfulness for Enhancing Ongoing Wellbeing. The notion here is to start with a standard length eight-week programme that focuses very strongly on a core mindfulness technique (observation of the breath) rather than a bunch of 'toys' / 'tools' (though we do cover some of those too). This will then be followed by the establishment of some form of ongoing engagement with a community of practitioners - what I'm calling for now a 'secular sangha' but feel I need to rename! Exactly what form of ongoing support this becomes is something that will be decided upon between the participants, not handed down from on high by myself.

I will admit, though, that I'm not entirely at ease with this programme. I worry that I've not gone far enough in redressing some of the possible harm done by 'secularisation'. I worry that the institution is getting mileage out of my programme both in the hope that it will reduce resistance to changes currently ongoing at the uni and in serving as an 'easy tick' on the 'are you looking after your staff' checklist. I worry that my roles as researcher, secular mindfulness "teacher"/guide, practitioner and Zen priest may become blurred. I worry that I'm not serving the attendees as well as I could in how I've designed MEOW, and I worry that I'm not being a good servant of the Buddhadharma by engaging with this secular space at all.

So - no easy answers here either.

But some fascinating questions!

Mindfulness conference in Northampton

Well, this weekend the University hosts the BPS Transpersonal Psychology Section's 18th annual conference, on the theme: "Contextualising Mindfulness: Sacred and Secular". Yours truly has been roped in as the "Arrangements Chair" (organiser basically), so here's hoping the whole thing doesn't come crashing down around my ears...! You find find more details on the conference website: bit.ly/TPconf2014.

I'm really looking forward to some of the speakers, and to reflecting critically (and yet I hope open-heartedly) on the secular 'mindfulness' surge in Western culture, healthcare, business etc.

While I welcome the use of mindfulness in most of these contexts - honestly, how coudl I not at least to some extent?! - I do have some concerns. This conference is about asking questions about how secularised mindfulness is being applied, and whether this secularisation involves throwing babies out with bathwater. Questions include, as Prof Lancaster suggests on the conference site, "To what extent is mindfulness practice as promulgated in therapeutic and social contexts true to its roots in the spiritual traditions? Have the bounds of the term ‘spiritual’ become so elastic as to be of little value? What impact is the widespread incorporation of what is at core a spiritual practice having on contemporary society? And is the popularization of meditation practice leading to a distortion of the root traditions from which it has been extracted?"

So, assuming my lack of organisational skills don't stop the whole thing in its tracks, I'm looking forward to a fascinating weekend.

Current reading - Living by Vow

We've made a start on the first chapter of Rev Shohaku Okumura's wonderful book Living by Vow: . This chapter deals with the Four Vows that we chant at the end of each of our Monday meetings:

Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
Desires are inexhaustible, I vow to put an end to them.
The Dharmas are boundless, I vow to master them.
The Buddha Way is unsurpassable, I vow to attain it.

How many times have I chanted this mindlessly? Too many! How central are these vows, and the 'Bodhisattva Vow' (the first of these) in particular? Well, according to Rev Okumura, they're utterly foundational. I thought I'd paste in a paragraph from his introduction to the book that we didn't read:

...all Mahāyāna Buddhist practice is based on the bodhisattva vow. The vow has two aspects: becoming a buddha and helping all beings become buddhas. These two cannot be separated. We vow to become buddhas together with all beings. That is, we vow not to become a buddha until all beings become buddhas. We vow to stay in samsara on purpose to walk with all beings. This explains why the Zen master Guishan Lingyou (Isan Reiyū) said he would be reborn as a water buffalo, for the water buffalo, which walks in muddy water to help farmers grow rice, symbolizes bodhisattva practice. The bodhisattva vow is an essential point in Mahāyāna teachings and practice. All the verses and sutras discussed in this book are based on or relate to this concept.

What a wonderful antidote to the fear that my practice is selfish: that my practice can be entirely for others, and a reminder that others are no different to self.

So again, back to the cushion. And again, again, again.

Getting hold of me...

So I've finally managed to get my phone account sorted, and for the first time in over a year, I now have voicemail!

I wonder how many people have called but not been able to get through to me? If that describes you and you haven't been able to get in touch, please try again - or email me.

 A brief update: over the past months, we've been working through Blofeld's The Zen Teaching of Huang Po. Some may be relieved to know that we've now finished that! It could be pretty tough going at times, I agree. For the next months, we'll be taking a more eclectic approach, with talks taken from more accessible writers and occasionally audio talks from some of our own teachers (Keizan Sensei and Tenshin Roshi). I think this will be a nice change of pace, and I think more accessible for those who have only recently got into Zen practice and teaching. Ultimately though: practice!

Not meeting on Bank Holiday Monday

Just a reminder that as usual, we won't be meeting on this weekend's Bank Holiday Monday - back again on Monday 1st September.

Have a restful break, everyone...

Buddhism in one phrase

Spotted in my inbox today...

“Suzuki Roshi, I’ve been listening to your lectures for years,” a student said during the question and answer time following a lecture, “but I just don’t understand. Could you just please put it in a nutshell? Can you reduce Buddhism to one phrase?”

Everyone laughed. Suzuki laughed.

“Everything changes,” he said. Then he asked for another question.

Zen Is Right Here: Teaching Stories and Anecdotes of Shunryu Suzuki, David Chadwick (ed.), page 37.

Service

Last week, we held a service after zazen for the first time in ages - probably since last summer when the groups we share the building with took a break. A wee bit rusty, but we made it through to the end...

We've got the building to ourselves for the rest of August, so we'll have service each week that there are enough people to man the bells & the mokugyo (well, the much cheaper tulip block anyway!).

If you've not been in a while and are curious about service, perhaps a good opportunity to drop in on us? If you've questions about the 'form', or the ritual aspects of our practice, you're not alone: it's something that many people are confused about or struggle with. There's a famous story that addresses this:

The morning after Philip Kapleau and Professor Phillips arrived at Ryutakuji Monastery, they were given a tour of the place by Abbot Soen Nakagawa. Both Americans had been heavily influenced by tales of ancient Chinese masters who'd destroyed sacred texts, and even images of the Buddha, in order to free themselves from attachment to anything. They were thus surprised and disturbed to find themselves being led into a ceremonial hall, where the roshi invited them to pay respects to a statue of the temple's founder, Hakuin Zenji, by bowing and offering incense.

On seeing Nakagawa bow before the image, Phillips couldn't contain himself, and burst out: "The old Chinese masters burned or spit on Buddha statues! Why do you bow down before them?"

"If you want to spit, you spit," replied the roshi. "I prefer to bow."

From Sean Murphy's One Bird, One Stone: 108 Zen Stories (2002, p.23)