By George Shears
Mindfulness was initially introduced by Gautama Siddhartha, who was born as a prince about 2,500 years ago in a region that is now called Lumbini in Nepal. At the age of 29, he is said to have renounced his luxurious, royal life to become a wandering monk. About six years later, he is reputed to have achieved “full enlightenment” while sitting under the famous Bodhi tree.
Following that transformative experience, he became known as Sakyamuni Buddha—or, more simply, “The Buddha,” which means “The Awakened One.” He then spent the remainder of his long life (45 years) imparting his wisdom to vast numbers of followers, including both monks and laypeople. It is said that he once summarized his entire teaching in one short sentence: “I teach about suffering and the way to end it.”
Importantly, he did not represent himself as being any kind of god or divine being, but as simply being “awake.”The key form of meditation that he taught was called sati in the ancient Pali language that he spoke. In English, this word is conventionally translated as “mindfulness.”
He regarded it as the keystone method for what he called “awakening.”Mindfulness was first introduced in the western world around 60 years ago by a small number of Japanese Zen masters. For the next twenty-five years, it was practiced mainly by a relatively small number of their followers.
Then, in 1973, it was re-introduced in it’s original form by two Americans, Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. During the ensuing 35 years, it has evolved extremely rapidly and has now become mainstream in many ways.
During this relatively short time, it has evolved from being predominantly a method for spiritual development to becoming widely recognized and adopted as a purely secular skill—especially in the areas of psychology and medicine.
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is now a Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has taken a strong lead in implementing this evolution. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in Worcester, MA.
He began teaching the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) at the Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979. His work first became widely known when it was featured in Bill Moyers’ PBS Special, Healing and the Mind in 1993.
From that point onward, the MBSR program has been widely replicated in hundreds of hospitals, clinics, and educational settings throughout North America, as well as in other countries.
As a side note, it was my good fortune to be included in a week-long special MBSR training program by Dr. Kabat-Zinn and his colleague, Saki Santorelli, for health professionals in 1994. Utilizing this training, along with nearly 20 years of previous mindfulness practice, I then developed and implemented the first hospital-based MBSR program in Minnesota in 1995 and continued to lead it until I retired five years later.
Following that transformative experience, he became known as Sakyamuni Buddha—or, more simply, “The Buddha,” which means “The Awakened One.” He then spent the remainder of his long life (45 years) imparting his wisdom to vast numbers of followers, including both monks and laypeople. It is said that he once summarized his entire teaching in one short sentence: “I teach about suffering and the way to end it.”
Importantly, he did not represent himself as being any kind of god or divine being, but as simply being “awake.”The key form of meditation that he taught was called sati in the ancient Pali language that he spoke. In English, this word is conventionally translated as “mindfulness.”
He regarded it as the keystone method for what he called “awakening.”Mindfulness was first introduced in the western world around 60 years ago by a small number of Japanese Zen masters. For the next twenty-five years, it was practiced mainly by a relatively small number of their followers.
Then, in 1973, it was re-introduced in it’s original form by two Americans, Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. During the ensuing 35 years, it has evolved extremely rapidly and has now become mainstream in many ways.
During this relatively short time, it has evolved from being predominantly a method for spiritual development to becoming widely recognized and adopted as a purely secular skill—especially in the areas of psychology and medicine.
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who is now a Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has taken a strong lead in implementing this evolution. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society in Worcester, MA.
He began teaching the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR) at the Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979. His work first became widely known when it was featured in Bill Moyers’ PBS Special, Healing and the Mind in 1993.
From that point onward, the MBSR program has been widely replicated in hundreds of hospitals, clinics, and educational settings throughout North America, as well as in other countries.
As a side note, it was my good fortune to be included in a week-long special MBSR training program by Dr. Kabat-Zinn and his colleague, Saki Santorelli, for health professionals in 1994. Utilizing this training, along with nearly 20 years of previous mindfulness practice, I then developed and implemented the first hospital-based MBSR program in Minnesota in 1995 and continued to lead it until I retired five years later.
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