Lecture 15: Mindfulness and

Psychotherapy
Buddhism, Zen and the cultivation
of awareness and well being
• Nan-In’s story
• Empty cup, open mind
Mindfulness and the Zen approach

• Meditation and
mindfulness-based
practices are increasingly
popular in the West

Buddha mind, original mind, natural mind

• Nirvana, Samadi, Enlightenment: Here-and-Now
• To be aware of what is, and of awareness
• Joy and richness is in the present
 mindfulness
• Ticht Naht Hahn, a Vietnamese monk
and Buddhist teacher

• TNH’s “toothache example”

• Why not joy?
• Most people not awake; out of touch
• Peace as Boredom
• Happiness not a destination, must be here and now.
• Mindfulness as a wake up call
 Origins of Mindfulness Practice
• Siddhartha Gautama sitting beneath the
Bodhi tree, approx. 528 B.C.

• Siddhartha’s life
• Realization that “Life is suffering”, sought to resolve
• Transmission of Buddhism
• Soto Zen, brought by Dogen to Japan (approx 1227 AD)
– No gaining idea, Buddha nature in all
 Some Buddhist Principles

• Dependent origination; all things interdependent

• Impermanence of all things
• No permanent self
• Suffering comes not from world, but from us
 The Four Noble truths

• Life is suffering (dukkha)

• Suffering comes from desire or attachment
– The 3 consuming fires--greed, hate, delusion
• Elimination of desire is elimination of suffering
• Elimination of desire entails the eightfold path
 The eightfold path
Seeks neither self-gratification or
mortification. It is the “middle
way”

• Wisdom
– Right understanding; right thought
• Moral conduct
– Right speech, right conduct, right livelihood
• Mental discipline
– Right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration
Take a Breath
Breathing in, I calm my body

Breathing out, I smile

Dwelling in the present

moment

I know this is a wonderful

moment
 Why Sit?

• Zazen
– Just sitting, no gaining idea
– Things cling to us
– Zazen is a “shower”
• Mindfulness
– Relaxed attention in which “nothing can offend”
– Un-reactive or “non-attached”
– Vipashana--looking deeply, accepting
 Its easy!

• Mediation as attention, not world denial

• Stopping, awareness, letting go
• Operating beyond our conditioning
• Not “holding on” to thoughts, impulses, agendas
• The first thing to note about mindfulness is that it is not particularly
hard to be mindful..the effort is very small. The problem is
remembering to do it.
 Not just for sitting
• “Satori is nothing but being aware of, or being
alert in whatever activity you are doing now, right
here. Any activity is not a step, means or
preparation for other things, but rather should be
done for its own sake”
• Okumura (1985)

• Walking meditation
• Mindfulness in everyday life
– Tea ceremony, martial arts
– Addressing what is before us
• Eat when eating, rest when resting, converse when
conversing
• Washing the dishes as ‘the most important thing’
 Enjoy this moment
• Monks making a sand
mandala

• Why does greed arise? When we see something pleasant,

we want to hold on, not understanding the impermanence
of it all. As soon as we become mindful, paying attention
to what is happening, seeing how everything is arising and
passing away, the grasping and the greed decreases.
There is nothing to hold on to. Its all bubbles.
– (from Goldstein’s TWT)
 Mindfulness and mental health

Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and
awake to the present moment. It is the continuous
practice of touching life deeply in every moment
of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive,
present and at one with those around you and
with what you are doing.

Brown & Ryan (2003)--vitality, well being, health, self-regulation

mindfulness associated with right prefrontal cortical potential shifts,
readiness to perceive, lower HR, as well as with PA

Associated with lower amygdala activation during stress

Kabat-Zinn et al. MBSR reduces stress, increases PA
– Associated with healing faster
 Mindfulness in Psychotherapy

Mindfulness and stress, pain

impulse regulation: DBT for BPD
Mindfulness for coping with addictions
Mindfulness for self-regulation: being in touch
Therapy as regaining the capacity for joy
Morita Therapy; Plum Village
Practicing Buddhism is a clever way to enjoy
life
Happiness is available
Help yourself to it.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
The 181 Journey