Mindfulness: Buddhist Roots
Mindfulness has appeared more often as a concept in English language during the past two centuries, with the growing number of translations of Buddhist texts. It is mainly a universally accepted translation of the Pali (ancient Indian language) word "sati", which means awareness or recollection.
Sati is a fundamental concept in Buddhism and holds a central place in all original teachings. In the Eightfold path, it represents the seventh of the eight factors of awakening. It is a key component of all meditation practices, especially in core Buddhist texts such as Satipatthana Sutta (foundations of mindfulness) and Anapanasati Sutta (mindfulness of breathing).
English term
In English language mindfulness originally means attentiveness, intentionality. One of the most common definitions comes from Job Kabat-Zinn, founders MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) programs and one of the pioneers in healthcare and psychological interventions based on mindfulness in the Western world.
Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally,”. And then I sometimes add, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Modern-day mindfulness
During the last 50-or so years, the popularity of mindfulness has grown significantly thanks to its entrance in the healthcare system and psychology.
Its widespread use had begun with the work of Job Kabat-Zinn, an American doctor who had at the end of 1960s started using mindfulness exercises for treating patients with chronic pain in the USA. Not long afterwards, he developed the first complete therapeutic intervention program based on mindfulness – Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
Today, there are various approaches and programs based on mindfulness, from those targeting specific populations (e.g. MBSR for people with chronic stress) to programs for the general public.
If they are of high quality, they inevitably continue the insights noted already in the Buddhist tradition. At the same time, modern mindfulness programs are often entirely secular, scientifically researched, proven to be effective, and intensively explored by the academic and healthcare experts.
Contemporary popularization
In the last decades, mindfulness has spread with lightning speed outside of the scientific community, entering in popular psychology and broader societal circles.
Today mindfulness techniques are being implemented in various fields - from healthcare and educational systems, to militaries, corporations, global organizations, even political entities.
More about the meaning, popularization and other interesting topics on mindfulness read in this elaborate conversation with Jon Kabat-Zinn.
This massive popularization has multiple positive and negative aspects:
✅ Advantages - Mindfulness is now more accessible than ever. Once limited to a spiritual practice and inner circle of practitioners, today it has become globally recognized and broadly applicable.
It is a common human potential, therefore the practice should not be limited only to narrow circles. Integrating mindfulness principles and practice in its core parts, the total human community may reach a wiser and more compassionate quality of being.
❌ Challenges - Expansion brings dllution. Since it is more accessible, it is often simplified. There are appearing various interpretations, of which many significantly differ from the original philosophy and application. In so doing, the risk of wrong understanding and trivializing something which has a hugely transformative potential - when approached appropriately - increases.
Alongside that, the exponential growth of self proclaimed experts leads to issues regarding authenticity, quality and competency. For some, this can induce skepticism towards the very concept of mindfulness.
Mindfulness as a process and as a state
Mindfulness can be understood in two ways:
📌 As a mental process - It is a shift of attention towards the present moment. While practicing, the only thing we do is that mental step: we recognize what is present, and when the attention drifts away, we bring it back to the present experience.
📌 As a state of mind - It is a mental quality which we develop when we pay attention on purpose in the present moment. Mindfulness is always "mindfulness of something". In that sense, it is almost synonymous with awareness.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Since we are dealing with awareness, the depth and breath vary constantly depending on the way in which we are being from moment to moment.
This is highly important to keep in mind as it points to the fact that mindfulness is at the same time very ordinary - a characteristic that each of us "has" in a certain amount and can develop it further - and drastically different from our usual experience.
If it seems as if "being in the present moment" is something very trivial, easy and "nothing special", I invite further investigation. On the one hand, it is exactly so - it is available right here and now. Still, 99% of the time we may believe we are already "here and now" without it truly being so. We may be oblivious to the veil covering our eyes, so we think that it does not even exist in the first place.
Here lie the beginnings of pure awareness.
Mindfulness: Croatian translations
As we have seen mindfulness is today a universally accepted global term, but in Croatian language there are still no official translations. As far as I know, currently the most common terms are:
🔹 Pomnost - The closest to the original meaning of the word, and wonderfully describes mindfulness as a state of mind. However, this is an uncommon word in Croatian language and therefore less comprehensible or accessible to the broader audience.
🔹 Puna svjesnost - A good translation, but it requires a clear distinction between full ("puna") and concentrated (usredotočene) awareness.
🔹 Usredotočena svjesnost - It can easily be mixed with concentration (in fact, it is exactly it), so it is not always the most ideal translation. Mindfulness implies concentration and vice versa. But when considering individual exercises, some are much more oriented towards strengthening awareness, and some towards concentration. Due to this I am not keen on using this term to maintain a clear distinction.
💡 For me, the most suitable translation for mindfulness is the word "punosvjesnost".
🔸 It best describes the state of mind and mental quality that we develop through mindfulness practice.
🔸 It distinguishes from everyday awareness in its depth, breath and intentionality.
🔸 Still, in most cases, I will be using the terms mindfulness, punosvjesnost, pomnost or just "svjesnost" (awareness) as synonyms, depending on context.
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