An Examination of Temporality in Mindfulness Meditation

Yao-ming Tsai

doi:10.29213/crbs..28.202010.9

불교학리뷰

Abbr : Critical Review for Buddhist Studies
2020, (28), pp.9-31
DOI : 10.29213/crbs..28.202010.9
Publisher : Geumgang Center for Buddhist Studies
Research Area : Buddhist Studies

Yao-ming Tsai ¹

¹National Taiwan University

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness meditation is a way to steady the mind from the ground up and maintain awareness of the actual activities of one’s body, feelings, mind, and related factors. Nowadays, more and more people emphasize present-moment awareness as a key feature of mindfulness exercises and consequently regard mindfulness as the art of being in the present moment. However, from a temporal perspective, the present is constantly fluctuating. To what extent is mindfulness about present moment awareness and what role do the past and future play in that awareness? This paper seeks to address this issue by exploring the Satipaṭṭhānasutta (The Discourse on the Ways of Attending to Mindfulness) and other Buddhist texts on meditative practices. If mindfulness is to be developed to its maximum capacity, including meditative absorption (Pāli, jhāna), meditative concentration (Pāli, samādhi) and nibbāna, then just focusing on the present momentz and non-judgmentally observing our experiences will not be enough, both theoretically and practically, to achieve many of the stated goals of the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta. This paper proposes that, theoretically, a philosophy of time and temporality is required to answer the difficult question of how mindfulness and meditative absorption are possible while the present is non-abiding, and practically, a more comprehensive strategy to deal with the past, future and present is also essential in overcoming the overall suffering of existence.
KEYWORDS

temporality, mindfulness, Buddhist meditation, nibbāna, Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta.
REFERENCES (40)

[book] / T. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō . 100 vols / Taishō Issaikyō Kankōkai

[other] Guṇabhadra / Saṃyuktâgama. T. 2, no. 99

[other] Xuanzang / The Large Sūtra Perfection of Wisdom / Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. T. 7, no. 220 (2)

[other] Xuanzang / The Large Sūtra Perfection of Wisdom / Mahā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. T. 7, no. 220 (4)

[other] Xuanzang / Saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra. T. 16, no. 676

[book] Anālayo, Bhikkhu / 2012 / Satipaṭṭhāna : The Direct Path to Realization / Windhorse

[journal] Anālayo, Bhikkhu / 2019 / The Emphasis on the Present Moment in the Cultivation of Mindfulness / Mindfulness 10(3) : 571~581

[book] Black, Anna / 2015 / The Little Pocket Book of Mindfulness: Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future, Simply BE in the present with mindfulness meditations / Ryland Peters & Small

[book] Bodhi, Bhikkhu / 2000 / The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya / Wisdom

[book] Bodhi, Bhikkhu / 2017 / Suttanipāta: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with Its Commentaries / Wisdom

[journal] Bronkhorst, Johannes / 1985 / Akālika in the Buddhist Canon / Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik 10 : 187~190

[book] Buddharakkhita, Thera / 2007 / The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom / Buddhist Publication Society

[book] Camilius, Egeni / 2011 / The Epistemology of Motivation: Harnessing the Art / Xlibris : 25~29

[book] Choong, Mun-keat / 1999 / The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism / Motilal Banarsidass

[book] Choong, Mun-keat / 2004 / Annotated Translation of Sūtras from the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama relevant to the Early Buddhist Teachings on Emptiness and the Middle Way / Lu Ye Chan Si

[book] Collins, Steven / 2010 / Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative / Cambridge University Press

[book] Conze, Edward / 1975 / The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom with the Divisions of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra / University of California Press

[book] Conze, Edward / 1975 / The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines & Its Verse Summary / Four Seasons Foundation

[book] Dutt, Nalinaksha / 1934 / The Pañcaviṁśatisāhasrikā Prajñā pāramita / Luzac & Co

[book] Gethin, R . M. L / 2001 / The Buddhist Path to Awakening / Oneworld : 146~189

[book] Gethin, Rupert / 2008 / Sayings of the Buddha: A Selection of Suttas from the Pali Nikāyas / Oxford University Press : 141~151

[book] Kabat-Zinn, Jon / 2012 / Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment —and Your Life / Sounds True

[book] Kimura, Takayasu / 2009 / Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: I-2 / Sankibo Busshorin

[book] Lamotte, Étienne / 1935 / Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra: l’ Explication des Mystères / Université de Louvain

[journal] Maharaj, Ayon / 2013 / Yogic Mindfulness: Hariharānanda Āraṇya’s Quasi-Buddhistic Interpretation of Smṛti in Patañjali’s Yogasūtra I.20 / Journal of Indian Philosophy 41(1) : 57~78

[book] Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu / 2005 / The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya / Wisdom : 145~155

[book] Norman, K. R / 2001 / The Group of Discourses (Sutta-Nipāta) / The Pali Text Society

[book] Norman, K. R / 2003 / Collected Papers , Vol. II / Pali Text Society : 210~223

[book] Powers, John / 1994 / Wisdom of Buddha: The Saṃdhinirmocana Mahāyāna Sūtra / Dharma

[journal] Purser, Ronald / 2015 / The Myth of the Present Moment / Mindfulness 6(3) : 680~686

[book] Robertson, S. Ian / 2017 / Problem Solving: Perspectives from Cognition and Neuroscience / Routledge : 1~26

[journal] Sharf, Robert / 2014 / “Mindfulness and Mindlessness in Early Chan / Philosophy East and West 64(4) : 933~963

[book] Thich Nhat Hanh / 2012 / You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment / Shambhala

[book] Tripāṭhī, Chandrabhāl / 1962 / Fünfundzwanzig Sūtras des Nidānasaṃyukta / Akademie-Verlag

[journal] Tsai, Yao-ming / 2014 / Non-dualistic Middle Path of the Kātyāyana-sūtra / Yuan Kuang Journal of Buddhist Studies 24 : 1~31

[journal] Tsai, Yao-ming / 2018 / Meditative Practices in the Context of Constructing and Understanding the Spatial World / Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences 11(4) : 515~531

[journal] Tsai, Yao-ming / 2020 / A Philosophical Study of Time Based on the ‘Chapter on the Examination of Time’ of the Mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā . / Satyābhisamaya: A Buddhist Studies Quarterly 93 : 5~36

[book] Vaidya, P. L / 1960 / Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā / The Mithila Institute

[book] Wittmann, Marc / 2014 / Meditation: Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications / Springer : 199~210

[book] Wogihara, U / 1932 / Abhisamayālaṃkār’ālokā Prajñāpāramitāvyākhyā / The Toyo Bunko
KCI Citation (0)

KJC Korea
Journal Central

Statistics

Tools