The difference and connection between mindfulness and meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are neither subordinate nor completely identical concepts - the former is a kind of "anchoring the present mental state without judgment", and the latter is a collective name for a type of technology initiated by humans to train mental states. The two are highly intertwined at the practical level, but the boundaries are clear, and there are subtle differences in the definitions of different cultures and academic schools.

I guess many people are still confused after seeing this conclusion. Last week, I went to a trial class at the yoga studio downstairs. During the last fifteen minutes of the rest session, the teacher said softly, "Focus on your breathing. Don't blame yourself if your mind wanders. Just pull it back gently." The girl next to me secretly asked me after class, "Did the teacher just talk about mindfulness or meditation? Why do I think the two words mean the same thing? ”

I was confused when I first came into contact with this. I signed up for an online meditation camp in 2018, and the class teacher said "mindfulness meditation practice." I defaulted to mindfulness as a branch of meditation. It wasn't until I had dinner with a friend who was a clinical psychologist, and went to a temple in Fujian to practice Zen for a week, that I discovered that the definitions of the two terms were quite different in different circles. If we really want to dig into the etymology, the Pali word corresponding to mindfulness is "sati", which originally means "mindfulness", that is, the clear awareness of the present moment, while the Pali word "bhavana" corresponding to meditation means "practice", which are two words with different dimensions.

For example, my former Internet colleague Akai always said that he was born unable to sit still and could not practice meditation. However, he would ride thirty kilometers around the Qiantang River every Saturday. While riding, he would not even read the news. He would only pay attention to the itching sensation in the wind on the tip of his ears. , the strength of the pedals, and he could even count the number of wild roses blooming by the river. After riding, he broke out in a sweat and said, "My mind is empty, it feels good." His state at that time was standard mindfulness, but he had not meditated for half a minute. To put it bluntly, meditation is a training action that you actively and deliberately initiate. Whether it is sitting cross-legged in sitting meditation, walking slowly in walking meditation, or doing a body scan while lying down, they are all behaviors with clear training goals. ； But mindfulness is a state that you can enter at any time. It does not require a specific posture or special time. Even if you are stepping on your foot while squeezing the subway during the morning rush hour, you do not go through the little theater in your mind of "Did he mean it?" For example, meditation is like lifting irons in the gym to practice core strength. Mindfulness is the core ability you usually use when lifting heavy objects or climbing stairs. You lift irons so that you can use them more smoothly, but when you usually use your core, it doesn't mean you are lifting irons, right?

Of course, not everyone agrees with this definition. For example, most clinical counselors who practice MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy) will regard mindfulness as the core training goal of meditation. If you go to such classes, almost all meditation exercises are centered around improving mindfulness abilities. It is no wonder that many classes on the market are directly called "mindfulness meditation." , for people with zero foundation, it is impossible for you to stay aware in the chaos of squeezing the subway and catching up on KPIs. You must first practice 10 minutes of sitting meditation every day and practice the muscle memory of "pull back when your mind wanders", and then you can slowly transfer this ability to life. At this time, there is nothing wrong with binding the two. But the master I followed Zen Seven in the temple didn't think so. He always said, "Wash the dishes well when washing the dishes, and eat well when eating, which is the best practice." In his system, mindfulness is the "mindfulness" in the Eightfold Path. It is a state that should permeate all the moments of life. Taking time to meditate cross-legged will only fall into the inferior vehicle. Living well is training. Both statements are correct, but they are applicable to different people and scenarios.

I have been practicing for nearly six years, and now I rarely take time to sit down and meditate. But mindfulness has become my muscle memory for dealing with anxiety: last time I was working on an urgent project, the more I wrote, the more chaotic it became. My mind was full of noises like "What if I can't finish it?" and "Will the customer be dissatisfied?" I stopped, put my attention on the tip of my nose, and felt that the air was cool when I breathed in, and hot when I breathed out. After taking three breaths, my whole body instantly stabilized. A while ago, my mother was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep after an operation. I also taught her not to think about "why am I suffering so much" or "will it hurt all night", but to focus on the painful area and see if the pain is swelling or stabbing, and if there is any change. There is no need to reject it, just look at it. She later told me that she actually slowly fell asleep. These are the uses of mindfulness and have nothing to do with meditation, but without the 10 minutes of daily meditation training in the past two years, I would not have been able to invoke this state so quickly.

In fact, there is really no need to get too hung up on the definitions of these two words. I have seen many people struggle with "Is my mind wandering just now, does meditation have no use?" "Is it because I didn't cross my legs, does it count as mindfulness?" This is purely putting the cart before the horse. Whether it is mindfulness or meditation, they are essentially tools to help you get rid of the past and the anxieties that have not happened yet in your mind, so that you can live in the present. If you like to practice with your legs crossed and your eyes closed, that’s no problem. ； If you just like to feel in shape while riding, running, or washing dishes, that's totally fine. It can help you reduce internal friction, which is more important than any other concept.