Abstract
In this article, I relate findings in cognitive psychology on the constructed nature of experience to related notions in early Buddhist thought, which recognize the degree to which the mind influences sensory perception. In particular, I take up the doctrinal teaching of dependent arising in its bearing on the reciprocal relationship between consciousness and name-and-form. I complement this by turning to the role of the mind as a forerunner of all things and to the impact of affect, in the form of “feeling,” on the arising of craving (another aspect of the doctrine of dependent arising). Based on these explorations, I examine the notion of “bare awareness” as a mode of practice already recognized in early Buddhist thought. From an early Buddhist viewpoint, the cultivation of mindfulness can help to become aware of, and avoid being carried away by, the influence of mental construction on experience, resulting in the ability to remain just with what is seen in the seen.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DĀ:
-
Dīrgha-āgama (T 1)
- Dhp:
-
Dhammapada
- EĀ:
-
Ekottarika-āgama (T 125)
- MĀ:
-
Madhyama-āgama (T 26)
- MN:
-
Majjhima-nikāya
- SĀ:
-
Saṃyukta-āgama (T 99)
- SHT:
-
Sanskrithandschriften aus den Turfanfunden
- SN:
-
Saṃyutta-nikāya
- T:
-
Taishō edition
- Ud:
-
Udāna
- Up:
-
Abhidharmakośopāyikā-ṭīkā
References
Agostini, G. (2010). ‘Preceded by Thought Are the Dhammas’: The ancient exegesis on Dhp 1–2. In G. Orofino & S. Vita (Eds.), Buddhist Asia 2. Papers from the second conference of Buddhist studies held in Naples in June 2004 (pp. 1–34). Kyoto: Italian School of East Asian Studies.
Anālayo, Bh. (2011). A comparative study of the Majjhima-nikāya. Taipei: Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/compstudyvol1.pdf.
Anālayo, Bh. (2012). The historical value of the Pāli discourses. Indo-Iranian Journal, 55, 223–253. https://doi.org/10.1163/001972412X620187.
Anālayo, Bh. (2013). Perspectives on Satipaṭṭhāna. Cambridge: Windhorse Publications https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/analayo/perspectives.pdf.
Anālayo, Bh. (2017). Nāma-rūpa. In K. T. S. Sarao & J. D. Long (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Indian religions, Buddhism and Jainism (pp. 802–804). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2.
Anālayo, Bh. (2018a). The Bāhiya instruction and bare awareness. Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 19, 1–19.
Anālayo, Bh. (2018b). Why be mindful of feelings? Contemporary Buddhism, 19(1), 47–53.
Barret, L. Feldman (2017). How emotions are made, the secret life of the brain. Boston: Mariner Books.
Bodhi, Bh. (2011). What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2011.564813.
Carter, O. L., Presti, D. E., Callistempon, C., Ungerer, Y., Liu, G. B., & Pettigrew, J. D. (2005). Meditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks. Current Biology, 15(11), R412–R413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2005.05.043.
Chetverikov, A., & Kristjánsson, Á. (2016). On the joys of perceiving: affect as feedback for perceptual predictions. Acta Psychologica, 169, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.05.005.
Chiesa, A., Calati, R., & Serretti, A. (2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(3), 449–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.11.003.
Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(3), 181–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12000477.
Dhammadinnā, Bh. (2017). Bhikkhu Ñāṇananda’s concept and reality: a reply to Stephen Evans. Buddhist Studies Review, 34(2), 151–180. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.35391.
Jensen, C. G., Vangkilde, S., Frokjaer, V., & Hasselbalch, S. G. (2012). Mindfulness training affects attention—or is it attentional effort? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(1), 106–123. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024931.
Lao, S., Kissane, D., & Meadows, G. (2016). Cognitive effects of MBSR/MBCT: a systematic review of neuropsychological outcomes. Consciousness and Cognition, 45, 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.017.
Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005.
Sauer, S., Lemke, J., Wittmann, M., Kohls, N., Mochty, U., & Walach, H. (2012). How long is now for mindfulness meditators? Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 750–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.12.026.
Skilling, P. (2007). ‘Dhammas are as swift as thought ...’ A note on Dhammapada 1 and 2 and their parallels. Journal of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka, 5, 23–50.
Verhaegen, P. (2016). Mindfulness and meditation training. In T. Strobach & J. Karback (Eds.), Cognitive training, an overview of features and applications (pp. 127–136). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42662-4.
Westra, E. (2017). Stereotypes, theory of mind, and the action-prediction hierarchy. Synthese, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1575-9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
This article does not contain any studies performed by the author with human participants or animals.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anālayo, B. In the Seen Just the Seen: Mindfulness and the Construction of Experience. Mindfulness 10, 179–184 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1042-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1042-9