Cultivating mindfulness

Unfortunately, mindfulness is often seen as something to be achieved in itself, somewhat analogous to the idea of climbing Mt. Everest without also scaling its intermediate peaks. This leads to situations in which there can be much talk about mindfulness but little evidence of it. Therefore, from the Chan point of view, it is better to think of mindfulness not as practice in itself but as a fruit of practice, the rich harvest after diligent treading on the Path. In other words, one should cultivate mindfulness by practicing of the Path. And what is the practice of the Path? We have already discussed this as the Three Disciplines: precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Let's briefly review them from the point of view of mindfulness.

Mindfulness and the precepts

When we practice and uphold the precepts, we are ensuring that our lives will be in accord with Buddhadharma, and that means that our lives will also be more harmonious with others, less afflicting to ourselves, and more conducive to serenity. Even in adversity, knowing that our life is righteous, we can face problems more calmly and deal with them as they really are, not as we imagine them. When we can depart from vexations in this manner, our minds become more spacious and receptive to the opportunities to experience the present as wholly "here" and vividly "now."