Early Buddhist Mindfulness and Memory, the Body, and Pain

Abstract

In this article I survey selected aspects of the early Buddhist conception of mindfulness. I begin by distinguishing different types of mindfulness and draw out the implications of such distinctions. Next, I explore the relationship between mindfulness and memory in order to determine how far a conceptualization of mindfulness as a quality of the mind related to the present moment is indeed central to the understanding of its functions and significance in early Buddhist texts and in what way this relates to the ability to remember. Another dimension of the present exploration is the relation of mindfulness to being anchored in the body and how this can serve to maintain continuity of awareness in a daily life situation. The final topic I take up is the use of mindfulness to face pain and disease in the way this is already reflected in the early Buddhist discourses. These texts clearly document that the potential of mindfulness in this respect is not a modern innovation but has roots in the Buddhist tradition that reach back over more than two millennia.