Overeating and Mindfulness in Ancient India

Abstract

Reviews of relevant research point to the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in reducing tendencies toward overeating and in leading to weight reduction. In this article, I present an early Buddhist perspective on the potential of mindfulness practice in this respect, based on examining a discourse that reports the Buddha himself giving instructions on mindful eating to a local king. The discourse in question shows that the current employment of mindfulness for such purposes is not a recent innovation but rather has an antecedent in early Buddhist texts. I also relate a recent model of three steps for reducing eating disorders to the early Buddhist teaching on how seeing the gratification and the disadvantage can lead to release from craving-dominated ways of behavior.