The Insight Knowledge of Fear and Adverse Effects of Mindfulness Practices

Abstract

The insight knowledges, descriptive of meditative experiences in Theravāda vipassanā meditation, are the outcome of a historical development and are specific to this Buddhist tradition; the challenging experiences they describe are not representative of conceptions of the path to awakening in early Buddhism and are of no direct relevance to mindfulness-based interventions. Adverse effects of meditation are recognized in early Buddhism, where the response to a drastic case of mental imbalance leading to suicidal tendencies takes the form of recommending the cultivation of mindfulness. In fact, adverse effects can occur with a range of different meditation practices, which need not have any relationship to mindfulness. Although the practice of mindfulness is clearly not a panacea and in case of trauma and mental illness requires being combined with professional assistance, it has a potential to support and facilitate the facing of difficult emotions.