Mindfulness In Buddhism

Mindfulness Have you ever done something and never realized how you did it? Or have you ever embarked on a journey, arrived your destination and do not remember how you got there? This is something that is common in our world today; we are too busy we multitask, and we lose our awareness of the present moment. Our busyness keeps us from seeing the good things about life, we fail to notice our environment and even our own bodies. We are incapable of living in the moment, we exist but fail to live. “Human minds are easily distracted, habitually examining past events and trying to anticipate the future.” Human beings are constantly worrying, worrying about the past, the present, and the future. We are constantly caught in our day-to-day activities. Learning to have power over our thoughts, feelings, and sensations can have a tremendous impact impacts on our lives, it
The eight-fold path is the fourth of the four noble truths. The four noble truths are known as the first of the Buddha’s teachings. The eight-fold path is the path that leads to awakening (Nirvana) in Buddhism. Each member of the path is like eight important areas within which one should strive for moral development. Progress in one path triggers progress in another, therefore each member is interlinked. The members of the path include: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. So, mindfulness is the seventh member of the eight-fold path. It entails “complete or thorough awareness, awareness of things, oneself, feelings, thought, people, and reality.” (Allan). Mindfulness can be practiced on its own without linking it with Buddhism, but Buddhism cannot be practiced without mindfulness. When relating mindfulness to Buddhism it has three comprehensive principles: knowing the mind; training the mind; and freeing the mind