Situating Mindfulness, Part 3: Unmasking Buddhism?

As the last of three articles, the present essay continues to explore the character of selected aspects of early Buddhism in order to assess its potential relevance as a reference point for those engaged in research on mindfulness in psychology. The present exploration, which proceeds in critical dialogue with suggestions made by Bernard Faure, covers the topics of the construction of Buddhism; the relationship between the individual and the teaching of not self; the Buddha’s role as a compassionate teacher to help others; and the interrelationship between causality, awakening, and knowledge. Similar to the material surveyed in the previous two articles, in the present case, too, the important attempt to correct popular misconceptions has unfortunately led to several misinterpretations that need to be clarified in order to provide the required foundation in proper understanding for the ongoing dialogue between Buddhism and science in contemporary mainstream discourse.