Mindfulness meditation is becoming popular as an alternative to conventional medical and psychological therapies. Recent years have seen the enthusiastic embrace of mindfulness meditation and other techniques drawn from Buddhism as therapeutic interventions in psychiatry. While mindfulness can be practiced quite well without Buddhism, Buddhism cannot be practiced without mindfulness. In its Buddhist context, mindfulness meditation has three overarching purposes: knowing the mind; training the mind; and freeing the mind.
One of the first participants of the Nan Tien Temple’s mindfulness meditation program, Matt Herbert explains how this cultural practice has impacted and improved on his life, on and off campus.