MLRN Discussion List
As I read the response below, I find myself thinking "the criteria for inclusion are very subjectively guided." We have to keep in mind that meditation in general is INCREDIBLY broad. Mindfulness is a bit more focused (no pun intended), but still, adherents of TM will vouch for empirically validating TM; adherents of mindfulness will go for mindfulness, etc., just as it happens with CBT being empirically validated first, even though theoretically, it's the new kid on the block. And the fact remains that exactly *what* mindfulness is is up for debate. Is it the posture? Is it the breathing? Is it the acceptance? Is it a synthesis of these and other things? I imagine as many of you read these components, you are thinking "oh, he left out ____." And that's my point exactly. Where we start is fairly subjective, and we must acknowledge that, whether we are in the empiricism-is-best camp or whether we are in the qualitative-is-more-clinically-relevant camp. As is often the case, how this lump of clay is sculpted into a meaningful body of research is as much a result of serendipity, political intrigue, and synchronicity more than intentional design.
As I frequently do on this list, I also feel compelled to draw attention to the false dichotomy between the sick, depraved nature of "western" society, versus the enlightened, spiritual "east". If anyone one of us wish to do serious academic or dharma work, we have to absolutely dispel such wrong views that perpetuate a eurocentric dichotomy that only insidiously perpetuates very colonial, imperialistic ideas. Where is the boundary between "west" and "east"? Is it in Jerusalem? Russia? Where is the center of this two-armed cosmology? (Europe). How do we explain the awful things that have gone on in the "east" that go against our romanticized notions of how perfect and evolved those cute little Asians are?
Clearly, I am being a gadfly, but my point is that any serious meditation practice or research cannot come from holding a group, a practice, or even a teacher up on an idealized pedestal. I can assure you the depravity and vice is just as rampant in Thailand, India, or China as it is in New York, and isn't there because these pristine societes were contaminated by the "west". I heard on NPR some months ago that Wahabbis in Baghdad were killing grocers whose produce might interpreted as pornographic-- eggplants and peaches assembled just so. So what depravity and vice are is clearly very, very subjective. I am also reminded of the bitter complaints Steven mentioned he recieved after his book was mentioned in a popular magazine. Obviously, some Buddhists somewhere were offended, and being "Buddhist" didn't mean they were civil.
Human beings are human beings everywhere. I can't vouch for what goes in every society, but thinking in terms of "east" and "west" only highilights differences, not our common flaws and potentials. My mind, being Indian, wanders as much as anyone elses, I imagine, who has been engaged in daily practice for over a decade. Is this more or less because I am Indian? Does it, or should it, matter? I don't think it does.
Sameet Kumar, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center
4306 Alton Road
Miami Beach, FL 33140
phone: (305) 535 3362
fax: (305) 535 3352
No comments:
Post a Comment