What Is Mindfulness Meditation?

Today, many people are eager to understand “what is mindfulness meditation?”. Busy and stressful modern life has led people all over the world to turn to meditation as a way to calm the mind, reduce stress, and learn how to love with greater compassion.

So, what is mindfulness meditation, and how is it practiced?

1. What Is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is a meditative practice that has been followed by the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times to realize complete non-self (non-ego) and attain Perfect Enlightenment and ultimate liberation. This form of meditation also offers remarkable benefits for health and well-being, recognized by both traditional medicine and modern medical science.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutra teaches a method of meditation so important and effective that Buddha once said: “If anyone practices the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, he can attain enlightenment in 7 years, or even in 7 months, or even in 7 weeks, or even in 7 days”. Buddha confirmed the effectiveness of the correct practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. But today, far from Buddha’s time, many people have practiced the Four foundations of mindfulness for 70 years and not attained enlightenment, because the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutra is not easy to understand. The difference in space between countries, the distance of time (more than 2500 year away, and the language barrier when translating (Pali to languages), have made it very difficult to understand Buddha’s words properly. And even if we overcome all those obstacles, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutra, carefully taught by Buddha, requires a doctorate in meditation, while we are still elementary learners. However, if we do not understand the Four Foundations of Mindfulness correctly, it will greatly disadvantage our meditation practice.

Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that helps you slow down racing thoughts, let go of mental afflictions, and calm both your mind and body. It guides you back to yourself, allowing you to look deeply into present reality, recognize your own shortcomings, and from there learn how to share, love, and live with greater compassion—making life more meaningful and beautiful.

2. What is the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness means always remembering the four foundations (things). Why do we have to remember four things when practicing meditation while many meditation masters say we only need one? These masters believe that always remembering one thing is enough to overcome unwanted thoughts, to reach a serene state in meditation, and to achieve enlightenment. The truth is not that simple. Because Buddha taught us four things to practice, not only one.

Buddha defined the Four Foundations Mindfulness as contemplating the body as the body, contemplating feelings as feelings, contemplating the mind as the mind, and contemplating the dharma as the dharma. Very, very few people understand the above teachings because they are ancient Indian words. What would happen if a layperson said to a monk, “Venerable Master, I look at you as you.” No one can understand this saying because that person was using the language of India 2500 years ago and no one uses them today. Therefore, when reading the definition of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness: contemplating the body as the body, contemplating feelings as feelings, contemplating the mind as the mind, and contemplating the dharma as the dharma, no one can understand. However, thanks to Buddha’s blessing, we will understand them today.

• Before practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness

Before practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (contemplating the body as the body contemplating feelings as feelings, contemplating the mind as the mind, and contemplating the dharma the dharma) we must practice breathing. If you haven’t practiced breathing, you can’t practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness well.

Buddha teaches us to practice breathing as follows. Sit in the lotus position (cross-legged) in meditation, feel the whole body. Breathing in, we know we are breathing in; breathing out, we know we are breathing out; breathing in a long breath, we know we are breathing in a long breath; breathing out a long breath, we know we are breathing out a long breath; breathing in a short breath, we know we are breathing in a short breath; breathing out a short breath, we know we are breathing out a short breath. This is the basics of breathing.

+ Be conscious of the body. The basis of breathing practice is to sit cross- legged (= in the lotus position), keep the body relaxed and motionless; feel the whole body, and be conscious of the whole body. It sounds simple, but a lot of people haven’t practiced feeling the whole body and being conscious of the whole body very well. Being conscious of the whole body, we must be conscious of the upper and the lower body, the front and the back body, the inside and the outside body. When you’re conscious of the lower part of your body, you must be conscious of the lowest point. Practicing like that, you will realize you haven’t paid attention to many regions of your body. Your feeling must reach the lowest point at the back of your body. If not, you haven’t practiced the basics yet (feel the whole body and be conscious of the whole body), so your further practice won’t be effective. Again, feeling the whole body is to be conscious of the lowest and most back part of the body. This is where we finish feeling the whole body. While in meditation, if your feeling has not reached this point, then you have not properly practiced Buddha’s teachings (it’s similar to the fact that your armies are not provided enough food and ordnance before their attack).

+ Practice breathing

After practicing feeling the whole body well, we move to the practice of breathing. At first, don’t intentionally breathe or control your breathing as desired. All we need to do is to be aware of our breathing. Breathing in, we know we are breathing in; breathing out, we know we are breathing out. Don’t try to have a long or a short breath. We only need to be mindful of our breathing. We must feel our bodies and be conscious of our breathing. When we’re conscious of our whole bodies, we immediately realize that our bodies are breathing. Therefore, when we’re conscious of our whole bodies, we are immediately conscious of our breathing. This is the correct sequence.

Feeling the whole body and practicing breathing is only the beginning of the practice of meditation, which is very hard, so the practice of meditation is beyond compare. But we must practice meditation to preserve Buddhism; we must practice meditation to spread meditation everywhere; we must practice meditation to be able to step on the holy path Buddha teaches.

As we’ve said before, we just need to be mindful of our breathing (without any control). At the first stage, we breathe strongly and may have long or short breaths because our minds are chaotic. Please remember our breathing reflects our minds. A calm person breathes gently, and an agitated one breathes rapidly. When we grasp our breathing, we can grasp our minds.

Some people believe that by focusing on breathing, we can enter the serene state in meditation and attain enlightenment. This is the case of those of very high capacity. However, focusing on breathing is not enough for our spiritual practice because Buddha teaches us the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, a very important part after our breathing practice.

Remember that when we sit still in the lotus position, feel the whole body very carefully and to the lowest and most rear parts of the body. When we feel our whole bodies, we discover that our bodies are breathing in and out. At first, our breathing is unstable and uneven because our minds often get disturbed. When our minds begin to calm down, our breathing will be gentle and slow. We don’t control our breathing but our breathing must be slow and gentle and with a little air. The opposite is wrong. Please note it.

When in meditation, we can feel our whole bodies as well as be mindful of our breathing (and our breathing must be slow and gentle and with a little air), we move to the practice of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. At this time, we have provided enough food for our armies before their attack against our sworn enemy: needless thoughts.

When you are aware of this body, you then contemplate that this body is impermanent. The body is born, grows, ages, becomes ill, and eventually dies. After death, the body decays and remains only as bones. Over time, even the bones turn to dust and merge back into the earth. You also return to the awareness that this body is a vessel of unwholesome actions, having committed countless mistakes through innumerable past lifetimes.

You should try to practice mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes in the most quiet and serene place possible. Before sitting in meditation, it is recommended to warm up and stretch carefully. After finishing the meditation, you should release the posture gently and mindfully; do not stand up or walk immediately while your legs are still painful or numb.

3. Applying mindfulness meditation in daily life

+ Walking meditation in mindfulness Meditation practice is the act of walking with full awareness of yourself—being mindful of the breath and each movement of the body, while maintaining relaxation throughout the whole body. You should practice walking meditation after finishing sitting meditation, or between meditation sessions if you practice several periods of sitting meditation during the day.

You relax the entire body and walk gently. With each step, you intentionally maintain clear awareness of every movement. You contemplate that this body is a vessel of unwholesome actions, having created many wrongdoings through innumerable past lifetimes as well as this present life; this body is shaped by ignorance and wrongdoing.

+ In addition to sitting meditation, mindfulness should be practiced in daily activities

What is mindfulness meditation? Mindfulness meditation is not limited to sitting practice alone. It also means returning to awareness of the body and oneself in everyday activities such as cooking, washing dishes, gardening, and more. In each daily activity, you should gently maintain clear awareness of what is happening, knowing each movement and gesture as it occurs, without being distracted by external activities.

You remain clearly aware of what you are doing, knowing this body as a vessel of ignorance and unwholesome actions. From this deep awareness, you make a vow to open your heart with compassion and loving-kindness toward all beings.

When you truly understand what mindfulness meditation is, you can apply it in daily life through fixed meditation sessions or by practicing mindfulness in everyday activities. Mindfulness meditation helps reduce stress and fatigue in daily life, illuminates the mind, and enables you to make the most correct and wise decisions even in the most difficult circumstances.

When you understand yourself and recognize this body as conditioned by ignorance and wrongdoing, you will learn to love more deeply and share greater empathy with those around you, making life more meaningful and beautiful.

Meditation is also an inseparable part of Buddhism; therefore, understanding meditation is also a way of learning about Buddhism and the path of non-self taught by the Buddha.

Let us explore what mindfulness meditation truly is and practice it together.