This post has been a while coming. My apologies for the gap, but Life (notice the capital “L”) has been getting in the way, as it tends to do, and so this blog has been shamefully neglected. But we begin again, and return to mindfulness …

Mindfulness, as we have been seeing in previous posts, is much more than just “awareness.” It seems to be fashionable in contemporary dharma circles to assert the “non-judgemental” nature of mindfulness. Mindfulness, it is said, does not judge, but is simply aware. However, as we have seen with the Buddha’s image of the gatekeeper, which we first met in the Reading Buddha entry, mindfulness is much more than mere awareness. The gatekeeper of a fortress in a conflict zone is not of much use if she cheerfully admits a suicide bomber because she does not want to be “judgemental.” Her job is to recognise those passing through, so she can discern the difference between those who should be admitted and those who should not. In this post I would like to look at the question of mindfulness and its relationship to recognition.
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In this entry I would like to address the issue of mindfulness and its relationship to reflexive awareness. If we are looking for mindfulness, this is the area we need to examine. Along the way I’ll try to address some of the issues that have been raised in our discussions.

I take “reflexive” to mean bending back to oneself. How does reflexivity influence awareness? Normally, we are aware. We don’t have to make any special effort to be aware; we are simply aware. We see, hear, smell, touch, taste and think. Technically, we can say that it is the nature of mind to contact an object; to be aware of something. So far, so good. We are already aware. But are we aware that we are aware? Read More...