Eric Fromm’s warnings about mindfulness and misappropriation of Buddhist practices
Really interesting article from the Facebook page the Political Self (understanding the social context of mental health) about a subject I’m interested in which is mindfulness’ drift or separation from any spiritual root. In this case it is the psychoanalyst Eric Fromm’s thoughts on it and his enthusiasm for Buddhism which did wane in his later years as is clear here. Love to know others thoughts especially those more versed in Buddhism than me!
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hi Grace , how i have pondered on this question , the more i look into it the more vast answers and non answers are . The drift or separation from spiritual root , this could be problematic if you need the comfort of "a higher being" or you simply have beliefs of something more than just being responsible for your own self , which moves to Buddhism and Mindfulness. The difficulty of Buddhism for me is the attachment to deep rooted habits , attachment to views , Mindfulness is the "tool" to breakdown the barriers of years of conditioning . Buddha mentioned "know thy self " and how that resonates , because that is such good advice . I think I understand more why Buddhist monks take on solitary retreats (sometimes years ) , away from the noise of the world , because they want to gain mental clarity by removing distractions , the retreats allow the monks to develop their inner peace , wisdom and compassion . I suppose the problem that Eric Fromm is bringing up is that "the West" takes on mindfulness to make themselves feel better , but not actually using the tool effectively because western lives are vastly different to those in the East (i don't believe he actually says that, its just my thoughts ) I could be totally wrong of course , which is why i mentioned in searching for the answers was difficult , the subject is vast and of course each individual is different in their "journey" wherever that leads .