In Part 1, we explored the Buddhist origins of mindfulness and compared this with its modern, secular adaptation. Today, mindfulness is widely recognized for its benefits in improving physical and mental health, boosting productivity, managing stress, and promoting well-being. However, its roots lie in ancient Buddhist practices that aimed for a far deeper goal: the complete end of suffering and the attainment of Enlightenment or awakening.
The Buddha taught mindfulness as part of a transformative path to understand the true nature of reality and attain lasting peace. Buddhist mindfulness, therefore, is not practiced in isolation but cultivated alongside other mental qualities to nurture profound insight and end all suffering. This fundamental difference in purpose and practice raises important questions about how mindfulness is understood and applied in today’s world.
The Four Noble Truths
To better understand the role and importance of mindfulness in Buddhism, let us examine the Four Noble Truths, the first teaching given by the Buddha after attaining Enlightenment. These truths provide a framework for his teachings, guiding individuals on their own path to Enlightenment. (Geshe Tashi Tsering 2005) The four truths are: (1) Life inherently involves suffering; (2) Suffering is caused by craving, rooted in ignorance; (3) Suffering ends when craving is overcome; (4) The way to end suffering is through the Noble Eightfold Path. (Fisher, 2014)
The first truth states that suffering is a natural part of life. As discussed in the previous article, this is due to our tendency to mistake temporary things for permanent ones, clinging to experiences and emotions as if they will last forever. When circumstances inevitably change, we feel pain and disappointment. This leads to the second truth: suffering is caused by craving, which is rooted in our ignorance of the true nature of reality. The third truth thus tells us that suffering can end when we overcome our cravings by gaining insight into how things truly are. Finally, the fourth truth provides the practical guide to ending suffering: the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path is the Buddha’s practical guide to freeing ourselves from suffering. It consists of eight factors: right view (sammā diṭṭhi), right intention (sammā saṅkappa), right speech (sammā vācā), right action (sammā kammanta), right livelihood (sammā ājīva), right effort (sammā vāyāma), right mindfulness (sammā sati), and right concentration (sammā samādhi). These factors are grouped into three trainings: wisdom (right view and intention), morality (right speech, action, and livelihood), and meditation (right effort, mindfulness, and concentration).
While these factors are traditionally presented in this order, they are not necessarily developed sequentially, one by one. They are interconnected and support one another. Let us explore what these factors mean and how they work together to foster wisdom and promote a wise, joyful, and balanced way of living.
Wisdom training: right view and intention
Right view involves recognizing that everything in life is interconnected and constantly changing. It also means understanding that all our actions have consequences, impacting others and the environment around us. When we make unhelpful choices, they often lead to negative outcomes. (Huxter 2015) Thích Nhất Hạnh describes this insight as “interbeing,” a concept we will explore in more detail in future articles.
Right view enables us to understand the sources of suffering and what brings us relief. This understanding naturally leads to right intention, which guides us in making thoughtful decisions that promote happiness for ourselves and others while avoiding harm. (Huxter 2015)
Moral training: right speech, action, and livelihood
Right speech means using kind and helpful words, speaking at appropriate times in ways that fit both the situation and our intentions. Right action involves behaviors that are generous, kind, and wise. Right livelihood encourages earning a living in ways that reflect the values of freedom and support a purposeful and fulfilling life. (Huxter 2015)
The Five Precepts of Buddhism—refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and using intoxicants—serve as guidelines for right speech, action, and livelihood. (Irons, 2008) Thích Nhất Hạnh developed the Five Mindfulness Trainings as a contemporary adaptation of these precepts. He rephrased them to be universal and relevant across spiritual and cultural contexts. (Thích Nhất Hạnh, 2003) I will also delve into these in later articles.
Meditation training: right effort, mindfulness, and concentration
Right effort means maintaining balance in practice. It involves persevering with patience and courage through challenges, while knowing when to soften, let go, and flow with life’s changes if our energy becomes too intense. Right mindfulness is about accurately observing and understanding phenomena, recognizing their cause-and-effect relationships, and the fundamental nature of existence—impermanence, interdependence, and suffering. Right concentration focuses the mind on what is beneficial, unifying attention with clarity and purpose. It stabilizes and sharpens awareness, enhancing our capacity to understand reality deeply. (Huxter 2015)
The interconnectedness of the three trainings and their path factors
Wisdom (right view and right intention) helps us to recognize how mistaken beliefs lead to suffering. It enables us to see the true nature of reality and make decisions based on that understanding. Guided by wisdom, everything we do naturally flows from kindness and non-harm, reflecting our commitment to reducing suffering and moving toward awakening. (Huxter 2015)
Our wise behavior brings stability, a calm mind, and a clear conscience, fostering mental clarity and composure. Morality (right speech, action, and livelihood), therefore, supports mental development and meditation. In turn, meditation (right effort, mindfulness, and concentration) sharpens our focus, allowing us to see things more clearly. This clarity enhances our wisdom, leading to wiser behaviors, which deepen our meditation, creating a virtuous cycle of growth along the Noble Eightfold Path. (Huxter, 2015)
In summary, this path—where the eight factors supporting one another—enables us to let go of unhelpful thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It cultivates wisdom, kindness, compassion, and the ability to let go, developing behaviors that benefit both ourselves and others. Ultimately, it leads us to full awakening, ending all suffering. (Huxter 2015)
The moral aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path
Each of the eight path factors begins with the word “right,” a common translation of the Pāli term “sammā.” This term literally means “togetherness” or “being connected.” (Anālayo 2006) It can also be understood as “complete,” “authentic,” “skillful,” “appropriate,” or “correct.” (Huxter 2015) What makes a factor “right” is its development alongside the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. (Anālayo 2006)
The path teaches that moral behavior arises from wisdom rather than from society’s rules of right and wrong. When we see reality clearly, our behaviors naturally stem from an understanding of what is most beneficial in each situation. With this clarity, we move beyond rigid labels such as “moral” or “immoral,” “good” or “bad.” In fact, wise actions may sometimes differ from traditional moral rules.
This highlights an important distinction in Buddhism: terms such as “right” and “wrong,” “good” and “bad” carry meanings that differ from their usual definitions. Thích Nhất Hạnh explains: “Right and wrong are neither moral judgments nor arbitrary standards imposed from outside. Through our own awareness, we discover what is beneficial (‘right’) and what is unbeneficial (‘wrong’).” (Thích Nhất Hạnh 1999)
In essence, all Buddhist teachings aim to purify the mind. While the Noble Eightfold Path encourages beneficial behavior and discourages misconduct, its primary goal is spiritual growth rather than moral improvement. (Bodhi 1999) This means that although the Buddhist teachings emphasize morality alongside meditation, their focus is not merely on being a good person. Instead, it is about cultivating wisdom through spiritual transformation. This transformation enables selfless and spontaneous responses to life, free from rigid judgments of good and bad.
Conclusion
As discussed, Buddhist mindfulness refers to right mindfulness, developed within the framework of the Noble Eightfold Path. Right mindfulness, supported by the other path factors, leads to wisdom and awakening. Secular mindfulness, on the other hand—lacking the wisdom and moral training integral to the Eightfold Path—is unlikely to achieve the same depth of transformation or understanding. While it may alleviate certain forms of suffering, such as illness or stress, it does not address the root causes.
So far, we have explored the different goals and approaches between Buddhist right mindfulness and secular mindfulness. In my next article, I will examine other key differences and discuss how practicing secular mindfulness outside of the Buddhist framework might sometimes contradict the Buddha’s teachings, potentially causing harm.
References
Anālayo, Bhikkhu. 2006. Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization. Penang: Inward Path Publisher.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu. 1999. The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
Fisher, Mary. 2014. Living Religions. New Jersey: Pearson.
Geshe Tashi Tsering. 2005. The Four Noble Truths (Vol. 1). Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Huxter, Malcolm. 2015. “Mindfulness and the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.” In E. Shonin, W. Van Gordon, & N. N. Singh (Eds.), Buddhist Foundations of Mindfulness (pp. 29-53). Switzerland: Springer.
Irons, Edward. 2008. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Facts On File.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 1999. The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. New York: Harmony Books.
Thích Nhất Hạnh. 2003. Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World. London: Rider.
Related features from BDG
Buddhist Mindfulness Versus Secular Mindfulness, Part 1
Formative Encounters with Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Teachings and Practices, Part 1
Formative Encounters with Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Teachings and Practices, Part 2
Formative Encounters with Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Teachings and Practices, Part 3
