ASIAN STUDIES FROM ANCIENT ASIA TO CONTEMPORARY GLOBALIZED WORLD: THE BUDDHIST CONCEPT OF MINDFULNESS AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN WESTERN SOCIETIES Volume IV (XX), Issue 2 Ljubljana 2016 ASIAN STUDIES, Volume IV (XX), Issue 2, Ljubljana 2016 Chief Editor: Jana S. Rošker Editor-in-Charge: Nataša Visočnik Proof Reader: Tina Š. Petrovič in Paul Steed Editorial Board: Ivana Buljan, Bart Dessein, Tamara Ditrich, Shaun Richard O’Dwyer, Raoul David Findeisen, Mark James Hudson, Ana Jelnikar, Mislav Ježić, Jeff Kingston, Mingchang Lin, Beatrix Mecsi, Tamae K. Prindle, Jana S. Rošker, Nataša Vampelj Suhadolnik, Nataša Visočnik, Mitja Saje, Geir Sigurðsson, Yuriko Sunakawa, Andrej Ule, Zouli Wang All articles are double blind peer-reviewed. The journal is accessable online in the Open Journal System data base: http://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as. © University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, 2016. All rights reserved. Published by: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani/Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana For: Oddelek za azijske študije/Department of Asian Studies For the publisher: Branka Kalenić Ramšak, Dean of Faculty of Arts Ljubljana, 2016, First edition Number printed: 60 copies Graphic Design: Janez Mlakar Layout: Aleš Cimprič Printed by: Birografika Bori, d. o. o. Price: 10,00 EUR ISSN 2232-5131 This publication is indexed in the Cobiss database. This journal is published two times per year. Yearly subscription: 17 EUR Address: Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za azijske študije, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija tel.: +386 (0)1 24 11 450, +386 (0)24 11 444, faks: +386 (0)1 42 59 337 This journal is published with the support of the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. / To delo je ponujeno pod licenco Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva-Deljenje pod enakimi pogoji 4.0 Mednarodna licenca CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 24 FROM ancient Asia to contemporary globalized world : the Budhhist concept of mindfulness and its applications in Western societies / [editor-in-chief Jana S. Rošker]. - 1st ed. - Ljubljana : Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete = University Press, Faculty of Arts, 2016. - (Asian studies, ISSN 2232-5131 ; vol. 4 (20), issue 2) ISBN 978-961-237-842-4 1. Rošker, Jana S. 285356288 Contents 3 Contents Introduction. .5 Jana S. ROŠKER Traditional Developments in India and China Situating the Concept of Mindfulness in the Theravāda Tradition . 13 Tamara DITRICH Mindfulness and Its Absence – The Development of the Term Mindfulness and the Meditation Techniques Connected to It from Daoist Classics to the Sinicized Buddhism of the Chan School . 35 Jana S. ROŠKER Problems and Possibilities of Intercultural Transmission Sitting with the Demons – Mindfulness, Suffering, and Existential Transformation. 59 Sebastjan VÖRÖS Mindfulness and Self-deliverance to Pure Presence . 85 Andrej ULE The Logic of “Mutual Transmission” in Huayan and Zen Buddhist Philosophy – Toward the Logic of Co-existence in a Globalized World . 95 Hisaki HASHI Mindfulness as a Path of Women’s Empowerment. 109 Nadja FURLAN ŠTANTE Psychology and Cognitive Studies Applications of Mindfulness in Psychotherapy – Contemporary Dilemmas ���������������� 123 Borut ŠKODLAR Contribution of Buddhist Mindfulness to the Transformation of Conflicts – Dependent Origination (paticca-samuppāda) and Deconstruction of Identity ������������� 139 Anja ZALTA Parallels between Mindfulness and First-person Research into Consciousness . 153 Urban KORDEŠ and Olga MARKIČ Asian Studies in Slovenia Medkulturna problematika vzhodnoazijskih študij ter vprašanje tradicije in modernosti . 171 Jana S. ROŠKER »Sanjski grad vsakega umetnika« – Japonski avantgardni center v 60. letih 20. stoletja . 183 Klara HRVATIN Izvori temeljnih principov vede fengshui skozi pojem korelativne kozmologije. 201 Matej ZIMA Literarni liki v Kim Dong-inovih delih . 229 Byoung Yoong KANG DOI: 10.4312/as.2016.4.2.5-9 5 Introduction Jana S. ROŠKER* In the past few decades, the meditation technique of mindfulness has been gai- ning popularity in the West with regard to of promoting psychophysical health and well-being. This originally Buddhist concept has also been investigated and widely applied as a very effective tool in numerous fields, such as psychology, ethics, cognitive neuroscience, psychotherapy, counseling and education. However, de- spite its strong social relevance, current research into applications of mindfulness lacks appropriate theoretical models. In the last decade only a few meta-studies on mindfulness research have been carried out, identifying the main methodological problems. As such, comprehensive theoretical presentations of mindfulness are still required, positioning it into its scientific, epistemological, ethical and phe- nomenological framework. Besides, numerous scholars, who criticize the ways in which the original Asian concept of mindfulness has been (mis)construed, have recently questioned its explosive growth in popularity and the often superficial methods of transferring mindfulness into Western cultures and societies. They es- pecially point to the dangers of “mystifying mindfulness” by withdrawing it from its traditional frameworks and transforming it into a decontextualized superficial “self-help” method. In order to increase the knowledge and understanding of these ancient Asian techniques and to improve their application in contemporary society, the pres- ent issue of the journal Asian Studies focuses on the concept of mindfulness, its traditional and modern definitions and interpretations, as well as its current use in scientific, psychotherapeutic and philosophical theoretical contexts. The contri- butions collected in this special issue are thus not only limited to investigations of the philological, epistemological, ethical and phenomenological frameworks of this notion, as represented in classical Buddhist literature. Instead, they also aim to relate these conceptualizations and practices to contemporary scientific, thera- peutic and educational contexts. The premises upon which modern science is based (as well as the methodological procedures that emerge from it), are in their essence still part of the unquestionable * Jana S. ROŠKER, Professor, Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. jana.rosker[at]ff.uni-lj.si 6 Jana S. Rošker: Introduction discourses of the Western academic tradition. Here, we have noted the need to revitalize the classic categories and concepts of Asian theories. As such, the basic epistemological methodology applied in this issue avoids the use of incommensu- rable methods that attempt to study Asian cultures through the lens of Western concepts and categories. Because the modern applications of these techniques are a rather new phenom- enon, we would also like to propose a highly relevant and original contribution to this new area by developing novel links and forming new connections between the contemporary scientific research on the one hand, and classical Asian philoso- phical and religious discourses on the other. Within the broader context outlined above, several authors of the present volume focus in particular upon the position of mindfulness in cognitive processes: its pragmatic functions, general characteristics and ethical implications. The latter are especially relevant for contemporary globalized societies, which are largely trapped within a network of axiological problems, linked to alienation and the so- called “vacuum of values” which has emerged as an undesirable side effect of the omnipresent post-capitalistic and neo-liberal pursuit of profit. As we will see, the notion of ethics is also very relevant in relation to the recently introduced distinc- tions between the “secular” and originally religious notion of mindfulness, which raises several axiological questions. The structure of this special issue is based on three broad areas. The first investi- gates traditional developments of the notion of mindfulness in India and China, the second focuses on the problems and possibilities of its intercultural transmis- sion, and the last deals with diverse applications of mindfulness based meditation techniques in the realm of psychology and cognitive studies. The volume opens with Tamara Ditrich’s article Situating the Concept of Mindful- ness in the Theravāda Tradition. Her contribution examines the theoretical back- ground of the concept of mindfulness (sati) as presented in the early Buddhist sources, recorded in Theravāda Buddhism. It shows how mindfulness has a special role as a component on the Buddhist path to liberation from suffering (dukkha) and how it is integrated into the soteriological and ethical goals of Buddhist prac- tice. This paper is followed by Jana S. Rošker’s article entitled Mindfulness and its Absence – The Development of the Term Mindfulness and the Meditation Techniques Connected to it from Daoist Classics to the Sinicized Buddhism of the Chan School. It deals with various modifications of the term mindfulness on its long journey from India to China. First, the author introduces the central sinicized meditation prac- tices derived from Indian Buddhism. Afterwards, she focuses on the development of the original etymological meaning of the term mindfulness, especially upon the Asian Studies IV (XX), 2 (2016), pp. 5–9 7 念 later semantic connotations of the concept nian ,