Mindfulness for Stress Reduction

April 19, 2009 6:18 AM

Jon Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness presentation at Google.JON KABAT-ZINN, PH.D., is founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also the founding director of its renowned Stress Reduction Clinic and Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in various venues around the world.
posted by RussHy (12 comments total)

Via
posted by RussHy at 6:26 AM on April 19, 2009

Wait. Your link is just to a Youtube search for Kabat-Zinn???
posted by dunkadunc at 6:48 AM on April 19, 2009

Sorry, I asked the mods to correct it. The first result listed is the proper one.
posted by RussHy at 6:52 AM on April 19, 2009

Although the second video there is pretty good also.
posted by RussHy at 7:02 AM on April 19, 2009

Fixed the link.
posted by cortex at 7:33 AM on April 19, 2009

Well, this was extraordinary. This was my church service this morning. Thanks so much for posting this.
posted by jbickers at 7:43 AM on April 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Link still doesn't work for me. Maybe this is it?
posted by TheyCallItPeace at 7:54 AM on April 19, 2009

I have now fixed the link that I misfixed previously. Maybe I should be more mindful or something.
posted by cortex at 7:55 AM on April 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

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posted by kozad at 10:57 AM on April 19, 2009

He briefly mentions Susuki-roshi and the beginner's mind. I've just been reading that very book. He reminds us that meditation is not a process of making something new or more of ourselves, but making ourselves of ourselves! It's not a means to an end, but of course it is the end itself, and everything in between for good measure. It is also very difficult to write about, particularly in English. Here is an interesting koan from the book:

Baso was a famous Zen master called the Horse-master. He was the disciple of Nangaku, one of the Sixth Patriarch's disciples. One day while he was studying under Nangaku, Baso was sitting, practicing zazen. He was a man of large physical build; when he talked, his tongue reached to his nose; his voice was loud; and his zazen must have been very good. Nangaku saw him sitting like a great mountain or like a frog. Nangaku asked, "What are you doing?" "I am practicing zazen," Baso replied. "Why are you practicing zazen?" "I want to attain enlightenment; I want to be a Buddha," the disciple said. Do you know what the teacher did? He picked up a tile, and he started to polish it. In Japan, after taking a tile from the kiln, we polish it to give it a beautiful finish. So Nangaku picked up a tile and started to polish it. Baso, his disciple, asked, "What are you doing?" "I want to make this tile into a jewel," Nangaku said. "How is it possible to make a tile a jewel?" Baso asked. "How is it possible to become a Buddha by practicing zazen?" Nangaku replied. "Do you want to attain Buddhahood? There is no Buddhahood besides your ordinary mind. When a cart does not go, which do you whip, the cart or the horse?" the master asked.
posted by kurtroehl at 1:10 PM on April 19, 2009 [2 favorites]

Folks interested in Kabat-Zinn's MBSR approach might enjoy the free guided audio downloads available from UCSD's Center for Mindfulness.
posted by catlet at 4:51 PM on April 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I have a lot of sympathy for Kabat-Zinn but his mentioning Einstein and going on about 'the reality of multiple dimensions' or something like that made me turn it off. Does it get better later on?
posted by jouke at 11:24 PM on April 19, 2009