The Secularization of Mindfulness in Southeast Asia

Is mindfulness a secular practice, or is it Buddhist? The answer depends on who you ask—and what kind of person they want to be. As mindfulness has spread globally, extracted from Buddhist contexts that have influenced its rise, certain mental associations with it become lost, while others are mapped onto the psychological spaces left open. For Buddhists in Southeast Asia, and for others around the world, the stakes are high: when certain meanings in mindfulness are celebrated, and others are downplayed or excluded, the potential for re-crafting minds and changing the course of health outcomes can be enormous.