Mindfulness: is it Buddhist or universal?

This article will explore the question of whether mindfulness is essentially Buddhist or universal from personal, philosophical, and historical perspectives. The proposition put forward is that mindfulness—being universal—does not belong to any 1 tradition or religion. No person or group owns it, and there are many perspectives and ways of describing it. The essential elements of mindfulness can be found throughout history and are at the core of all the world’s great wisdom traditions. Nevertheless, the Buddhist tradition, or people inspired by it, has made far and away the most significant contribution to the modern study, practice, and teaching of mindfulness. This article incorporates a personal account of my discovering mindfulness intuitively, motivating an exploration of the world’s great wisdom traditions, discovering that the same insights were embodied in all of them, and resulting in a calling to bring this into my life’s work as a doctor and educator. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)