Silence, Mindfulness, and the Buddhists
I recently attended a seminar on mental health/personality disorders in which the leader taught about the need to teach patients āmindfulness.ā She defined it as stillness, openness, and silence, leading to the ability to radically love others. She then proceeded to share how her āprofessionā has learned this from the Buddhist tradition. While she is an atheist, she commented, a number of mental health professionals have converted to Buddhism as result. Sadly, she didnāt think of Christianity as the originator of silence and solitude (e.g. Ps. 37:11, Ps. 46:10, Luke 10:38-42, Elijah, John the Baptist, Moses, Jesus). She also did not associate Christians with āradical acceptanceā and love. We have forgotten that other religions and movements may benefit from Godās truth, but it all belongs to Him! (What is really tragic is when Christians mistakenly say that an emphasis on silence and solitude as spiritual practices is New Age or Buddhist). Research with Buddhists. Read more.