Pop-psycho babble’s use of mindfulness is not the same as true spiritual awareness and it has sometimes been a problem with the pop use of “mindfulness.” Having a grandfather born in China where there are Buddhists doesn’t make one an expert as it does not make me an expert in the country my ancestors came from, I’ haven’t even lived there!. That is great that you got some relief from ACT, I know it is helpful . One’s personal trauma can sometimes greatly cloud one’s world view, however.

Humans are humans everywhere, the ego is always the ego, even on this board; most humans exist at the bottom level of the awareness pyramid with raging egos, regardless of the culture or religious moniker they chose to use or which is betowed on them; that’s why we are here!
Therefore there are a lot of problems. Only true spiritual people (again regardless of monniker) can make good determinations about how to act. Some are called to act in society and many do, others feel called to go off and meditate, some do a mixture of the two.A lot of times helping is really for the helper. No one is qualified to judge individuals with this, but we each can have individual opinions. At the same time each person must take 100% responsibility for her/his actions.

One needs to be very careful about seeming to ascribe causality or some type of reciprocal association.

I have never been taught in my spiritual practices by various teachers to “get rid” of emotions, only to observe them, this is not the same thing. A clear mind will always make better choices.
(from licensed therapist and over 30 yrs. spiritual student who does not like to identify with any one religious group as that can be limiting and stereotyping)

You shouldnt speak of the ego as being something petty.
The ego is the problem of all society. That’s why we see thing’s wrongly.
The ego is so so strong that in a tiny moment we can identify with something and not even realize what we have done. This is something that’s happening constantly between everyone.
That’s why there’s the need of solitude.
Try it yourself for a time , put all the things you like doing away. Or lock yourself in your room for a few hours and just sit there and see what happen’s. That retaliation is the ego, that’s happening constantly everyday, at every moment.

That’s where the saying ignorance is bliss comes from,cause your not facing your problems.
There’s a bigger reason we are on this planet and the whole reason of the universe.
Where not here to join in on wars and kill the other side to live. That’s something that will go on forever no ones going to win. The ego always has to win. eg. My pride is better than yours, Im stronger than you, Oh i’m better looking than that person,etc..,

Look at a small child under the age of 5 do you every see them trying to be better than other people thinking there hard done to ,etc… There just happy for everyone. Just being there in the moment playing with there toy’s and learning.

All we think about is attacking people secretly, picking faults, wishing we had more money, better job, better car, better house, the people i work with treat me terrible, everyone hates or loves me etc.. its pretty sad really.

Let’s say in meditation we are presented with an image ,each image as 2 poles one negative one positive, understanding both sides we arrive at a synthesis comprehension of the problem. So you cant have one without the other in anything

But the whole problem of life is the ego ,it shouldn’t be dismissed so lightly.

Someone who is practicing meditation in society is going to suffer a whole lot more. Because there going to receive representations at a stronger rate. Some people don’t have that strength and wish to go to the mountains which i don’t blame them. But it will take them much longer to find all that putrefaction in the deep recesses of the mind.

The number one law in the universe is happiness and that law is broken down to love and wisdom.
The Mother and Father of every religion.
That’s why its also natural that we look to our physical mother for love
and our physical father for wisdom.

The ego destroys this totally, completely smashes it. Something so natural.

To meditate or not, mindfulness or mindlessness, racist or not, yin/yang, negative/positive, darkness and light. Ah, to discover the truth, the great experiment here on earth called life.

Everyone certainly does have a story, their truth and you can use intuition, the scientific method, or some combination to live your life. The Bible, Koran, Talmud and countless others have laid down stories, traditions, facts and fiction and yet it’s still up to each of us to decide what is “truth”.

The path can be lonely and narrow. It took Melissa quite some courage to expose herself and it definitely struck some chords. And perhaps in so doing she’s created an opportunity for everyone to question, re-examine past assumptions that we all may become a bit more aware of who we are through our similarities and our differences.

May we all find what we’re all looking for…someday!

I’ll do my best to answer the questions of yours which I see as being genuine (i.e., not arguing tactics).

“Are you saying those places (the East, China and India) are still very dark as a result of meditation and/or Buddhism?”

No, I’m not making a direct causal argument.

“As an uneducated Chinese soldier do you not think that your grandpa would have to have had these views indoctrinated into him by the Chinese government – at that time, any soldier from any country would have been forced to have those views in order to maintain the numbers and discipline in the army.”

I can understand your assumption, but from my understanding the war was about warding off the invading Japanese. So no, I don’t think he was indoctrinated with views about Buddhism by way of being able to fight invading Japanese.

“Albeit very sad that your grandpa’s mother had to die from starvation when her sons left to fight in the war, you cannot in anyway lay the blame of her death on monks, Buddhism or meditation – it is irrational and illogical to do so.”

Be very careful with your reading; I did not place this blame.

“Surely you are not sitting in the USA (the land of the free) and suggesting that a person cannot be part of society if they choose to become a monk or that a monastery is not part of a society?”

While the U.S. is only “free” in comparison to most other countries (as our “freedoms” are continually stripped away here), no, I am not suggesting that monks living in a monastery are not part of the greater society of the country they reside in. But at the same time, they deliberately seclude themselves from the rest of society — the people of which don’t deliberately seclude themselves as such, but remain a part of, at least to some degree.

“… where is the research that mindfulness is dangerous? What is dangerous is people claiming to understand mindfulness when they don’t understand it at all or when people bring historic political views into their evaluation of something which is completely apolitical.”

I haven’t found research that’s critical of the mindfulness construct, which in my opinion is a reflection of researcher bias (and yes, I’m aware of my own biases as well), but there is research to suggest that as “it” largely stands, the mindfulness construct is not yet well defined in a scientific sense. Of course some of that comes with the “complex” nature of the idea to begin with.

[This isn’t “empirical” research, but an article discussing how mindfulness is not well-suited for judges while they serve: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1785616

However, mindfulness as it’s usually defined in scientific literature is very similar to dissociation (which I don’t think, either, is researched enough). I’ve explained my rationale for concluding this in this article: http://mindfulconstruct.com/2010/01/11/the-contradiction-of-mindfulness/

“Society is knee deep in problems – but only because of people’s ego centric grasping. Ego centric grasping is a response to feeling inadequate, vulnerable, insecure and fearful. If we were all a little bit more compassionate to each other society would have a lot less problems.”

I agree with you, though I don’t blame it on the ego — which is just a construct we use to sub for all the ill effects of, as I see it, dissociating from one’s negative emotional experiences.

Do you not think, for example, bankers and politicians have been a much bigger drain on society than monks have?”

I never said monks are a “drain” on our society. And yes, I think that many bankers and politicians are a huge drain on society.

“From your blog it is clear that you do not in any way appreciate, or have even thought about, the reasons why people become monks and nuns – you seem to have jumped into the conclusion that they are simply scroungers. Perhaps you should consider whether it is you that lives in your western luxury whilst claiming a link to poverty through your grandpa.”

“Scroungers” is your projection. “Western luxury” and “claiming a link to poverty” are your judgmental perceptions shared here in an attempt to insult me sideways.

“Meditation is not in any way about avoiding or denying anything (including your dark side) – meditating does not involve meditating anything away.”

I won’t repeat myself, as I’ve written another article on the topic, which I linked to earlier, and which includes points that you will probably just disagree with.

“Meditating is simply accepting everything as a whole – bringing everything into a ‘one’ into a ‘whole’.”

Not if we’re talking about mindfulness meditation. From that framework, nothing has an “essence,” of which “wholeness” is most often used to characterize.

“We cannot experience happiness without experiencing unhappiness”

YES!

” – however, true long lasting happiness is being content in equanimity with both happiness and unhappiness – there is not denial or avoidance whatsoever.”

Ah, and we disagree again. “True long lasting happiness” is not a constant (which I think you do agree with though) because (as you just agreed with) happiness cannot “exist” without a contrast/it’s opposite.

A meditation teacher can claim this however, and you are more than welcome to agree, but I’m not convinced. And the more I read into the psychological/cog sci/neurosci literature even remotely related to this topic, the less I’m convinced.

“Buddhism emerged in suppressed societies in the East, including China and India. Take a look at those places today, and it’s still very dark.”

Are you saying those places (the East, China and India) are still very dark as a result of meditation and/or Buddhism? Perhaps you should consider the role of successive Chinese governments in the suppression of that area and how the Chinese governments cared for your grandpa. It is interesting that your grandpa must have encountered much bloodshed, suffering and killing as a soldier and yet he chose to direct his dissatisfaction towards monks, Buddhism and meditation – the very things that the Chinese government has desperately and brutally tried to eradicate over the years and still is trying in Tibet even today. I am sure your grandpa was doing everything he could to survive in what I would consider life in its ultimate reality – of surviving each day at a time (something I am very fortunate not to have to experience). As an uneducated Chinese soldier do you not think that your grandpa would have to have had these views indoctrinated into him by the Chinese government – at that time, any soldier from any country would have been forced to have those views in order to maintain the numbers and discipline in the army.

“My grandpa’s mother died from starvation when her sons left her to fight in the war. In my grandpa’s eyes, being a monk was a way to evade society, and all of her problems.”

Albeit very sad that your grandpa’s mother had to die from starvation when her sons left to fight in the war, you cannot in anyway lay the blame of her death on monks, Buddhism or meditation – it is irrational and illogical to do so. Her sons did not leave to fight a war in the name of Buddhism, they left to fight a war in the name of China. I know someone whose parents were bricked up inside a cave by Chinese soldiers and left to starve – he, nor I, would consider blaming your grandpa for this atrocity no more than monks or Buddhism can be blamed for the atrocities that happened to your grandpa and your mother.
In a free society we all have a right to become whatever we want to be as long as it does not harm anyone else. Surely you are not sitting in the USA (the land of the free) and suggesting that a person cannot be part of society if they choose to become a monk or that a monastery is not part of a society? Do you consider a Christian pastor or a Catholic priest to be outside society?

“Mindfulness, when taken to this extreme, is dangerous. Not just to an individual’s mental-emotional health and well-being — but to that of the planet. Because it condones that large groups of people to disconnect from their emotions and look the other way when society’s knee-deep in problems.”

This is simply not true – where is your evidence, where is the research that mindfulness is dangerous? What is dangerous is people claiming to understand mindfulness when they don’t understand it at all or when people bring historic political views into their evaluation of something which is completely apolitical. Your views are based on your grandpa’s comments – with all due respect to you and your grandpa, I would neither seek you nor him to teach meditation to me nor how to be mindful.
The very essence of mindfulness is to connect with our emotions – if you are disconnecting from your emotions you are doing it wrong and you need to seek guidance from a proper authentic mindfulness teacher – i.e. not a psychologist, neuroscientist nor a therapist who has merely been on an 8 week course and picked up a certificate.
Society is knee deep in problems – but only because of people’s ego centric grasping. Ego centric grasping is a response to feeling inadequate, vulnerable, insecure and fearful. If we were all a little bit more compassionate to each other society would have a lot less problems.

“Monks do not contribute to society. All they do is hide in the mountains and meditate all day long.”
“If everyone became a monk, then we would have no food to eat, no way to live. Society would fall apart.”

What your grandpa was saying was monks do not contribute to his view of society and have nothing to offer him. Clearly, with his views, it is unlikely that he would have anything to offer the monks either – which is fine – that’s just how things are. However, to say that all monks hide in mountains and meditate all day is a complete generalization and not fact.
But the fact here is that not everyone does want to become a monk do they? Just like not everyone in society wants to become a firefighter, a banker, a charity worker, and so on. Surely in a free society we are able to become whatever we want to be as long as it does not harm anybody else. How you see society is a reflection on your own mind – you seem to have a specific problem with monks who are a group of people who take less from society than any other group I know. Do you not think, for example, bankers and politicians have been a much bigger drain on society than monks have? We would all be a bit wealthier if the bankers had acted with a bit of the self discipline that monks show. Do you consider bankers to be part of our society – I do, they are part of society even though they have caused immeasurable suffering in the world recently. Moreover, although beyond the scope of this blog, do you think you could live as a nun? It is not sitting on a cushion all day and day dreaming – it is an intense and very difficult vocation in life. Would you be brave enough to give everything away – all your possessions? Would you be willing to dedicate your life to looking into the deepest parts of your mind with the motivation of benefitting others? Would you be able to trust on the dependence of strangers for your small daily meals – do you have this in your mind? Have you even contemplated the reasons why monks and nuns have begging bowls – they are more than capable of growing their own food – more capable than you or I?
From your blog it is clear that you do not in any way appreciate, or have even thought about, the reasons why people become monks and nuns – you seem to have jumped into the conclusion that they are simply scroungers. Perhaps you should consider whether it is you that lives in your western luxury whilst claiming a link to poverty through your grandpa.
Your motivation behind this blog comes from the views of your grandpa who said that “if everyone became a monk……society would fall apart” and yet you also claim that we shouldn’t practice mindfulness when society is knee-deep in problems [as it is today]. Your view is contradictory. Society is currently falling apart, but this is not because everyone is a monk and it is not because everyone is practicing mindfulness – it is because more and more people are subconsciously living in fear – in fear of who – in fear of themselves and their emotions derived from their perceived insecurities and inadequacies – that is to say – in fear of their own egos and their identity with who they perceive themselves to be.

“But as much as mindfulness meditation is often used to avoid the above, you can’t deny your dark side. …You can’t meditate it away.”

In this statement you are again showing a lack of understanding of meditation and mindfulness. Meditation is not in any way about avoiding or denying anything (including your dark side) – meditating does not involve meditating anything away. Meditating is simply accepting everything as a whole – bringing everything into a “one” into a “whole”. We cannot do this by avoiding or denying anything – meditation is an inclusive practice. We cannot experience happiness without experiencing unhappiness – however, true long lasting happiness is being content in equanimity with both happiness and unhappiness – there is not denial or avoidance whatsoever.

Although i live in a busy town environment and i don’t believe in abandoning people while they are suffering and i try to contribute the best i can. I try to seek solitude at home when i can.

What people suffer and go through is all related to karma if you believe in such a thing and some people with suffer more or less based on that. The monks shouldn’t be blamed for that. They’ve given up there attachments to wanting to be happy.

Everyone’s entitled to be happy no matter which way they choose.