History of Mindfulness

The term mindfulness comes from the Buddhist concept of “Sati,” a state of awareness of present events. According to scholars, Buddhism originated around the fifth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama (commonly known as Buddha).

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The “Sati” to “mindfulness'' came in 1881 when a British magistrate in Srilanka identified “mindfulness” to be the closest translation of “Sati .”Mindfulness is not about converting to Buddhism. It is a practice derived from the Buddhist concept of observing our thoughts, feelings and sensation without judgment to gain insight, wisdom and self-awareness.

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Despite being widely practiced in the East, mindfulness didn't reach the West until the 1970s. 

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Job Kabat-Zinn introduced mindfulness in the United States. He was a medication emeritus professor and the Stress Reduction, Clinic creator. He learned about the philosophical tenets of Buddhism while studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

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Kabat-Zinn established the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. He adapted Buddhist teachings and developed a “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction " program (MBSR). 

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This program put MBSR into a scientific framework and diluted the connection between mindfulness and Buddhism. Mindfulness has continued to gain awareness and practice since then.