Date of Award
4-16-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Christian Studies
First Reader
Dr. Ray Franklin
Second Reader
Dr. Marvin Pate
Third Reader
Professor Stacy Freeman
Abstract
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has become a popular treatment in clinical settings for a variety of conditions. The term mindfulness was first used in relation to the Satipaffhana Sutta. 1 This passage from the Buddhist texts contains instructions regarding sati, which roughly translates from the Pali language to English as mindfulness. Mindfulness is a key component of the Buddhist religion, finding its place in both the Threefold Way and the Seven Factors of Awakening, or Enlightenment. Mindfulness falls under the umbrella of meditation. 2 Meditation takes several forms. Meditation is extremely useful for Christians, but not every type of meditation is Biblical. This paper examines meditation in the Satipaffhana Sutta, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and the Bible to determine their purposes and goals and whether MBSR contains Buddhist elements that render it unfit for Christians.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
DeLaune, Kara, "Meditation in Buddhism, MBSR, and the Bible: Examining the Implications for Christian Counselors" (2021). Honors Theses. 907.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses/907
Included in
Christianity Commons, Counseling Commons, Somatic Psychology Commons