# Does mindfulness meditation lead to awakening?

There are common misconceptions concerning mindfulness meditation, what it even is and whether it leads to awakening or not. I've spent some years doing mindfulness meditation and would like to reflect on this topic based on some research papers to untangle this knot. 

I'll start with two sources. One is a seminal paper by Judson A. Brewer et al., "[*Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity.*](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1112029108)"[^eychmd0wlxs] And another is a post by Gary Weber, "[*mindfulness meditation - religious vs secular - does it work? - new research*](https://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/11/mindfulness-meditation-religious-vs.html)"[^9bkknvngp36]. 

Jud's paper discusses the Default Mode Network (DMN) which is responsible for the building of the image of the "I" and the brain’s self‑referential internal narrative; it can be called the ruminating network. The paper also touches on the Task-Positive Network (TPN) which is responsible for the focused attention; it can be called the tasking network. Deactivation of the DMN is tantamount to deconstruction of the "I" and dissolution of the self-referential internal narrative. 

To begin with, what is a good scientific indicator of awakening? According to Jud's paper we can see that experienced meditators have deactivated the DMN and are established in the TPN. They were in that state even between runs of different meditations (for some time). So if the brain during idle moments is metastable in the TPN and not in the DMN (even without meditation) it correlates with awakening (it does not mean it causes it). That correlation is enough for the purposes of this post. 

Jud's paper clearly shows that the Theravada monks achieved deactivation of the DMN by what the researchers call in the paper "mindfulness meditation". It describes three methods of mindfulness meditation: breathing meditation[^a0xj6ylh64t], Choiceless Awareness[^b94jc9p3seo] (the term coined by Krishnamurti Jiddu) and loving-kindness (metta) meditation[^6ad7xmtfnx]. Whereas Gary's post references Johns Hopkins meta-research which ends up with the conclusion that, "*Mindfulness meditation programs had… low evidence of improved stress/distress and mental health-related quality of life*"[^4adghytvdi4]. It can be deduced that the DMN was not deactivated for the subjects of the second research. 

So we've got two conflicting results. Which is right? I would suggest that the whole confusion is rooted in the fact that people generally confuse mindfulness meditation with insight practice (vipassana). They take mindfulness meditation as a stripped down secularized version of insight practice and hope that it will lead to awakening. 

But let's look at the basic source for the monks' training — the Pali Canon (Tipitaka). The basic instructions for insight and concentration practices in the tradition of Theravada are contained in[ *Satipatthana Sutta*](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.nysa.html)[^fmygu3dg74d] and[ *Anapanasati Sutta*](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html)[^lf12f9dnfnp] which are unfortunately translated as "*The Foundations of Mindfulness*" and "*Mindfulness of Breathing*". The word "*sati*", which is translated as "*mindfulness*", literally means "*recollection*". And it is a term there that is used in developing concentration. 

What do those texts say about practice? Is it only recollection of breathing and awareness? No. They clearly instruct to contemplate the four noble truths, impermanence of the body, the five hindrances, the seven factors for awakening and so on. So they are[ loading contradictions in thinking](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zeoBPjT2gdqfAJLs9/mystical-and-psychotic-states-similarities-and-differences)[^7140td90zzt] to contemplate upon (e.g. "I suffer" / "Freedom from suffering is the goal", "I feel desire" / "Desirelessness is the goal", "I want to live" / "The body is impermanent", etc.). I would suggest that those act as koans to contemplate during practice. So both concentration is developed (samatha) and insight is cultivated (vipassana). In one practice! 

So what does it say about the monks from the first paper? First of all, they have selected monks who are likely awakened (who can deactivate the DMN). Knowing the protocol of their practice they most likely have come to awakening through insight and concentration practices. And after that they can naturally abide in this space by just about any stimuli. But for the monks "mindfulness" means long-long years of vipassana and samatha practices. While for the researchers it means the stripped down version of it (without accounting for the details how the monks reached that state)! 

Long story short, *mindfulness meditation as "noticing thoughts and sensations and coming back to awareness"* on itself seems to be not enough to deactivate the DMN. It has to be full-scale insight and concentration practices as described in the Pali Canon (i.e. going deeply through all the truths, factors, contemplating them, releasing attachments, etc. working things out). And that's what the monks from the paper most likely did as it is customary in the Theravada tradition. 

There is a good video by Gary Weber with one illuminating comment (pinned),[ *Does Mindfulness Lead to Persistent Nonduality?*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UI0Tpfz_8g)[^konx7v4wopq] In the comment it is said that *even* traditional vipassana practice by itself has a missing component: 

> He \[the Dalai Lama\] essentially gave his blessing to the Goenka retreats but said he felt that there was a missing element. *He advised practitioners to look back and try to find the one doing the meditation*.

So basically the Dalai Lama recommended[ self-inquiry](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GGaEYwyYJrZi5q3AM/self-inquiry)[^6qiiyde100b] practice along with traditional vipassana practice. This is not surprising as self-inquiry might be called root insight practice (as is the case in Zen tradition, e.g. Bassui's letters[^dsav9c5ydg5] and in general koan practice). 

On top of that, if awakening has occurred without the proper preparation (i.e. the "I" is not deconstructed enough) or suddenly during insight practice, the DMN network might try to win control back and there will be a conflict as the DMN is not deactivated. That might happen if awakening happens "out of the blue" and the ruminating network is strong. That might even lead to the Dark Night of the Soul as Gary elaborates in another post,[ *Dark Night of the Soul?...who/why/what to do*](https://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2014/02/dark-night-of-soulwhowhywhat-to-do.html)[^curi91mk8w5].

The key point is that the "I" has to be deconstructed enough, which means one has to learn to deactivate the DMN properly. As even after awakening it might cause trouble if one didn't learn to shut it down. A book by Suzanne Segal, *Collision with the Infinite*[^abud7zekrb7] illustrates how a person might struggle to integrate awakening after it occurred. And the issue with mindfulness meditation is that on itself it *does not seem* to address the activity of the DMN. 

Why did I decide to articulate these nuances? I feel like most of the time people confuse mindfulness meditation with insight practice and do it for years (I did so myself). The bottom line is unless there is willingness to deconstruct the "I" by some means (be it insight practice on the three marks of existence or [self-inquiry](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GGaEYwyYJrZi5q3AM/self-inquiry)[^6qiiyde100b]) and let go of suffering (e.g. [some letting go practices](https://happinessbeyondthought.blogspot.com/2012/05/surrendering-i-letting-go-of-suffering.html)[^q98yolvyppe]) there is little chance for fundamentally transforming the mind. I hope that clarifies things a bit. 

[^eychmd0wlxs]: Judson A. Brewer et al., Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. 

[^9bkknvngp36]: Gary Weber, mindfulness meditation - religious vs secular - does it work? - new research. 

[^a0xj6ylh64t]: Please pay attention to the physical sensation of the breath wherever you feel it most strongly in the body. Follow the natural and spontaneous movement of the breath, not trying to change it in any way. Just pay attention to it. If you find that your attention has wandered to something else, gently but firmly bring it back to the physical sensation of the breath. 

[^b94jc9p3seo]: Please pay attention to whatever comes into your awareness, whether it is a thought, emotion, or body sensation. Just follow it until something else comes into your awareness, not trying to hold onto it or change it in any way. When something else comes into your awareness, just pay attention to it until the next thing comes along 

[^6ad7xmtfnx]: Please think of a time when you genuinely wished someone well (pause). Using this feeling as a focus, silently wish all beings well, by repeating a few short phrases of your choosing over and over. For example: May all beings be happy, may all beings be healthy, may all beings be safe from harm. 

[^4adghytvdi4]: Madhav Goyal et al., Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 

[^fmygu3dg74d]: Satipatthana Sutta.  

[^lf12f9dnfnp]: Anapanasati Sutta. 

[^7140td90zzt]: Mystical and psychotic states: similarities and differences. 

[^konx7v4wopq]: Gary Weber, Does Mindfulness Lead to Persistent Nonduality? 

[^6qiiyde100b]: Self-inquiry. 

[^dsav9c5ydg5]: Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen. 

[^curi91mk8w5]: Gary Weber, Dark Night of the Soul?...who/why/what to do. 

[^abud7zekrb7]: Suzanne Segal, Collision with the Infinite. 

[^q98yolvyppe]: Gary Weber, Surrendering the "I", letting go of suffering.