What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?

Simply put, meditation is a broad category that covers dozens of different practice techniques. Mindfulness is currently the most widely used meditation technique in secular and clinical fields. However, some practitioners of traditional practice systems believe that mindfulness is an independent practice path and is not completely subordinate to the category of meditation.

To use a popular analogy, the relationship between the two is a bit like "tea" and "oolong tea". In most contexts, oolong tea is a type of tea. However, in the context of experienced tea drinkers, the conceptual boundaries between oolong tea from a specific production area and a specific process, and tea that is "brewed and drank" in the general public's perception are a bit blurry. I also made a joke when I first started practicing meditation. I signed up for a weekly offline meditation class. For the first three days, I followed the teacher to do mindfulness exercises. I either sat there and noticed the breath touch on the tip of my nose, or I lay down and did a body scan. The requirement was not to judge myself for being distracted, and just pull back when my thoughts wandered. On the fourth day, the teacher suddenly introduced a loving kindness meditation and asked us to follow the instructions and mentally send blessings to colleagues who had conflicts. I was frozen for ten minutes and couldn't get into the state. After class, I dragged the teacher and asked why this was different from the previous mindfulness. The teacher smiled and said that this is a branch of meditation, but it is not considered mindfulness. Mindfulness does not require you to actively mobilize your emotions or complete any preset practice goals. Just being aware of the present moment is enough. At that time, I completely understood the boundary between the two.

Of course, there are also many Theravada practitioners who have been practicing for more than ten years who do not agree with the statement that "mindfulness is a subcategory of meditation." In their understanding, "sati" (mindfulness) in the original Pali text is the core link of the Eightfold Path, which runs through the state of walking, standing, sitting, and lying, and does not need to be limited to "sitting meditation" at all. In the form of - when you eat, you can taste the saltiness and freshness of every bite of the food, you are not distracted by thinking about the report in the afternoon, you can feel the crunch of fallen leaves on the soles of your shoes when walking, and you are not anxious about the dinner in the evening. At this time, you are not doing the so-called "meditation practice" at all, but you are also practicing mindfulness in a practical way.

In fact, for ordinary people who just want to relieve anxiety and improve their mood, there is no need to get too hung up on the academic or religious definitions. Many courses on the market now focusing on "mindfulness meditation" are basically standardized exercises that have eliminated religious attributes and have been verified by clinical psychology. Just follow the practice. If you encounter a meditation class that requires you to recite mantras and visualize specific images, just ask a few questions about the people the course is applicable to, so as to avoid pitfalls.