The Relationships Of Vipassana Meditation, Mindfulness And Awareness Of Suffering

Dr. Kabat-Zinn put forward the concept of mindfulness which derived from theBuddhist traditional practice. And then many types of mindfulness training appeared.However, as the most traditional mindfulness training, Vipassana meditation has not yetbeen much accounted of the domestic academia. The concept of “awareness of suffering”is derived from " Truth knownledge of suffering ", which is the core and foundation ofBuddhist practice. And " Truth knownledge of suffering " is achieved by the way ofVipassana meditation. Therefore, this study is to investigate the effects on mindfulness andawareness of suffering by Vipassana meditation.This study combined the way of survey research, quasi-experimental research andinterview. Firstly, survey research was used to compare Vipassana meditation participantswith people of similar demographic backgrounds, looking for the differents on the scoresof mindfulness and awareness of suffering. Secondly, quasi-experimental study was toinvestigate the changes of participants’ mindfulness and awareness of suffering before andafter seven days Vipassana meditation. Lastly, interview study was to describe thecharacteristics of Vipassana meditation participants, helping to explain the mechanism ofVipassana meditation improving the awareness of suffering. The results are as follows:1. The scores of Vipassana meditation participants’ mindfulness and awareness ofsuffering are significantly higher than the scores of those who are never participated in themeditation. The scores of those who insist on daily Vipassana meditation were significantlyhigher than the scores of those who can’t insist.2. After seven days Vipassana meditation, participants’ scores of mindfulness andawareness of suffering are significantly higher than those who are not participated in thismeditation.3. Mindfulness is the meditator of Vipassana meditation and awareness of suffering.On the one hand, as one kind of meditations, Vipassana meditation helps the participantsfocus on breathing and physical feelings in a quiet environment, raising consciousness levels. On the other hand, Vipassana meditation helps participants be more objective andrational when dealing with negative life events after equanimity training.