Mindfulness and Concentration: Complementary Qualities
Many new meditators are introduced to mindfulness practice via mindfulness of breathing. Focusing on the breath can be a concentration practice, and it leaves many beginners unclear about the difference between mindfulness and concentration.
In fact, I have met with many students who define mindfulness as having something to do with concentration. It’s not silly at all; because of how we’re often introduced to meditation, the difference between the two is often lost. My intention here is to differentiate between the two, understand their roles and cultivation, and how the two qualities work together.
I’ll offer a little bit about the two qualities, as well as traditional Buddhist teachings. I realize some of the Buddhist teachings may seem arcane at first to beginners, but it can be helpful to understand the traditional role of both concentration and mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a quality of being present with what is happening. It implies a level of non-judgement, observation rather than control, and understanding. The word mindfulness in English comes from the Pali word sati, which scholars understand to come from the root meaning to remember or recollect.
Mindfulness is often just described as being present, but this is only one part of mindfulness. The other part is to be present and recognize the causes of our experiences and the effects. We don’t just cultivate the ability to be present with what we’re experiencing, but to understand it.
Let’s use an example. You’re sitting in meditation and notice you have some angry thoughts arise. Mindfulness is recognizing the mind is thinking angry thoughts. But it is also recognizing the accompanying bodily sensation. And it is recognizing where the anger comes from (perhaps somebody said something you found hurtful earlier in the day), and what the effect of it is (it makes you feel an unpleasant sensation, and acting upon it can lead to harm).
In Buddhism
In Buddhism, mindfulness serves a specific role. Through its cultivation, we are instructed to gain insight into what are known as the Three Marks (non-self, suffering, and impermanence). This is done through the cultivation of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, and phenomena). A common way this is practiced is through anapanasati practice, or mindfulness of breathing.
The core teaching in Buddhism is that through mindfulness practice and insight into the three marks of existence, we let go of craving and clinging. This detachment is the key to ending suffering, as outlined in the Four Noble Truths. So, mindfulness is a tool that allows us to work toward the ending of suffering via the letting go of craving.
Benefits of Mindfulness
As we cultivate mindfulness, we get a plethora of benefits. They come little by little and may not be big white-light experiences. With continual cultivation, mindfulness allows us to see what is happening underneath the surface more clearly. When we experience anxiety, anger, joy, love, or any other experience, we’re able to understand it and feel it without such strong desire to control or change.
From a Buddhist perspective, mindfulness serves a similar role. With consistent cultivation, we see experience with more clarity and detach. We no longer are pulled so heavily by each emotion, sound, thought, or whatever experience. Instead, we’re able to see the experience with a clarity that leads to wisdom and insight.
Cultivating Mindfulness
We cultivate mindfulness through various types of mindfulness meditation. To cultivate mindfulness, we rest with awareness of what is arising and passing. It may be mindfulness in the body, of our thoughts, with emotions, or many other things. Mindfulness is not dependent on one single object; once we cultivate mindfulness we can tune into whatever experience with this present-time awareness.
Common ways to cultivate mindfulness for beginners include body scan meditations, mindfulness of the breath, listening, and walking meditation. We generally start with more body-based practices as one of the easiest places to start with mindfulness meditation. Sensations here can be strong enough to feel and tune into, but not so seductive as emotions or thoughts.
As we grow in our practice, we can also cultivate mindfulness of thoughts and mental states, feeling tones, and emotions. These experiences can be somewhat difficult for beginners to work with, but over time we build the ability to tune into them with non-judgemental awareness.
What is Concentration?
Concentration, on the other hand, is the quality of collecting the mind onto a single object of attention. The word we translate into English as concentration is the Pali word samadhi. This word actually means something closer to bringing together or pulling together. I like these actual translations as the word concentration can falsely imply some level of straining, which is not called for.
Rather than straining or stressing to keep our attention pinned down, concentration is more of a bringing together of our attention. I often call it collecting our awareness. We can collect it onto anything, such as the breath, a sensation in the body, a mantra in some traditions, or a feeling.
Much like mindfulness is not dependent on the object, concentration is a quality of how we pay attention. It’s not necessary to just use the breath as we’re so often taught. In fact, I have an episode of my podcast in which I cover loving-kindness as concentration in a talk here and a meditation here.
In Buddhism
Much like mindfulness, concentration is one factor on the Noble Eightfold Path. Concentration in Buddhism refers to the cultivation of the states of absorption. These are four states of deep concentration that can help us find great insight and wisdom. In early Buddhism, the breath was certainly taught as a way to concentrate the mind, but so were the heart practices.
Benefits of Concentration
Concentration practice can lead to deep states of meditation that are generally quite pleasant and insightful. In addition, concentration serves us on and off the cushion to remain present and not distracted with whatever is arising. As I’ll cover toward the end of this post, concentration supports our mindfulness. And mindfulness supports our concentration.
With the cultivation of concentration, we’re able to be with an experience mindfully fully without becoming distracted so easily. This leads to an ability to look more deeply and fully, helping water seeds of insight and understanding.
Finally, concentration can be quite relaxing or relieving. As we grow more concentrated in and out of meditation, we find some relief from the thinking mind and autopilot. The moments we find of concentration in meditation give us a break from the normal process of getting sucked into thoughts and experiences over and over again.
Cultivating Concentration
As I mentioned, concentration can be cultivated with heart practices like loving-kindness. But the most common way we cultivate concentration is through working with the breath. For beginners, my favorite practice is a breath counting meditation. This involves counting the breaths and trying to bring the mind back whenever it wanders.
Mindfulness and Concentration Together
In pragmatic terms, we really can’t grow our mindfulness much without some concentration. And we can’t grow our concentration without some mindfulness. The two rely on each other to deepend, and it’s often futile to try to cultivate one without the other.
Let’s take the example of a mindful body scan meditation. You move through the body focusing on each spot fully. As you do so, your attention might be drawn to sensations elsewhere in the body, emotions, or thoughts. As I cover in my posts Do You Have to Clear Your Mind to Meditate? and Is It Normal to Think During Meditation?, it is indeed completely normal to think during meditation.
Mindfulness helps us to recognize that the mind has wandered off. And mindfulness is the quality that tells us the wise thing to do is to return to the body. Concentration is the quality of re-collecting our attention and placing it back on the breath. And concentration is the quality that keeps the mind’s attention there on the body.
The two qualities work together. In fact, any time we are cultivating mindfulness we are also to a degree cultivating concentration. And vice versa. However, we can benefit from dedicating time to each one individually in order to build a complete practice.
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