This gift coming from the East: mindfulness and the West
Ce don venu d'Orient: la Pleine Conscience et l'Occident
Résumé
This paper aims to illustrate the ethical and epistemological transformations brought about in the West by the introduction of Mindfulness through the ancient and modern Silk Roads. Mindfulness as a practice of training attention to oneself, to others and to all sentient beings, human and non-human, was introduced to the West by experienced teachers from several Asian countries and regions (India, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, among others). Thanks to conferences in the USA and Europe by several Asian teachers, including Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen master, poet and peace activist, Mindfulness has become part of the daily life of a great many people in Western countries. Indeed, the practice has also been introduced into hospitals by Jon Kabat-Zinn, biologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine.