What Buddha and Algebra Teach About Freeing Mindfulness

An excerpt from "Open MBSR: Reimagining the Future of Mindfulness" by Mo Edjlali

Unpacking the Buddhist DNA: A Blueprint for Transparency

Chapter 3 ripped off the Band-Aid. For the first time in print, the Buddhist skeleton of MBSR has been exposed.

This excavation revealed more than a sprinkling of Eastern spice. It unearthed a full-blown Buddhist blueprint that forms MBSR's very DNA. From the Three Jewels to the Four Noble Truths, from the Four Foundations of Mindfulness to the principle of ehipassiko, that chapter traced the Buddhist genes coursing through MBSR's veins.

But I didn't stop at what was included. I also illuminated what was deliberately left on the cutting room floor. Concepts like Karma, rebirth, Nirvana, and other pillars of Buddhism are absent from MBSR. This isn't an oversight; it's a calculated gambit allowing MBSR to walk the tightrope between ancient wisdom and modern secular practice.

By clearly mapping what's been borrowed and what's been left behind, we've created a new launch pad. We're no longer doomed to endless recontextualization of Buddhist practices. Instead, we can now derive from this clearly defined foundation, free to innovate while still honoring the essence of these teachings.

This is a blueprint for mindfulness's future. By grasping MBSR's Buddhist roots with this level of clarity, MBSR can:

• Innovate with integrity, knowing exactly what it's building upon
• Address issues of cultural appropriation head-on
• Create truly secular practices that don't require stealth Buddhism
• Evolve the field in response to new research and societal needs

This is not severing MBSR from its roots, but growing beyond them. This is about crafting a practice as transparent as it is transformative, as secular as it is profound. The path forward is clear: acknowledge our debts, learn from our sources, and dare to innovate. This is a way to set a new standard for adapting ancient wisdom to modern needs.

The future of mindfulness isn't in imitation or obfuscation, but in honest derivation. It's about using the best of Buddhism as a launch pad for something tailored to this time and place. This is mindfulness's moment of truth. Will we continue playing hide-and-seek with our Buddhist roots, or stand in the full light of transparency? The choice will shape not just MBSR's future, but the entire landscape of modern mindfulness. The world is watching.

Siddhartha's Rebellion: A Lesson in Breaking Free

Rewind the clock, not just decades but millennia. Before mindfulness was a buzzword, before MBSR existed, there was Siddhartha Gautama. Born into a Hindu family, he was the golden child of ancient Indian spirituality. Vedic rituals? Mastered. Extreme asceticism? Been there, done that.

But Siddhartha wasn't content with hand-me-down wisdom. He surveyed the spiritual buffet before him and said, "Not good enough." He dared to ask, "What if there's another way?"

This wasn't just a personal crisis of faith. It was a revolution. Siddhartha, later known as the Buddha, didn't just tweak the system. He demolished it. He unleashed a seismic shift against the rigid caste system and ritual-obsessed practices of his day. In their place, he built something new, something that addressed the core of human suffering and the path to liberation.

This act of rebellion, this untethering from tradition, birthed Buddhism. It wasn't a gradual evolution. It was a quantum leap. The Buddha's teachings, the Dharma, ignited and spread like wildfire across Asia. Why? Because they were adaptable, speaking to a Chinese peasant as powerfully as to an Indian scholar.

Now, Open MBSR stands at a similar crossroads. It faces a choice: cling to the comfortable familiarity of its Buddhist roots or follow the Buddha's example and forge its own path?

The Buddha's journey is a blueprint for radical innovation, showing us that respecting roots doesn't mean being shackled by them. It proves that true wisdom isn't about preserving tradition, but addressing real human needs.

Just as the Buddha retained certain Hindu elements while discarding others, Open MBSR has the opportunity—no, the responsibility—to be discerning. This isn't about reinventing the wheel. It's about building a better vehicle for our modern journey, taking what works and having the audacity to innovate beyond it.

The Buddha aimed to address suffering, not start a religion. Open MBSR is about developing a practice that meets the realities of modern life. Our path is innovation, not imitation. We're distilling ancient wisdom to seed something new, tailored to our time. This is our chance to honor the Buddha's rebellious spirit by charting our own course.

The question is: Do we have the courage to face the discomfort of innovation? Or will we hide behind tradition, missing our chance to make a difference? The Buddha didn't play it safe. He dared to imagine a different way. Now it's our turn. Will we rise to the challenge? The future of mindfulness, as authentic, adaptable, and transformative, awaits. We must bring it into existence.

Algebra: The Universal Language Born from Islamic Wisdom

Picture this: ninth-century Persia. Europe's stumbling through the Dark Ages, but in the Islamic world, a mathematical revolution is brewing. Its name? Algebra. Its meaning? "The reunion of broken parts." Its creator, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, had no clue his "al-jabr" would one day unite the then-fragmented landscape of global mathematics.

Algebra wasn't content to stay within Islamic scholarly walls. It refused confinement. During the Islamic golden age, knowledge wasn't hoarded; it was shared, debated, and refined. Scholars built bridges, connecting ideas from diverse civilizations. This intellectual crucible was the perfect breeding ground for algebra to outgrow its cultural cradle.

Today, while algebra might be the bane of struggling high schoolers, it is more importantly the universal language of quantity and structure. It's the backbone of scientific revolutions, technological breakthroughs, and economic models. From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, from quantum physics to climate science, algebra permeates everything.

Why did algebra succeed where other mathematical systems faltered? The answer lies in its DNA:

• Abstraction: Algebra deals with general principles, not culturally specific examples. It's as relevant in Tokyo as in Toronto.
• Practicality: It solves real-world problems across disciplines. Bridge building or budget balancing, algebra's got you covered.
• Universality: Its concepts are accessible to anyone, anywhere. Numbers don't have an accent.
• Adaptability: As new fields emerge, algebra adapts. It's as crucial to AI as it was to ancient astronomy.

For all its global conquest, algebra hasn't forgotten its roots. Every utterance of "algebra" pays homage to its Islamic origins. Yet the word itself is a linguistic fossil, preserving the memory of its birthplace even as it spans the globe. And herein lies a potent idea. If we may use this as a blueprint for ideas transcending origins without erasing them, this becomes mindfulness's roadmap beyond its Buddhist beginnings. Imagine mindfulness mimicking algebra's journey: retaining essence while shedding cultural specificity, becoming as universal as mathematics while honoring its roots.

This isn't cultural appropriation, but proliferation, letting a powerful idea evolve to serve humanity globally. Like algebra emerging from Islamic scholarship to revolutionize mathematics, mindfulness can emerge from Buddhism to transform global mental health. The question isn't whether mindfulness can make this leap, but whether we have the vision and courage to see it through. Can we create a practice as universal as algebra?

The path is clear but challenging. It requires shedding attachments to tradition and embracing innovation's discomfort. This is our moment. We can cling to familiar Buddhist shores or sail uncharted waters. Will we transform mindfulness into a global language of mental well-being, as revolutionary and universal as algebra?

Beyond Buddhist Entanglement

Buddhist entanglement isn't just a historical footnote: It's the first critical fault line threatening MBSR's foundation. This chapter has peeled back the layers to expose a complex web of challenges:

• Stealth Buddhism is undermining secular credibility.
• McMindfulness is diluting transformative potential.
• The spiritual hustle is corrupting teacher-student relationships.
• Buddhist psychology is creating a false synthesis.

At the same time that this deep examination has revealed challenging problems, it has conversely illuminated a path forward through derivation rather than recontextualization. Like algebra emerging from Islamic scholarship to become a universal language of mathematics, mindfulness can transcend its Buddhist origins while honoring its roots.

This article is an excerpt from Open MBSR: Reimagining the Future of Mindfulness by Mo Edjlali. In the book, Edjlali unpacks the Buddhist blueprint behind MBSR and explores how ancient wisdom can be honored without being confined by it. Drawing inspiration from both the Buddha’s rebellion against tradition and algebra’s rise from Islamic scholarship to global relevance, he invites us to rethink mindfulness as a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven practice. If you’re ready to leave behind stealth Buddhism, guru-centered models, and rigid protocols, Open MBSR offers a clear path forward.

This is part of our Wackfulness Series: a thoughtful critique of the mindfulness field.