What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?

The most common consensus at present is that mindfulness belongs to one of the many schools of meditation. However, many traditional practitioners and researchers in subdivided fields believe that the origins, goals, and core logic of the two are essentially different, and they cannot be simply summarized by a subordinate relationship.

This kind of disagreement is actually not surprising at all. After all, when people mention these two words in different scenarios, they point to completely different contents. You follow the 5-minute "Anxiety Relief Meditation" on the app during your commute. The guide keeps you anchored on the breath at the tip of your nose. Don't scold yourself if your mind wanders, just pull it back gently. This is actually a typical mindfulness meditation, which is a completely overlapping part of the two. At this time, there is nothing wrong with you saying that you are meditating or practicing mindfulness.

When I first came into contact with the practice, I thought the two were the same thing. It wasn’t until I experienced traditional meditation with a teacher who practices Southern Zen. He required that the final state of concentration be "the cessation of distracting thoughts."

To use an inappropriate analogy, meditation is like the entire category of "exercise", and mindfulness is more like jogging. If you say that jogging is a sport, no one will object. But if you say that exercise is jogging, then those who practice weightlifting or playing badminton will definitely not agree. The "meditation" mentioned in the mainstream psychological self-help field on the market is actually mostly standardized and improved mindfulness techniques, stripped of traditional religious attributes. The core is to enhance awareness and regulate emotions, so many people equate the two. In essence, it is a cognitive difference caused by different contexts.

If you just want to use it to relieve the stress of work and improve sleep, there is no need to worry about the difference between the two. Just find a practice that you are comfortable with. No matter how you call it, it will not affect the effect.~