Mindful Attention and Social Engagement: Exploring Mindfulness, Ethics, and Politics

William Edelglass is Director of Studies at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Previously, he was Professor of Philosophy at Marlboro College in Vermont. William has also been a visiting professor at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (Dharamsala, India), the Central University for Higher Tibetan Studies (Sarnath, India), and the Indian Institute of Technology—Bombay. He has taught for Emory University’s Tibetan Studies Program in Dharamsala and has served as Director of the Smith College Tibetan Studies in India Program.

Learn more about William Edelglass here: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/about/william-edelglass/

00:00 - William introduces himself and the topic. Students introduce themselves.
12:50 - An overview of the mindfulness movement, its benefits and critiques.
39:05 - The historical roots of mindfulness in Buddhist texts and the connection with ethical judgment. 
48:38 - The relationship between ethics and mindfulness in Buddhist practice and the assumed connection between self and other.
58:31 - The new science of mindfulness and contextualizing mindfulness in the body and environment.
01:10:35 - The complex relationship between ethics and mindfulness, and how it changes based on cultural context.
01:27:22 - The possibility that mindfulness is inherently intertwined with ethics. 
01:41:19 - Mindfulness and political change, including critiques of the neoliberal focus on individualism.
01:52:24 - Mindfulness in the social justice movement and the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
02:03:52 - Mindfulness as a tool for coping while acknowledging systemic issues