What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation

To put it simply, the general consensus in the public context is that meditation is the general term for all exercises that actively regulate attention and polish the mental state. Mindfulness is the most popular category among the many branches of meditation. It can also be a state of life that exists apart from the form of meditation.

When I first came into contact with this type of practice, I couldn’t tell the difference. Sometimes the content I found when I searched for meditation was all about mindfulness breathing guidance, and when I searched for mindfulness, I found a bunch of meditation courses. It took me almost a year of practice before I could slowly feel the actual difference.

For example, if you find a quiet place to sit cross-legged, close your eyes and follow the guidance, anchor your attention on your breathing, and gently pull it back when your mind wanders. There is no specific purpose. It does not seek to completely empty your mind, nor does it seek to achieve any special state of practice. Then this exercise is both a mindfulness exercise and a meditation. But if you do visualization meditation, or stop speech meditation with specific goals in traditional meditation, that is meditation, but it is not a mindfulness practice.

Of course, there are many practitioners of traditional meditation who do not agree with the separation of mindfulness and meditation. They feel that mindfulness is the common core element in all kinds of meditation practices. Even the full concentration when washing dishes or walking in life is essentially an extended practice of mindfulness meditation and cannot be regarded as something that exists independently of meditation. Both sides of the statement actually have their own practical basis, and there is no absolute right or wrong.

Let me tell you about my own experience. Last week, I was squeezing into the subway during the morning rush hour. My foot was stepped on by someone and I was about to get angry. Suddenly I remembered the awareness method I had practiced before, so I focused on the dull pain in the soles of my feet and the tight feeling in my chest. I did not follow the anger. I thought to myself, "Why is this person so short-sighted?" I quietly stared at the emotion for half a minute, and the anger dissipated on its own. During this process, I stood in the crowded subway and couldn't turn around. I was definitely not meditating, but I was definitely using mindfulness to adjust my state.

To put it bluntly, it is actually a bit like the relationship between "exercise" and "running". Exercise is the general term for all forms of exercise, and running is one of the most popular exercises. At the same time, the endurance and cardiopulmonary ability developed by running can also be used in daily life scenes such as climbing stairs and catching the bus. You can't say that you are running when you climb stairs, right?

If you are new to this type of practice, you really don’t need to worry about the difference between the two. Just find a 10-minute guided audio and practice along. The more you practice, you will naturally feel where the boundary between the two is.