Copyright 2012 Ian Ellis-Jones. All Rights Reserved.

1. MINDFULNESS IN THE BIBLE
By The Rev. Dr Ian Ellis-Jones
As a fearless fighter against the pretensions of religious fundamentalism –
a wicked ideology if ever there was one – and illiberalism of all kinds, I say
that it’s time for freethinkers and libertarians to ... reclaim the Bible!
What is the Bible?
There is no single Bible.
For a Jew the Bible consists only of the Hebrew Scriptures.
As for Christians, they can’t even agree on what the Bible is!
I always use a Catholic version of the Bible comprising 73 books – 7 more
than the 'Protestant Bible'. Why? Because Jesus used the Septuagint,
which is the oldest Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Now, the
Septuagint contains those very same 7 'additional' books – the so-called
Apocryphal, more correctly entitled Deuterocanonical, Books. Indeed, more
than two thirds of the Old Testament passages quoted in the New
Testament are taken from the Septuagint.
The audacity of the Protestant “Reformers” who chucked out those books
of the Bible – books that had been embraced by Jesus and his apostles!
Don’t believe the silly evangelical Protestant nonsense that those
additional 7 books were supposedly added by Rome in the 16th Century.
That is simply not the case.
Moving on – Once you free yourself from the notion that just because the
Bible says something, it must be true, and true for all time, a whole new
world opens for you. The Bible has much in it that is beautiful and inspiring
... and also much that is simply appalling. Do not accept anything that
offends against your sensibilities or is contrary to reason.
Today, we are going to look at some Bible passages that touch on certain
aspects of life or the human mind that are relevant to the practice of
mindfulness.
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2. Mindfulness is not peculiarly Buddhist
Now, mindfulness can refer to a specific type or practice of meditation used
as a psychological and educational tool in Theravāda Buddhism (a
naturalistic form of Buddhism of which there are a number of different
schools) known as Vipassanā Meditation.
However, mindfulness is not restricted to Buddhism, Buddhists or Buddhist
meditation. Indeed, there are several different types or forms of Buddhist
meditation, and Buddhists do not claim to “own” or have a monopoly on
mindfulness and mindfulness meditation.
Also, mindfulness is totally different from all other forms of meditation in
that it is something you do throughout the whole day, namely,
remembering to stay present, in the present, from one moment to the next.
whilst paying attention, on purpose, to what’s happening in the present
moment, without judgment. Your whole life becomes one extended
exercise in meditative awareness of what is.
Any person can practise mindfulness, irrespective of their religion or lack of
religion.
Mindfulness requires an attentive mind – bare attention is the phrase – but
also a curious state of mind. What could be more 'curious' than this (and
notice also the openness and perceptiveness of the senses) ...
What is that coming up from the wilderness,
like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of the merchant? (Sg 3:6)
So vivid! You can almost smell it in your very own nostrils.
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3. Mindfulness as a calm acceptance of what is
Now, if there is an underlying 'philosophy' to mindfulness it is a calm
acceptance of whatever may befall us. Listen to these wonderful passages
from the world-weary book Ecclesiastes:
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south,
and goes round to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow. (Ec 1:4-7)
[Hey, those last four lines are pure Zen!]
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under
heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ec 3:1-8)
... the same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to
the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to those who
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4. sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are
the sinners; those who swear are like those who shun an oath.
(Ec 9:2)
Mindfulness as joy
Don’t get the wrong idea. Mindfulness is not mere Stoicism. There is much
joy associated with the regular practice of mindfulness, so beautifully
typified in this passage from that naughty book the Song of Songs:
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance. (Sg 2:11-13)
Notice, once again, the non-judgmental bare alertness and attention to
detail, and the choiceless awareness of what is ... the flowers ... the sound
of the turtle-dove ... the figs on the fig-tree ... the grapes on the vine, and
their fragrance. That’s mindfulness in action!
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5. The practice of mindfulness
Listen to this sound advice with respect to your mindfulness meditation:
... ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’
(Mk 6:31)
Of course, mindfulness is to be practised from moment to moment ... even
in a busy street. I love this passage from Isaiah:
... in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. ... (Is 30:15)
Yes, quietness ... even amidst the hurly-burly of everyday life. The choice is
yours, so make up your mind to be open and attentive to whatever is your
consciousness ...
You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways. (Jb 22:28)
Mindfulness is a non-judgmental state of mind. The Bible constantly
advises us not to judge. Maybe life is unfair ...
... for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (Mt 5:45)
... but, ‘do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment’ (Jn
7:24). So, let us watch our minds and maintain emotional equanimity and
right relations with other people ...
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life. (Pr 4:23)
One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.
(Pr 16:32)
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
(Rm 12:18)
Do not worry
The Bible advises us not to worry:
‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will
wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by
worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you
worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in
all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so
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6. clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow
is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you
of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we
eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is
the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive
first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring
worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Mt 6:25-
34)
Mindfulness as a source of strength and power
No matter what happens to you in life, you need not despair:
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but
not driven to despair; (2 Co 4:8)
for, ‘as your days, so is your strength’ (Dt 33:25). Live from day to day and,
even more importantly, from one moment to the next ... and you will have
all the power you need!
Mindfulness is about being patient and gentle on yourself. Here is some
sound advice from Romans:
Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves
because of what they approve. (Rm 14:22)
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7. Finally, mindfulness, which gives us so much insight into ourselves, other
people and life generally, is highly transformative. Why else would we do
it? I have always loved this passage from Romans:
... be transformed by the renewing of your minds ... (Rm 12:2)
That’s the spirit!
Scripture references are taken from the Catholic edition of The New Revised Standard Version of
the Bible, © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the United States of America. The New Revised Standard Version Catholic
Edition is fully approved for study by Catholics by the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops. All rights reserved.
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