The erosion of right livelihood: counter-educational aspects of the commodification of mindfulness practice. (2nd July 2016) - Hyland, Terry
ABSTRACT: The links between education, therapy, and mindfulness practice are explored as a preliminary to the analysis of the commodification of such practice as a result of the "McDonaldizing" process over recent years. Contemporary "McMindfulness" developments in education and the workplace run counter to the Buddhist precept of "right livelihood" in that they distort both the means and ends of the educational endeavor. When mindfulness practice is employed to achieve instrumentalist outcomes linked to short-term productivity or specific operational goals, the therapeutic function concerned with the transformation of negative emotions and the alleviation of suffering is submerged beneath predominantly utilitarian and materialistic concerns. In order to restore mindfulness teaching and learning – and relationship roles and transaction modes within psychotherapy – to a position of right livelihood, it is necessary to challenge this crude commodification process by emphasizing the ethical and genuinely educational aspects of mindfulness programs.