--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As much as the scientific community…" description: "\"“As much as the scientific community currently enthralled with mindfulness would like to set aside the ethical component of the Buddhist tradition to f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/andrew-olendzki-88001_brain-science_as-much-as-the-scientific-community-curr_1864367.jpg" --- # As much as the scientific community currently enthralled… ![“As much as the scientific community currently enthralled with mindfulness would like to set aside the ethical component of the Buddhist tradition to focus their studies on the technology of meditation, we can see from this Abhidhamma treatment of the subject that true mindfulness is deeply and…” quote by Andrew Olendzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/andrew-olendzki-88001_brain-science_as-much-as-the-scientific-community-curr_1864367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/andrew-olendzki-88001_brain-science_as-much-as-the-scientific-community-curr_1864367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/andrew-olendzki-88001_brain-science_as-much-as-the-scientific-community-curr_1864367.jpg) > ““As much as the scientific community currently enthralled with mindfulness would like to set aside the ethical component of the Buddhist tradition to focus their studies on the technology of meditation, we can see from this Abhidhamma treatment of the subject that true mindfulness is deeply and inextricably embedded in the notion of wholesomeness. Although the brain science has yet to discover why, this tradition nonetheless declares, based entirely on its phenomenological investigations, that when the mind is engaged in an act of harming it is not capable of mindfulness. There can be heightened attention, concentration, and energy when a sniper takes a bead on his target, for example, but as long as the intention is situated in a context of taking life, it will always be under the sway of hatred, delusion, wrong view (ditthi, 19), or some other of the unwholesome factors. Just as a tree removed from the forest is no longer a tree but a piece of lumber, so also the caring attentiveness of mindfulness, extracted from its matrix of wholesome co-arising factors, degenerates into mere attention.”” Andrew Olendzki ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True mindfulness cannot be separated from wholesome intentions; without ethical grounding, attention becomes mere focus lacking compassion. **In simple terms:** Mindfulness needs goodness to be real. Key Takeaway Cultivate ethical motives with practice. Themes mindfulness ethics intention compassion Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - Meditation retreats - clinical research - conflict resolution - personal reflection Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy wholesome factors psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does your intention shape your awareness? - Can attention be ethical without compassion? A Different Perspective Mindfulness without virtue may become empty concentration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-science/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [True mindfulness is the awareness that everything you encounter is a vigorous expression of the same living universe as you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/true-mindfulness-is-the-awareness-that-everything-you-encounter-is-a/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [“In the end, we can do many helpful things by structuring our environment, but the world is imperfect and hence there will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shea-matthew-fisher/in-the-end-we-can-do-many-helpful-things-by-structuring-our/) [Shea Matthew Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shea-matthew-fisher/) > [When I was a young man, near the beginning of my life, I looked around with true mindfulness and saw that all things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/when-i-was-a-young-man-near-the-beginning-of-my-life-i-looked-around/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“The brain is science while the heart remains magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/the-brain-is-science-while-the-heart-remains-magic/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [I can be a bit of a science geek. 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This includes formal epistemology, experimental philosophy, cognitive science and psychology, including relevant brain science, and other philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-sosa/epistemology-now-flourishes-with-various-complementary-approaches/) [Ernest Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-sosa/) > [Brain science will be the most popular science of the early twenty-first century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/brain-science-will-be-the-most-popular-science-of-the-early-twenty/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Swiftly the head mass becomes an enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a meaningful pattern though never an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-scott-sherrington/swiftly-the-head-mass-becomes-an-enchanted-loom-where-millions-of/) [Charles Scott Sherrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-scott-sherrington/) > [I can be a bit of a science geek. I tend more towards reading about brain science, neuroscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mapother/i-can-be-a-bit-of-a-science-geek-i-tend-more-towards-reading-about/) [William Mapother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mapother/) > [“The brain is science while the heart remains magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/the-brain-is-science-while-the-heart-remains-magic/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [“Reading great literature, it has long been averred, enlarges and improves us as human beings,” wrote Paul. “Brain science shows this claim is truer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/reading-great-literature-it-has-long-been-averred-enlarges-and/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [One of the things that got me transitioning from physical science to brain science was asking, Why do we understand so much about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-boyden/one-of-the-things-that-got-me-transitioning-from-physical-science-to/) [Edward Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-boyden/) > [The seat of the soul and the control of voluntary movement - in fact, of nervous functions in general, - are to be sought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-seat-of-the-soul-and-the-control-of-voluntary-movement-in-fact-of/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Browse all 24 Brain science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain-science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As much as the scientific community currently enthralled with mindfulness would like to set aside the ethical component of the Buddhist tradition to focus their studies on the technology of meditation, we can see from this Abhidhamma treatment of the subject that true mindfulness is deeply and inextricably embedded in the notion of wholesomeness. 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