All Is Burning: Buddhist Mindfulness as Radical Reflection

This paper consists of two parts. In the first part (Section 1, Section 2), I put forward a critique what refer to as ‘received’ or ‘standard’ view mindfulness in Western cultural milieu. According received view, is acontextual ‘core’ Buddhism whose determining characteristic bare (present-oriented, non-judgmental) attention flow and content experience. As noted by many researchers, this conception stark contrast traditional Buddhist understanding, where not only embedded broader context that provides it with specific philosophico-existential orientation (normative aspect) but also construed reflective activity (noetic aspect). second (part Sections 2–4), argue one main issues standard frames experience terms Maurice Merleau-Ponty calls ‘objective thought’ (using objectivity, ‘thinghood’, an onto-epistemological reality), which makes aspects noetic) unintelligible. then provide alternative based on phenomenological work attempts integrate into By drawing Merleau-Ponty’s notions ‘phenomenal field’ ‘radical reflection’, needs be understood attitude allows discern also, primarily, each experience, includes seeing itself—the act reflection—as stems from, returns back into, pre-reflective current existence.