That such programs require continuous nurturance, support and further deepening over the years
is a basic tenet of the Buddhist psychology from whence they come, but generally remains a rather
alien notion to many Western psychotherapists, who often have learned to apply primarily very
short-term interventions. Switching paradigms for psychotherapists would require
acknowledgement on their own part that they need to take much time to develop personal skills
regarding their own mindfulness practice before they work with clients or other therapists in
training programs.
The resistance to this idea still seems substantial, but failure to recognize such differences in
attitude towards the value of self-experience may have important consequences for the
development of MBIs within Western disciplines. It will be interesting to see how things evolve.
Perhaps we can, as well, attempt to apply the same tools of kindness, compassion and equanimity
to observing this process, with the clearly understood knowledge that although we may be able
subtly to influence it, such historical processes, like the other vagaries of our lives, may be largely
out of our control. Ironically, rather than this being a fatalistic attitude, such an attitude – difficult as
it is to sustain – may, indeed, help us to steer the process and our relation to it – as well as
possible.
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