A recent article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education about teaching meditation in college has created a great deal of buzz. Several media folks contacted me for my opinion, and they were surprised by my response. I am sure there are plenty of meditation teachers who are grinning on their cushions at the notion of meditation being offered at universities for academic college credit. Not me. I think it is a misguided idea--and I'd like to suggest a much better one. It's not that I don't wholeheartedly believe that meditation is a powerful way to reduce stress, increase concentration, and develop greater awareness and compassion. It's not that I don't agree that college students could benefit from meditation--especially during those stressful finals weeks. But making meditation an academic college course perpetuates a dangerous notion: that meditation is for highly intelligent, educated people only. ANYONE can benefit from meditation, and the more elite we make it appear, the more people will assume that they are somehow not the "right kind of person" to meditate. Is a college professor the "right kind of person" to teach meditation? While there are certainly those who have studied meditation personally and professionally, they are not necessarily the ones who can teach it as a valuable wellness tool instead of a Religion or Philosophy course. As much as I believe in the power of meditation, I'm not sure that paying $4000 (the going rate for one class at a private university in the U.S.) for a one-semester academic course in sitting-and-breathing is an appropriate addition to the curriculum. Credit for sitting and breathing. Cha-ching! The universities find a new income stream. Sure, I'm biased. After all, I have four teenage daughters, two of whom are taking college classes, so I tend to be rather mindful of the bang-for-buck quotient. I'm also wary of turning the practice of nonjudgmental awareness into yet another adult task to be evaluated, another achievement to enable us to get ahead in a competitive world. Judging one's ability to be nonjudgmental seems counterproductive. The alternative--offering pass/fail grades only--is equally problematic. A pass/fail class that consists of mostly sitting and breathing would be a shoo-in for the no-brainer credit award. We don't need to create more elitism around meditation, but neither do we want it to become the leading bonehead course on campus. I believe meditation should be offered on every college campus--but make it an activity credit, like yoga or tai chi, instead of an academic credit. Or better yet, offer it at no charge in every student union building as a helpful skill for stress reduction. Jon Kabat-Zinn, widely regarded as the maestro of meditation-as-medicine, has developed an outstanding program--Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction--which is being taught in communities all over North America. We need much more of that--in workplaces, clinics, hospitals, fitness clubs, retirement communities, HeadStart programs and drug rehabilitation centers. Yes, we need to bring meditation to the masses. But the most critical element is this: we must open the world of mindfulness to include activities OTHER than meditation. Those who are most dedicated to the practice and promotion of meditation tend to be Buddhists, whether they are teaching in a temple or a prestigious university. The irony is that if those who are most committed to creating a peaceful world could release their attachment to meditation, they would be far more likely to spread the message of mindfulness to the masses. It's time to bring meditation down---WAY down. In fact, we'd do well to shift gears entirely. Instead of focusing on teaching meditation in college, we should jump into playing with mindfulness in kindergarten. We know that there are certain skills that are learned more quickly and easily by young children than adults--music, foreign languages, sharing--and I propose that mindfulness is one of them. After all, five-year-olds are much more likely to stay fully present--that's what kids DO! And we want them to view it as an awe-inspiring way to see the world around them with greater awareness and wonder. Kindergarteners learn by playing, so there's no need to force any particular sitting position or limit oneself to traditional props. In fact, if five-year-olds were encouraged to play with the idea of paying attention, I guarantee that they would be far more creative about it than any 18-year-old. We don't need gongs in the kindergarten classroom--a kazoo would work just as well. We don't need to incorporate cushions, esoteric language, or religion of any kind. What we do need are creative teachers who recognize the value of having students who are able to focus calmly in order to play well with others, listen, and learn. Step away from the idea of meditation as an academic area of study, and jump into the notion that playing with preschoolers is a far more effective and enjoyable way to make mindfulness a lifelong practice. |
