From the interview by Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D., on the Urban Mindfulness blog:
In what ways, do living and working in the city facilitate or hinder the cultivation of mindfulness or contemplative practice?
City or country, it's the same challange. There's never enough time for contemplative practice, there's always more pressing things to attend to. The concerns of daily life are like the waves in the ocean; there are an infinite number of them, wherever you are.
What suggestions do you have for people to practice mindfulness in the city?
Practice.
How has your experience of the city changed as a result of your meditation practice?
I love the city. I moved here after I was already practicing and loved it right away. I still do.
What is the most significant way in which your practice of Buddhism has influenced your practice as a psychiatrist who does psychotherapy?
It taught me to see my patients as already free.
Based on your work with patients, what is the most common obstacle to the development of a meditation practice?
Procrastination.
What advice do you have for patients (and others out there) who say that they can't meditate?
That's no excuse.
Meditation and psychotherapy are sometimes accused of being very self-centered pursuits. By engaging in these activities, how can we improve our world or address some of its injustices (e.g., racism, hate crimes, etc.)?
It's not clear that it makes much of a difference but sometimes they help individuals to feel more empowered.
In your experience, which Buddhist principle is the most difficult for Westerners to understand?
The easy answer is shunyata or emptiness which nobody understands. But Westerners might have a particularly difficult time understanding love.
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