McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality, is a new book by Ronald E. Purser, who is a Professor of Management at San Francisco State University. What the book doesn’t tell you, is that Mr. Purser (2019) is an “ordained Zen Dharma Teacher in the Korean Zen Taego order of Buddhism.” The book is basically a neo-maxist criticism of the mindfulness movement in general, and Jon Kabat-Zinn in particular. As I point out in this episode, the mindfulness movement has its issues. But this book uses Jon Kabat-Zinn as the whipping boy for unfair, uncharitable interpretations, and ad hominem attacks. I argue that mindfulness isn’t a religion, it’s a tool. Don’t expect mindfulness to do what only religion can do.

References

Purser, Ronald. 2019. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. London: Repeater Books.

Purser, Ronald. 2019. “Ronald Purser, Ph.D.” San Francisco State University. Accessed July 18, 2019. https://cob.sfsu.edu/directory/ronald-purser