Abstract

The meaning of mindfulness has changed over time, especially it has transitioned from its traditional roots into a modern version in psychology and popular culture. Altering the understanding or application of mindfulness is common, but it does raise issues to preserve the core principles of mindfulness. So, it is essential to see such distinctions to learn about the possibilities and the boundaries of contemporary mindfulness exercises. In this paper, the researcher seeks to trace the alternation of mindfulness from its early Buddhist script to current practices in the contemporary world, and the objective of the study is to (i) review the origin and foundations of mindfulness. (ii) Do contemporary world practices align with the original meaning of Buddhist teachings, or have they changed with context and made it different according to the needs of the hour? (iii) Is it acceptable to redefine the real existence of mindfulness? A comprehensive literature review was conducted to analyze the classical Buddhist text alongside peer-reviewed research and recent empirical studies on mindfulness-based interventions in clinical context. The findings revealed that the interventions of mindfulness are beneficial to the people, yet they lack ethical roots, and this will have an influence on the true meaning of mindfulness. To maintain the integrity of mindfulness, future applications, especially in clinical and public contexts, must acknowledge and incorporate its ethical foundations.