Logotherapy and Mindfulness: An Anthropological Perspective

Researchers in cross-cultural psychotherapy have shown increasing interest in Buddhist meditation techniques, particularly those that cultivate mindfulness (sati). Mindfulness, as understood in the textual sources of Theravāda Buddhism, is presented in the context of an anthropological model of Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and existential analysis. An outline of both systems of thought is followed by a description of mindfulness and its cultivation in Buddhist thought. The model of the five aggregates (pañcakkhanda) is accommodated into Frankl’s dimensional anthropology to theoretically situate mindfulness into logotherapy’s anthropological model without neglecting its ethical characteristics. Directions for further research are offered in applying the methods for cultivation of mindfulness in clinical logotherapy. Within a broader context, this research contributes to the scarce dialogue between the existential-humanistic psychotherapeutic paradigm, Theravāda Buddhism, and Buddhist-derived interventions.