Jon Kabat-Zinn
| Jon Kabat-Zinn | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Jon Kabat-Zinn June 5, 1944 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Haverford College |
| Known for | Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction |
| Parent(s) | Elvin Kabat Sally Kabat |
Jon Kabat-Zinn (born Kabat on June 5, 1944) is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn was a student of Buddhist teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Zen Master Seung Sahn and a founding member of Cambridge Zen Center. His practice of yoga and studies with Buddhist teachers led him to integrate their teachings with those of science. He teaches mindfulness, which he says can help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain, and illness. The stress reduction program created by Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), is offered by medical centers, hospitals, and health maintenance organizations.
Kabat-Zinn was born in New York City in 1944 to Elvin Kabat, a biomedical scientist, and Sally Kabat, a painter. He graduated from Haverford College and went on to earn a Ph.D. in molecular biology in 1971 from MIT, where he studied under Salvador Luria, Nobel Laureate in medicine.
While at MIT, Kabat-Zinn was a leading campaigner against military research at the university as well as a campaigner against the Vietnam war.
Whilst a graduate student at MIT (1964–1971), he had been pondering ‘what is my job with a capital J,’ my ‘karmic assignment’ on the planet.
Kabat-Zinn was first introduced to meditation by Philip Kapleau, a Zen missionary who came to speak at MIT while Kabat-Zinn was a student. Kabat-Zinn went on to study meditation with other Buddhist teachers such as Thích Nhất Hạnh and Seung Sahn. He also studied at the Insight Meditation Society and eventually also taught there. In 1979 he founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he adapted the Buddhist teachings on mindfulness and developed the Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program. He subsequently renamed the structured eight-week course Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). He removed the Buddhist framework and eventually downplayed any connection between mindfulness and Buddhism, instead putting MBSR in a scientific context. He subsequently also founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His secular technique, which combines meditation and Hatha yoga, has since spread worldwide. The course aims to help patients cope with stress, pain, and illness by using what is called "moment-to-moment awareness."
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