Abstract
This paper is an attempt to provide a foundation of mindfulness by“perennial philosophy.”The perennial philosophy includes essential ideas on the world and the human beings across the world wisdom traditions. The central concept of perennial philosophy is“awareness.”In this regard, perennial philosophy becomes a theoretical foundation of mindfulness, or awareness practice in general. Relying on Aldous Huxley, Huston Smith, Ram Dass, and Ken Wilber, this paper firstly states that the perennial philosophy is a multidimensional theory and suggests that the essence of the soul is awareness or witness and spirit is boundless pure awareness, including an important discussion of nondual awareness. In the next section, it explores an ontology of awareness by referring to the Upanishad, Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and others. Then, referring to J. Krishnamurti, Erich Fromm, and Wilber, it discusses how awareness relates to the body-mind aspect. Finally, it explores a multidimensional way of awareness practice in education, based on Huxley's pioneering ideas on the education of awareness that provides a wider perspective for the current mindfulness practices.
https://ror.org/01fxdkm29 
