In this essay, I draw upon Ellen J. Langer's notions of mindlessness and mindfulness to identify and delineate Confucius' views on mindfulness. Langer's theory exemplifies a social-cognitive approach to mindfulness which is a prominent orientation in the extant research. I argue that Confucius, like Langer, rejects mindlessness that is…

This article expounds on a neo-Confucian approach to mindfulness by drawing upon the writings of Zhu Xi. I argue that Zhu Xi's notion of mindfulness is encapsulated in the concept of 'jing' that refers to the single-minded and reverential attention to self-cultivation through 'gewu' (investigation of things). The desired outcome of mindfulness is…

This article critically discusses the Singapore state's endeavor to balance social cohesion and cultural sustainability through the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) curriculum. This article points out that underpinning the CCE syllabus are the state ideologies of communitarianism and multiracialism. It is argued that the ideology of…