Buddhist mindfulness meditation is gaining so much popularity in the West.

Have you ever wondered how many people in the world practice meditation?

It’s a good question! Considering the immense popularity that meditation has garnered in the last few decades, we can estimate that there are presently many millions of people who meditate. One of the best-known forms of meditation in the West is mindfulness.

Mindfulness meditation is based on techniques that were practiced in India and developed by the Buddha about five centuries BCE. As the number of people who put the Buddha’s teachings into practice grew, more and more people started practicing meditation.

Nowadays mindfulness meditation are practiced not only in Asia, but all over the world – from Alaska to Botswana and from Jordan to Brazil. There’s even a British group called Mindfulness without Borders whose members bring healing mindfulness meditation techniques to communities that struggle with trauma and loss.

According to an extensive study conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the number of adults who meditated in the United States was 18 million in 2012. This represents around 8% of the entire U.S. population, and the number has certainly grown since that time. Meditation is a practice that helps us focus our attention on the here and now with goodwill and without judgment.

In recent years, surveys have been conducted to estimate how many people meditate in the world. A rough estimation of people who meditate globally ranges between 400 and 500 million people. Different groups of people meditate in different ways. Some recite mantras, some use mala beads and some prefer walking meditation. In the West especially, the mindfulness practice of sitting and watching the breath is very widespread.
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(หมายเหตุึ : FB: Sunthorn Utaithum)