CONTEMPLATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

CONTEMPLATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE This course introduces students to a cross-section of Buddhist contemplative techniques practiced throughout the ...
Author: Lynn Robertson
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CONTEMPLATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE This course introduces students to a cross-section of Buddhist contemplative techniques practiced throughout the region. The class’s goal is to explore these forms of Buddhist meditation in their cultural contexts, investigate scientific research on meditation’s dynamics, survey contemporary applications (health care, K-12 education, entrepreneurship, creativity), and experience meditation firsthand. The course blends four distinct components revolving around Buddhist meditation with the goal of exploring tradition and modernity, humanities and sciences, theory and practice: 1. Traditional Practices: learn the original meditative practices in Buddhism, and their deep relationships to philosophy, community, and ways of life. 2. Modern Research: learn the scientific exploration of these practices and the neurological, biological, and psychological mechanisms of their effects. 3. Contemporary Adaptations: learn about how people in an astonishingly varied array of fields are creating new secular adaptations of such practices. 4. Contemplation Practice: learn contemplative practices first hand within silence and sound, in sincerity and in irony, in body and in mind. Each week combines guided readings and lectures given by faculty and local experts with supervised practice sessions and individual reflections. We will have two lecture meetings a week, which involve lecture, presentations, and group interactions. Tuesdays deal with traditional practices, and Thursdays deal with contemporary adaptations and modern research. Students will be encouraged to develop a regular secular contemplative practice throughout the semester and will visit local pilgrimage sites to experience practice sessions in culturally specific contexts. These contemplative studies will also be explicitly tied to the ethnographic work and ongoing immersion in local society as students learn new approaches to listening, communication, empathy, and social relationships. Assignments include the keeping of a contemplative journal (50%), presentation of a traditional contemplative technique in light of contemporary adaptations and scientific research (25%), and a final project on a traditional completive technique and issues surrounding its contemporary practice, adaptation, and/or scientific exploration (25%).

Required Textbooks ● Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, Clarifying the Natural State: A Principal Guidance Manual for Mahamudra. Eric Pema Kunsang, translator. Hong Kong: Rangjung

Yeshe Publications, 2001. Paperback. ● Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Revised Edition. New York: Delta, 2013. [1st edition 1990]. Paperback. ● Richard Davidson and Sharon Beagley, The Emotional Life of Your Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012. Paperback. ● John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion Publications, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-296-9. Paperback.

WEEKLY CALENDAR WEEK #1 (September 1, 2015): INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPLATION 1. Tradition Tuesday (9/1) - INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE (Buddhism Class) 2. Innovation Thursday (9/3) - MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION: BEGINNINGS & DIVERSE ADAPTATIONS (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Adaptation: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York: Delta, Revised Edition 2013. Introduction (pp. xxvlii-lxv), and Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-74). Optional Further Readings: ● National Institutes of Health: "Mindfulness Matters: Can Living in the Moment Improve Your Health?" January 2012. http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/jan2012/feature2 ● National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, “Meditation,” http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation. ● Jean L. Kristeller, “Mindfulness Meditation,” in Paul M. Lehrer, Robert L. Woolfolk, and Wesley E. Sime, Editors, Principles and Practice of Stress Management, Third Edition. New York: Guilford Press, 2007. pp. 393-427. [PDF: Lehrer - Principles and Practices of Stress Management - Selection”]

WEEK #2 (September 7, 2015): INTRODUCTIONS - BUDDHIST MEDITATION, BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY, AND SCIENCE

1. Tradition Tuesday (9/8) - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST MEDITATION & BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ○ Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha: New translations by Rupert Gethin from the Pali Nikāyas. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, selections from the following texts: ○ Turning the Wheel of Truth (pp. 243-246). ○ Fire Discourse (pp. 222-225). ○ Self-Aggregates Discourse (pp. 216-222). ○ Chapter on Causes (pp. 210-214). ● John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008. ○ Chapter 1, “The Indian Background,” pp. 17-29. ○ Chapter 3, “Some Important Buddhist Doctrines”, pp. 45-53. Recommended Further Readings: ● David Germano and Gregory Hillis, “Buddhist Meditation.” In Lindsay Jones, editor, Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd edition. 2004, volume 2, pp. 1284-1290. [PDF: “Germano and Hillis - Buddhist Meditation”] ● Donald S. Lopez, Jr., The Story of Buddhism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Chapter 1, “The Universe,” pp. 19-54. ● Donald S. Lopez, Jr., The Story of Buddhism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Chapter 2, “Enlightenment,” pp. 206-253. ● Luis O. Gomez, “Buddhist Meditation.” In Robert E. Buswell, Editor, Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2004. vol. 2, pp. 520-530. [PDF: “Gomez - Meditation - Buswell - Encyclopedia of Buddhism”] ● Robert E. Buswell, Editor, Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2004. Two Volumes. Selections. This is a great reference work for Buddhist terms and concepts. It is available electronically from the U.Va. Library.

2. Tradition Tuesday (9/10) – HOW DID MEDITATION BECOME TO POPULAR IN AMERICA? (Science and Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Adaptation: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your

Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York: Delta, Revised Edition 2013. Introduction (pp. xxvlii-lxv). Recommended Further Readings: ● National Institutes of Health: "Mindfulness Matters: Can Living in the Moment Improve Your Health?" January 2012. http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/jan2012/feature2 ● National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, “Meditation,” http://nccam.nih.gov/health/meditation. ● Jean L. Kristeller, “Mindfulness Meditation,” in Paul M. Lehrer, Robert L. Woolfolk, and Wesley E. Sime, Editors, Principles and Practice of Stress Management, Third Edition. New York: Guilford Press, 2007. pp. 393-427. [PDF: Lehrer - Principles and Practices of Stress Management - Selection”]

WEEK #3 (September 14, 2015): EARLY BUDDHIST MINDFULNESS AND INTRO TO THE NEUROSCIENCE OF MEDITATION 1. Tradition Tuesday (9/15) - THE ORIGINAL BUDDHIST MINDFULNESS MEDITATIONS AND GUIDED REFLECTIONS (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Sarah Shaw, Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from Pāli Sources. London: Routledge, 2006, The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse, pages 7685. ● Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha: New translations by Rupert Gethin from the Pali Nikāyas. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. The Stilling of Thoughts Discourse, pp. 152-155. ● John Strong, translator and editor, The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations. Boston: Wadsworth, 2008, Ashvagosha, How to Meditate, pp. 132-134. ● Conze, Chapter 16, In Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom, pp.193-202. Optional Further Readings: ● Bhikkhu Bodhi, Translator and Editor, In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2005. This presents an alternative translation of The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse in Chapter 7, “Mastering the Mind,” pp. 257-298.

● Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha: New translations by Rupert Gethin from the Pali Nikāyas. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. This has an additional translation with short introduction of The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse (141-51) ● Joseph Goldstein, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, Boulder, Colorado: Sounds True, 2013, pp. 3-54. ● John Strong, translator and editor, The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations. Boston: Wadsworth, 2008. This has an additional translation with short introduction of The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse (pp. 128-132). [PDF: “Strong - The Experience of Buddhism - Selections”] ● Anālayo, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, Cambridge, UK: Windhorse Publications, 2003. This offers another translation of The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse, but also a detailed contemporary commentary on it that is at times rather technical. ● See The Large Sutra on Perfection Wisdom, Translated and Edited by Edwdard Conze; Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of Califonria Press, 1975. Chapter 16, (pp. 153-155), has a Mahāyāna version of the content of The Establishing Mindfulness Discourse. ● Buddhagosha, The Path of Purification, selections (Bhikkhu Nanamoli translation, Visuddhimagga, 2011).

2. Innovation Thursday (9/17) - THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MEDITATION: A RECENT SNAPSHOT (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Science: Richard Davidson and Sharon Begley, The Emotional Life of Your Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012. Introduction, Chapters 1-3 (pp. 165). Recommended Further Readings and Video: ● Richard Davidson’s site: http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/personnel/director.html ● Daniel Goleman, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988 [First edition: The Varieties of Meditative Experience, 1977]. Chapter 21, “Meditation: Research and Practical Adaptations,” pp. 162-189.

WEEK #4 (September 21, 2015): MINDFULNESS & SERENITY AND CONCENTRATION MEDITATION

1. Tradition Tuesday (9/22) - SERENITY & CONCENTRATION MEDITATION (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, Clarifying the Natural State: A Principal Guidance Manual for Mahamudra. Eric Pema Kunsang, translator. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2001. pp. 9-26 (Shamatha). Optional Further Readings ● Kamalashila, “The Stages of Meditation,” in Stephen Beyer, Editor and Translator, The Buddhist Experience: Sources and Interpretations. Belmont, California: Dickenson, 1974. pp. 99-115. [PDF: The Stages of Meditation from Beyer - The Buddhist Experience pp 99-115"] ● Kamalashila, “Stages of Meditation,” Book One. Luis O. Gomez, translator, “Serenity and Insight,” In Donald S. Lopez, Jr., editor, Buddhist Scriptures. New York: Penguin, 2004. pp. 361-369. ● Kamalashila, “Stages of Meditation,” Book Two. Geshe Lobsang Jordhen, translator. In the Dalai Lama, Stages of Meditation. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2001. Translation interspersed within commentary, pp. 11-158.

2. Innovation Thursday (9/24) - Synthesizing Contemplation and Analysis ● Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution, Boston: Wisdom Publications (2006). Pp. 1-10, 13-22, 29-38, 43-58.

WEEK #5 (September 28, 2015): INSIGHT AND ANALYTICAL MEDITATION 1. Tradition Tuesday (9/29) - INSIGHT MEDITATION I (Buddhism). Readings Required Readings: ● Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, Clarifying the Natural State: A Principal Guidance Manual for Mahamudra. Eric Pema Kunsang, translator. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2001. Pp. 26-39 (Vipashyana). Optional Further Readings:

● Paul Griffiths, “Indian Buddhist Meditation”. In Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese, edited by Takeuchi Yoshinori, New York: Crossroad (1995), pp. 34-66. ● Tsongkhapa, “Medium-Length Transcendent Insight,” in Robert A. E. Thurman, Editor and Translator, Essential Tibetan Buddhism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995. pp. 176-202.

2. Innovation Thursday - Synthesizing Contemplation and Analysis Readings Required Readings: ● Theodor Kobusch, "Descartes' Meditations: Practical Metaphysics, The Father of Rationalism in the Tradition of Spiritual Exercises." in Michael Chase, Stephen R. L. Clark, and Michael McGhee, Editors, Philosophy as a Way of Life: Ancients and Moderns – Essays in Honor of Pierre Hadot. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons, 2013. pp. 167. Optional Further Readings: ● Paul Griffiths, “Indian Buddhist Meditation”. In Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, and Early Chinese, edited by Takeuchi Yoshinori, New York: Crossroad (1995), pp. 34-66.

WEEK #6 (October 5, 2015): LARGER LANDSCAPE OF EARLY BUDDHIST MEDITATIONS 1. Tradition Tuesday (Oct 6) - THE LARGER LANDSCAPE OF EARLY BUDDHIST MEDITATIONS (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008. ○ Chapter 4, “Meditation”, pp. 55-62. ● Sarah Shaw, Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from Pāli Sources. London: Routledge, 2006, selection from among the following: ○ The Ten Kasiṇa Practices, pages 86-100. ○ The Ten Foulness (asubha), pages 101-108. ○ Recollections (first six), pages 109-134. ○ The Four Divine Abidings, pages 163-172.

Optional Readings: ● Buddhagosha, The Path of Purification, selections. [PDF: “Buddhaghosa (Bhikkhu Nanamoli translation 2011)-Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga).

2. Innovation Thursday (10/8) - THE NEUROSCIENCE OF EMOTIONS & PERSONAL GROWTH (Science & Adaptation) Required Readings: ● Science: Davidson, Richard and Sharon Beagley, The Emotional Life of Your Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012. Chapters 8-11. Optional Further Readings: ● David Sander, “Models of Emotion: The Affective Neuroscience Approach,” in Jorge Armony and Patrik Vuilleumier, Editors, The Cambridge Handbook of Human Affective Neuroscience. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ● Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret & Science of Happiness. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. Chapter 1. An autobiographical account of a Tibetan meditation expert’s experiences working with American neuroscientists and learning about the science of the brain. ● Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley, The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. San Francisco: Harper Perennial, 2003. Chapter One, “The Matter of the Mind,” and Chapter Ten, “Attention Must be Paid.”

WEEK #7 (October 12, 2015): EMPTINESS MEDITATION 1. Tradition Tuesday (10/13) - EMPTINESS MEDITATION (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008. ○ Chapter 2, “Mahāyāna”, pp. 31-43. Optional Further Readings: ● Chandrakirti, Introduction to the Middle Way. Chapter 6, verses 140-178 (pp. 8793), and Mipham’s commentary (Chapter 6, section 3, “Tenets that aim at the realization of the nonexistence of the self…”: pp. 294-309). ● Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti’s Madhymakavatara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala: Boston & London, 2002. ● Joe Wilson, Chandrakirti’s Sevenfold Reasoning: Meditation on the Selflessness

of Persons. Dharamsala: LTWA. ● Emptiness by Geshe Tashi Tsering. The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, volume 5. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009. ● Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston & London: Shambhala, 2006. Read the famous 9th chapter - which is on Wisdom (pp. 137-161). See PDF Shantideva-The Way of the Bodhisattva (Chapters 8-9). ● Kunzang Pelden. The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston & London: Shambhala 2007. Read the part of the commentary on the 9th chapter which concerns meditation on emptiness (pp. 346-367), and optionally the final part of the chapter’s commentary (367-389). See PDF Kunzang Pelden-The Nectar of Manjushris Speech A Detailed Commentary on Shantidevas Way of the Bodhisattva (346389).

2. Innovation Thursday (10/15) - THE NEUROSCIENCE OF MEDITATION IN DEPTH (Science and Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Science: Antoine Lutz, John D. Dunne, and Richard J. Davidson, “Meditation and the Neuroscience of Consciousness: An Introduction,” in Philip David Zelazo, Morris Moscovitch, Evan Thompson, Editors, The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness. Cambridge University Press, 2007: 499-552.

WEEK #8 (October 19, 2015): COMPASSION MEDITATIONS 1. Tradition Tuesday (10/20) - COMPASSION MEDITATION (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher, Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins. Part Two, Chapter Two, selection from “Arousing bodhicitta, the root of the Great Vehicle.” Optional Readings: ● Chekawa Yeshé Dorjé, “A Commentary on Eight Verses of Mind Training,” in Thupten Jinpa, translator, Essential Mind Training. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2011. pp. 111-126. PDF: “Chekawa - A Commentary on Eight Verses of Mind Training” ● Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston & London: Shambhala, 2006. Read the famous 8th chapter - which is on Meditation (pp. 137-161). See PDF

Shantideva-The Way of the Bodhisattva (Chapters 8-9) ● Kunzang Pelden. The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva’s Way of the Bodhisattva. Boston & London: Shambhala 2007. Read the part of the commentary on the 8th chapter which concerns meditation, but largely concerns compassion practices.

2. Innovation Thursday (10/22) - RESEARCHING COMPASSION, PRACTICING COMPASSION (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings and Viewing: ● Science: Jennifer L. Goetz, Dacher Keltner, and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, “Compassion: An Evolutionary Analysis and Empirical Review.” Psychological Bulletin 136/3 (2010): 351-374. ● Adaptation: Susan Bauer-Wu, Leaves Falling Gently: Living Fully with Serious & Life-Limiting Illness through Mindfulness, Compassion, and Connectedness. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Press, 2011. Chapters 6-8 (pp. 75-102). ● Adaptation: video - The Compassionate Care and Empathic Leadership Initiative at U.Va.: http://vimeo.com/54874862. Featuring Dorrie Fontaine, Dean of the School of Nursing, University of Virginia. Optional Further Readings: ● Science: Koopman-Holm, B., Sze, J., Ochs, C., & Tsai, J. L. 2013. “Buddhist Inspired Meditation Increases the Value of Calm.” Emotion 13/3: 497-505. ● Science: Eric J. Casell, “Compassion,” in Shane J. Lopez and C. R. Snyder, Editors, The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. pp. 393-403. ● Other CCARE articles at: http://ccare.stanford.edu/research/peer-reviewed-ccarearticles/ ● Olga Klimecki and Tania Singer, “Empathy from the Perspective of Social Neuroscience,” in Jorge Armory and Patrik Vuileumier, The Cambridge Handbook of Human Affective Neuroscience. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ● Davidson, R. J. (2012). “The neurobiology of compassion.” In C. K. Germer & R. D. Siegel (Eds.), Wisdom and compassion in psychotherapy: Deepening mindfulness in clinical practice. (Chapter 8). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

WEEK #9 (October 26, 2015): CREATION PHASE MEDITATION I: DEITY YOGA, TRANSFORMATION, & PERFORMANCE VISUALIZATIONS

1. Tradition Tuesday (10/27) - DEITY YOGA MEDITATIONS IN TANTRA (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Pema Karpo, “The Process of Generation of the Wishing Gem of the EarWhispered Teachings,” in Stephen Beyer, Editor and Translator, The Buddhist Experience: Sources and Interpretations. Belmont, California: Dickenson, 1974. pp. 140-153. ● Padmasambhava, “Vajrayana Mind Training: The Unexcelled Mind Training of Secret Mantra, Instructions on Practicing a Deity with Attributes,” in Dakini Teachings: A Collection of Padmasambhava’s Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal. Eric Pema Kunsang, translator. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, pp. 113-134. Optional Further Readings: ● “Method for Visualizing Tara [as She Who Protects Us against] the Eight Great Perils.” Lois O. Gómez, “Two Tantric Meditations: Visualizing the Deity.” in Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Buddhism in Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. pp. 318-327. ● Elizabeth English, Vajrayogini: Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2002. Translation of the evocation ritual pp. 109-224. ● Early Indian Precedent: “Recollecting the Buddha,” in Edward Conze, editor and translator, Buddhist Meditation. Mineola, NY: Dover Books, 2003 (1st edition 1969). pp. 45-52. ● David Germano, “The Elements, Insanity, and Lettered Subjectivity,” in Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Religions of Tibet in Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997. pp. 313-322. ● Machik Labdrön, “The Great Collection of the Teachings on the Noble Practice of Severing the Demons, Perfection of Wisdom.” Giacomella Orofino, “The Great Wisdom Mother and the Gcod Tradition,” in David White, Editor., Tantra in Practice. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 2000. pp. 396-416, esp. 412416. ● Tsongkhapa, “Written Instructions on the Madhyamaka View.” Donald S. Lopez, Jr., “A Tantric Meditation on Emptiness,” in Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Tantra in Practice. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 2000. pp. 523-542, esp. 530542.

2. Innovation Thursday (10/29) - MENTAL IMAGERY: SCIENTIFIC MODELS AND INTROSPECTION (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Nigel Thomas, “Visual Imagery and Consciousness,” in W.P. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Consciousness. Academic Press/Elsevier. ● Mattheiu Ricard, “Buddhist Perspectives on Mental Imagery,” and Stephen M. Kosslyn, Daniel Reisberg, and Marlene Behrmann, “Introspection and Mechanism in Mental Imagery,” in Anne Harrington and Arthur Zajonc, Editors, The Dalai Lama at MIT. Harvard University Press, 2008 [1st. edition 2006]. Optional Further Readings: ● Science and Philosophy: Nigel Thomas, “Mental Imagery. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mentalimagery/index.html#toc) ● Science: Stephen Kosslyn, “What Shape Are a German Shepherd’s Ears?” (http://www.edge.org/conversation/what-shape-are-a-german-shepherd-39s-ears) ● Science: Maria Kozhevnikov, et. al., “The Enhancement of Visuospatial Processing Efficiency Through Buddhist Deity Meditation”, Psychological Science 20/5 (2009): 645-653. ● Meditation”]Adaptation: Jennifer Cumming and Sarah E. Williams, “The Role of Imagery in Performance,” in Shane M. Murphy, Editor, The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Performance. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 213-232. ● Adaptation: “Visualizing in a Creative Way,” ● Adaptation: Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday, 2006. Revised Edition. Chapter 9, “Mental Models.”

WEEK #10 (November 2, 2015): CREATION PHASE MEDITATION II: MANDALAS, VIOLENCE, & PRACTICES OF THE COLLECTIVE 1. Tradition Tuesday (11/3) - MANDALA VISUALIZATIONS (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008. Chapter 5, “Tantra”, pp. 63-102.

Optional Further Readings: ● Stephan Beyer, The Cult of Tara, pp. 66-127 on Creation Stage. [See PDF “Stephan Beyer-The Cult of Tara Magic and Ritual (66-127 on Creation Stage). ● Ronald Davidson, Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. Chapter 4 - The Victory of Esoterism and the Imperial Metaphor, pp. 112-168. ● Great Treatise on the Stages of Mantra (snags rim chen mo): Chapters XI-XII The Creation Stage by Tsong Khapa Losang Drakpa, introduction and translation by Thomas Freeman Yarnall. Published by The American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2013. ● Creative Vision and Inner Reality - Easing the Beginner’s Way: The Essential Points of Creation and Completion by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye; translated, introduced, and annotated by Elio Guarisco. Shang Shung Publications, 2012.

2. Innovation Thursday (11/5) - PERFORMATIVE ART & HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings and Viewings: ● Science: Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living, chapters 12, 16. ● Adaptation: Viewing: Marina Abramovic, Performance selections shown in documentary: Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (2012). Reading: “Marina Abramovic” [interview], in Jacquelynn Baas and Mary Jane Jacob, editors, Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2004. pp. 165-175. Optional Further Readings: ● Olga Kimecki and Tania Singer, “Empathy from the Perspective ● James Westcott, When Marina Abramovic Dies: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. pp. 165-175. ● Ellen J. Langer, On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself through Mindful Creativity. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006. ● Adaptation: David George Haskell, The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature. New York: Viking, 2012. Selections. The Forest Unseen: http://theforestunseen.com/: Davivd George Haskell on biology and mandala.

WEEK #11 (November 9, 2015): BODY PRACTICE I

1. Tradition Tuesday (11/10) - TANTRIC EXPLORATION OF THE BODY I (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Shamarpa Chokyi Wangchuk, “The Quintessence of Nectar: Instructions for the Practice of the Six Dharmas of Naropa,” in Peter Alan Roberts, Translator and Editor, Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2011. pp. 333-372. Optional Further Readings: ● Peter Alan Roberts, Translator and Editor, “Translations Introduction” in Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2011. pp. 1-18. ● Tsongkhapa, “A Practice Manual on the Six Yogas of Naropa: Taking the Practice in Hand,” in Glenn Mullin, translator, The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2006 [1st. edition 1997]. pp. 93135.

2. Innovation Thursday (11/12) - FLOW, THE BODY, AND SUFFERING (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Adaptation: Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. San Francisco: HarperPerennial, 1990, selections. Suggested Readings: ● Science: Arne Dietrich, “Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Experience of Flow.” Consciousness and Cognition 13 (2004): 746-761. [PDF: “Dietrich Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow”]

WEEK #12 (November 16, 2015): BODY PRACTICES II Tradition Tuesday (11/17) - TANTRIC EXPLORATION OF THE BODY II (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Daniel Cozort, Highest Yoga Tantra, pp. 41-47, 63-114.

2. Innovation Thursday (11/19) - INTEROCEPTION: BODY, TRAUMA, AND MEANING IN PSYCHOTHERAPY (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings and Viewings: ● Craig 2002, “How do you feel?” ● Seth 2013 - Interoceptive inference emotion and the embodied self ● Lickely 2008 - “Interoceptive Exposure Exercises for Evoking Depersonalization and Derealization.” Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly 22/4 (2008). Optional Further Readings and Viewings: ● Interview with Eugene Gendlin from Tricycle Magazine. ● Eugene Gendlin, Focusing. New York: Bantam Books, 1978. Foreword and pp. 49-116. [PDF: “Gendlin 1978 - Focusing - Pages 49 - 116”] ● Eugene Gendlin, Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1962. pp. 10-16. [PDF: “Gendlin 1962 Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning - Pages 10 - 16”] ● The Focusing Institute’s introduction to Focusing: http://www.focusing.org/newcomers.htm ● The six steps of focusing: http://www.focusing.org/sixsteps.html ● A short overview of focusing: http://www.focusing.org/short_gendlin.html ● An excerpt from a talk by Eugene Gendlin: http://vimeo.com/2299660 ● A Buddhist-inflected focusing practice (note: only part 1 of 4 is freely available): http://www.tricycle.com/online-retreats/focusing-meditators-accessing-wisdomfelt-sense

WEEK #13 (November 23, 2015): NATURAL MEDITATIONS 1. Tradition Tuesday (11/24) - THE GREAT SEAL NATURAL MEDITATION (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, Clarifying the Natural State: A Principal Guidance Manual for Mahamudra. Eric Pema Kunsang, translator. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2001. pp. 40-70.

Optional Further Readings: ● Roger Jackson, “Mahamudra: Natural Mind in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism”. Religion Compass 5/7 (2011), pp. 286–299. ● Pema Karpo, “Manual of the Spontaneous Great Symbol,” in Stephen Beyer, Editor and Translator, The Buddhist Experience: Sources and Interpretations. Belmont, California: Dickenson, 1974. pp. 154-161. ● The Ninth Kar-ma-pa Wang-chu’g Dor-je, “The Mahāmudrā Eliminating the Ignorance of Darkness. Alexander Berzin, translator. Dharamsala: LTWA, 2007 [1st edition 1977]. ● Khöntön Peljor Lhündrup, “The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Oral Tradition: Instructions on Identifying the Shared View of Reality,” José Ignacio Cabezón, translator. In The Dalai Lama, Khöntön Peljor Lhündrup, and José Ignacio Cabezón, Meditation on the Nature of the Mind. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2011. pp. 61-138.

2. Innovation Thursday (11/26) - NEUROSCIENCE OF EFFORTLESS AWARENESS (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Science: Brian Bruya, “Apertures, Draws, and Syntax: Remodelling Attention,” in Brian Bruya, Editor, Effortless Attention: A New Perspective in the Cognitive Science of Attention and Action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010. ● Tobias Otto, Fred R. H. Zijlstra, and Rainer Goebel, Neural correlates of mental effort evaluation— involvement of structures related to self-awareness Optional Further Readings: ● Science: Garrison, K. M., Santoyo, J. F., Davis, J. H., Thornhill IV, T. A., Thompson, Kerr, C. E., Brewer, J. A. (2013) “Effortless awareness: using realtime neurofeedback to probe correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators’ self-report.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7: 440 (9 pages) [PDF: “”] ● Adaptation: Michael I. Posner, et. al., “Training Effortless Attention,” in Brian Bruya, Editor, Effortless Attention: A New Perspective in the Cognitive Science of Attention and Action. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press, 2010. ● Brian Bruya, Editor, Effortless Attention: A New Perspective in the Cognitive Science of Attention and Action. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press, 2010. ● Naccache, “Effortless Control: Executive Attention and Conscious Feeling of Mental Effort are Dissociable,” Neuropsychologia 43 (2005): 1318-1328.

WEEK #14 (November 30, 2015): VISIONARY MEDITATIONS 1. Tradition Tuesday (12/1) - THE GREAT PERFECTION NATURAL MEDITATION (Buddhism) Readings Required Readings: ● Longchen Rabjam, “The Meaning Instruction on the Virtues of Relaxing in the Natural State of the Mind,” in The Practice of Dzogchen. Tulku Thondup, translator. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1996 [1st edition 1989]. pp. 316-354. [PDF: Longchen Rabjam - The Practice of Dzogchen - Selections.pdf] ● David Levin, “Dzogchen Dark Retreat: An Abbreviated Phenomenological Diary”, from The Opening of Vision. pp. 473-484. Optional Further Readings: ● Longchen Rabjam, “Finding Comfort and Ease in Meditation on the Great Perfection,” in The Dalai Lama, Mind in Comfort and Ease: The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2007. pp. 227-252. ● Bru-Sgom rGyal-ba g.yung-drung, The Stages of A-khrid Meditation: Dzogchen Practice of the Bon Tradition. Per Kvaerne and Thupten K. Rikey, translators. Dharamsala: LTWA, 2004 [1st edition 1996]. pp. 6-45.

2. Innovation Thursday (12/3) - PSYCHOLOGY AND WORKING WITH THE IMAGINATION (Science & Adaptation) Readings Required Readings: ● Science: Carl Jung, “Psychological Commentary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead,” in Psychology and the East. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978. pp. 59-76. ● Adaptation: Carl Jung, “The Tavistock Lectures,” in Joan Chodorow, Editor, Jung on the Active Imagination. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. pp. 143-153. Optional Further Readings: ● Steve Odin (1981). “Fantasy Variation and the Horizon of Openness”. International Philosophical Quarterly 21 (4): 419-435. ● Steve Odin (1982). “Alchemical Imagination and Psychic Transformation in Jungian Depth Psychology and the Buddhist Tantras”. International Philosophical Quarterly 22 (4): 255-274.

● Adaptation: Joan Chodorow, Editor, Jung on Active Imagination. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995. such as “7. The Tavistock Lectures,” etc.

WEEK #15 (December 7): THE MOST EXCELLENT CONCLUSION 1. Tuesday (12/8) – REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS 2. Thursday (12/10) – STUDENT PRESENTATIONS