BROWN UNIVERSITY COURSE SYLLABUS

UNIVERSITY COURSE 54: INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPLATIVE

Semester II, 2005-06 Seminar: Thurs. 4:00 PM LABS: MWF, 9AM

Instructor: H.D. Roth Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies

Office: Department of East Asian Studies; 341 Brook Street, Room 101 Office Hours: Friday, 10:30 AM-12:00 noon

COURSE RATIONALE

„ At the dawn of the twenty-first century we find ourselves at a crossroads.

„ Our scientific knowledge of how the world works has never been stronger but our ability to utilize it to transform our lives to create greater personal and social harmony remains relatively weak.

„ We can use our technology of the outer world to treat previously incurable diseases but our mastery of the “technology” of the inner world is so rudimentary that we can barely contain the passions that lead us to destroy the very human life that we, paradoxically, struggle so hard to preserve.

„ We have become the masters of third-person scientific investigation but we are mere novices in the arts of critical first-person scientific investigation.

„ We have never known more about how the mind works, yet our ability to apply this knowledge to our own experience has not been correspondingly developed.

„ One of the principal reasons for this paradoxical situation is that we have largely ignored the careful, systematic, and scientific investigation of contemplative experience from a combined third-person and first-person perspective.

„ This course will be an introduction to the brand new field of Contemplative Studies in which this dual approach is currently being developed.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

„ Throughout the course we will focus on identifying many of the methods that human beings have found, across cultures and across time, to concentrate, broaden and deepen conscious awareness.

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„ We will study what these methods and experiences entail, how to critically appraise them, how to experience them ourselves, and how they influence the development of compassion and empathy, and health and well-being.

„ In doing this we will thus be adopting both third-person approaches, which study contemplative experience from a presumed objective position outside ourselves and critical first-person approaches, which study contemplative experiences from a presumed subjective position within them.

„ The former approaches will be from the perspectives of the fields of , cognitive science, psychology, psychology of religion, neuroscience, and comparative religious thought, and they will be presented and discussed through lectures and seminars.

„ The latter approaches will center on the well-developed techniques for the cultivation of attention and self-examination that are found in the Asian meditative traditions of Taoism and . These will be pursued in the thrice weekly Meditation Lab as well as in weekly readings.

„ Taoist meditation will be based on the reconstruction of the techniques of the classical tradition developed by Professor Roth. will be based on modern practices.

„ Course readings will include primary texts that present the methods and results of contemplative practice and secondary works that discuss issues and critical methods in the philosophical and scientific understanding of the results and significance of contemplation.

PRE-REQUISITES

„ This course is usually taken in the second semester of the sophomore year (although upperclassmen may be admitted in its initial ) and necessitates a basic familiarity with some of the source material for the study of contemplative experiences. Therefore, the principal pre-requisites are three relevant courses at Brown to be drawn from the three basic areas of Contemplative Studies: Science (especially Cognitive Science, Psychology, and Neuroscience), the Humanities, and the Creative Arts. See the forthcoming website for details.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

„ Regular attendance at Seminar and Lab; attendance will be an important factor in your final grade „ Recording brief comments in a journal at the end of every lab session „ At least two seminar presentations based on the readings „ One 7-10 page Midterm Paper (topics to be handed out);

2 „ One 12-15 page Final Paper on a topic to be decided upon with the professor

READINGS

BOOKS

Required „ Austin, James. and the Brain. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998. „ Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row, 1990. „ DeWit, Han F. Contemplative Psychology. Marie Louise Baird (trans.) Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 1991. „ Goleman, Daniel. The Meditative Mind. Putnam, 1988. „ Mair, Victor. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Reissue edition. Bantam, 1990. „ Rosenberg, Larry, Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation. Shambala, 1999. „ Roth, Harold D. Original Tao: Inward Training and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism. Columbia, 1999. „ Varela, Francisco, Evan Thompson, and . The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1991. „ Wallace, B. Allan. The Taboo of Subjectivity: Towards a New Science of Consciousness. Oxford UPress, 2000.

Recommended „ Davidson, Richard and Anne Harrington eds., Visions of Compassion . Oxford and New York, Oxford U Press, 2002. (selections) „ James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. Reprint, Touchstone, 1997. (selections) „ Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Wherever You Go You Are There. Hyperion, 1995. „ Barnard, G. William, and Jeffrey J. Kripal, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism. Seven Bridges, 2002. „ Sekida, Katsuki, Two Zen Classics. Weatherhill, 1977 (selections). „ Thompson, Evan (ed.), Between Ourselves: Second-Person Issues in the Study of Consciousness. Imprint, 2001. (selections) „ Conze, Edward (trans.).Buddhist Wisdom : The Diamond and The Heart Sutra. Reprint, Vintage, 2001.

ARTICLES

„ Baer, Ruth A. “ Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual Review.” Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10#2 (Summer 2003): 125-43. „ Barnard, G. William. “Debating the Mystical as the Ethical: A Response.” In Barnard and Kripal, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism, 70- 99 „ Bishop, Scott, Mark Lau, Shauna Shapiro, Linda Carlson, Nicole Anderson, James Carmody, Zindel Segal, Susan Abbey, Michael Speca, Drew Velting, and Gerald

3 Devins. “Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition.” In Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11#3 (Fall 2004): 230-41.

READINGS (continued)

ARTICLES „ Brown, Kirk Warren, and Richard M. Ryan. “The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84#4 (2003): 822-48. „ Davidson, Richard. “Towards a Biology of Positive Affect and Compassion.” In Visions of Compassion, 107-30. „ Nancy Eisenberg. “Empathy-Related Emotional Responses, Altruism, and Their Socialization.” In Visions of Compassion, 131-64. „ Kabat-Zinn, Jon. “Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context: Past, Present, and Future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10#2 (Summer 2003): 144-56. „ Kohn, Livia. “The Sage in the World: Mysticism and Moral Responsibility in Chinese Religions.” In Barnard and Kripal, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism, 288-308. „ Kripal, Jeffrey. “Debating the Mystical as Ethical: An Indological Map.” In Barnard and Kripal, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism, 15-69. „ Lazar, Sarah, George Bush, Randy Gollub, Gregory Fricchione, Guruchan Khalsa, and Herbert Benson. “Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation.” NeuroReport 11#7 (15 May 2000):1-5. „ Loy, David. “The Lack of Ethics and the Ethics of Lack in Buddhism.” In Barnard and Kripal, Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism, 265- 87. „ Lutz, Antoine, and Evan Thompson. “Neurophenomenology: Integrating Subjective Experience and Brain Dynamics in the Neuroscience of Consciousness.” Journal of Consciousness Studies (JCS), 10(2003): 21-52. „ Lutz, Antoine, Laurence Greischar, Nancy Rawlings, Mattieu Riccard, and Richard Davidson, “Long-term Meditators self-induce high amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice.” Publications of the National Academy of Sciences vol. 101 #46 (November 2004): 16360-16373. „ Preston, Stephanie, and Frans deWaal. “Empathy: Its Ultimate and Proximate Bases.” Behavioural and Brain Sciences. 25 #1 (2002): 1-20. „ Shapiro, Shauna, Gary Schwartz, and Ginny Bonner.” Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students.” In Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 21#6 (1998): 581-99. „ Thompson, Evan, “Empathy and Human Experience.” In James D. Proctor (ed.), Science, Religion, and Human Experience. Oxford, 2005. „ Thompson, Evan, “Empathy and Consciousness.” In Between Ourselves, 1-32. „ Wallace, B. Allan. “Intersubjectivity in Indo-.” In Between Ourselves, 209-30. „ Zahavi, Dan. “Beyond Empathy: Phenomenological Approaches to Intersubjectivity.” In Between Ourselves, 151-68. „ Young, Shinzen, “How Meditation Works.” Shinzen.org

4 COURSE OUTLINE

WEEKS 1 AND 2: METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES: TOWARDS A NEW SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

2/2: “Scientific Materialism” and the Buddhist Mindfulness Disappearance of Introspection practice

Primary Texts: Theravada Buddhist 1/31:Mindfulness of Breath in diaphragm: Meditation: Anapanna sutta; Rosenberg, Count in-breaths to 5 pp. 198-208; Young 2/1: Count out-breaths to 5 Secondary Works: Wallace, Taboo of 2/3: Count in-breaths Subjectivity, pp. 3-96

2/9: Combining Third and First Person Perspectives in A New Science of 2/6: Mindfulness of breath at the tip of the Consciousness nose 2/8: Mindfulness of breath at the tip of the Primary Texts: Anapanna sati sutta: analysis: nose Rosenberg, pp. 1-50 2/10: Mindfulness of breath at the tip of the Secondary Works: Wallace, Taboo of nose Subjectivity; pp. 97-188

WEEKS 3 AND 4: THE VARIETIES OF CONTEMPLATIVE EXPERIENCE

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

2/16. Cataloguing from a Psychological Theravada Buddhist Mindfulness Approach practice

Primary Texts: Commentary on Anapanna [2/12: L.ROSENBERG RETREAT] sati sutta: Rosenberg, pp.51-111 Secondary Works: James, Varieties, 299- 2/13: Mindfulness of Body: Body Sweep 336; Goleman, The Meditative Mind, pp. 1-37, 2/15: Body Sweep 102-89 2/17: Body Sweep

2/23. Cataloguing from a Psychology of 2/20: Mindfulness of Sensation, Feeling, Religion Approach Thought: Labeling 2/22: Labeling: thought, feeling, sensation, Primary Texts: Commentary on Anapanna perception sati sutta: Rosenberg pp. 112-97 2/24: Labeling: thought, feeling, sensation, Secondary Works: DeWit, Contemplative perception Psychology; 1-115; 180-230

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WEEKS 5 AND 6: THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONTEMPLATION

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

3/2. Experience and the Cognitivist Taoist Reconstructive Meditations from Hypothesis Guanzi’s “Inward Training:”

Primary: : Early Taoist Wisdom Poetry on [3/1: E.THOMPSON LECTURE] Meditation: Roth, Original Tao, pp. 35-118 2/27: Unfocused Awareness of Secondary: Varela, Thompson and Rosch, Breathing:”Coiling and Uncoiling” The Embodied Mind: Introduction, pp. 3-130 3/1: Coiling and Uncoiling 3/3: Coiling and Uncoiling 3/9. The Embodied Mind and the Groundless Self

Primary: Roth, Original Tao, 125-71 3/6: Focused Awareness of Breathing: “Revolving the Breath” Secondary: Varela, Thompson and Rosch, 3/8: Revolving the Breath The Embodied Mind , pp. 133-255; Lutz and 3/10: Revolving the Breath Thompson, “Neurophenomenology”

WEEKS 7 AND 8: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONTEMPLATION

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

3/16. The Anatomy of Consciousness Taoist Reconstructive Meditations from and the Nature of “Flow” Laozi:

Primary: Early Taoist Wisdom Poetry: Mair, 3/13: “Bellows Breathing” Tao Te Jing, pp. 57-106; 119-30 3/15: Bellows Breathing 3/17: Bellows Breathing Secondary: Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience: pp. 1-116; [3/22: V. MAIR LECTURE]

3/23. Flow in Body, Thought and Work 3/20: Observing consciousness while Primary: Mair, Laozi, pp. 1-56; 140-54 “Holding fast to the Center” 3/22: Holding fast to the Center Secondary: Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The 3/24: Holding fast to the Center Psychology of Optimal Experience: pp. 117-240

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WEEKS 9 AND 10: THE NEUROSCIENCE OF CONTEMPLATION

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

Guest Instructor: Luiz Pessoa, Meditation Psychology Department

4/6. Zen Contemplation+the Neuro- 4/3: Sekida’s “Bamboo Breathing” physiology of Consciousness (exhalation in stages); eyes closed 4/5: Bamboo Breathing, eyes closed Primary Texts: Sekida, Two Zen Classics: “The 4/7: Bamboo Breathing: eyes just open Gateless Gate,” 14-29 Secondary works: Austin, Zen and the Brain; [J. AUSTIN LECTURE?] 3-145; 293-368; Lazar et.al. “Functional Brain Mapping of the Relaxation Response”

4/13. Neurological Transformations from 4/10: Rinzai Zen Style: Kôan: “Does this Contemplative Practice dog have Buddha-nature?” (Jôshu’s NO); eyes just open Primary Texts: Sekida, Two Zen Classics: “The 4/12: Jôshu’s NO with explanatory talk: this Gateless Gate,” 30-43 no is a VERB! Not an object but the core Secondary works: Austin, Zen and the Brain, activity of your mind from moment to 469-696; Lutz, et.al.,”Long Term Meditators moment Self-induce high amplitude gamma 4/14: Jôshu’s NO; Indoor walking synchrony during mental practice” meditation (10”)

WEEKS 11 AND 12: CONTEMPLATION AND THE MORAL LIFE

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

4/20. Contemplation and Ethics: Japanese Zen Meditation and the Approaches from Religious Studies and cultivation of Compassion Philosophy

Primary Texts:Conze, Heart Sutra 4/17:“Non-directed” compassion: Sôtô Zen Style: Shikan Taza: Just Sitting; facing Secondary Works: Barnard and Kripal, window Crossing Boundaries: Kripal, (pp. 15-69), 4/19: Shikan Taza: Just Sitting; facing Barnard (70-102), Loy (265-87), Kohn, window or wall (288-306); Thompson, “Empathy and 4/21: Just Sitting; facing wall (10”); walking Human Experience;” Wallace, meditation (10”); sit (10“) “Intersubjectivity in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism”

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WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

4/27.Contemplation, Empathy, and Theravada Mindfulness Meditation and Compassion: Approaches from the cultivation of Compassion Phenomenology and Psychology:

Primary Text:Conze, Heart Sutra 4/24: “Directed” meditation: Lovingkindness (metta): Secondary Works: Thompson, Between 4/26: Lovingkindness meditation Ourselves: Thompson, (pp. 1-32), Zahavi 4/28: Compassion (karuna) meditation (151-68); Preston and deWaal; Davidson and Harrington, Visions of Compassion, [Mystery Guest?] Davidson (pp.107-30), Eisenberg (131-64)

WEEK 13: MEDICAL APPLICATIONS OF CONTEMPLATION

WEEKLY SEMINAR MEDITATION LAB

5/4: Mindfulness-Based Stress Mindfulness Meditation in a Medical Reduction: A Melding of Third-Person Context and First-Person Contemplative Science

Primary Text: Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, 5/1: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction There You Are, pp. 1-100. 5/3: MBSR 5/5: MBSR Secondary Works: Bishop et.al., “Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational [Mystery Guest?] Definition;” Baer, “Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention;” Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Context;” Shapiro et. al., “Effects of MBSR on Medical and Premedical Students;” Brown and Ryan, “The Benefits of Being Present”

VISITING LECTURES ARE SUPPORTED BY A CONTEMPLATIVE PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANT ADMINISTERED BY THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIES

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