Joseph Almog
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195337716
- eISBN:
- 9780199868704
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195337716.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Decartes' maxim Cogito, Ergo Sum (from his Meditations) is perhaps the most famous philosophical expression ever coined. The author of this book, Joseph Almog, is a Descartes scholar whose last book ...
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Decartes' maxim Cogito, Ergo Sum (from his Meditations) is perhaps the most famous philosophical expression ever coined. The author of this book, Joseph Almog, is a Descartes scholar whose last book What Am I? focused on the second half of this expression asking who is the “I”, who is thinking, and how does this entity somehow incorporate both body and mind? This book looks at the first half of the proposition — cogito. The book calls this the “thinking man's paradox”: how can there be, in and part of the natural world, a creature that thinks? Descartes' proposition declares that such a fact maintains and is self-evident; but as this book points out, from the point of view of Descartes' own skepticism it is far from obvious. How can it be that a thinking human can be both part of the natural world and yet somehow distinct and separate from it? How did “thinking” arise in an otherwise “thoughtless” universe and what does it mean for beings like us to be thinkers? The book goes back to the Meditations, and using Descartes' own methodology — and his naturalistic, scientific worldview — tries to answer the question.Less
Decartes' maxim Cogito, Ergo Sum (from his Meditations) is perhaps the most famous philosophical expression ever coined. The author of this book, Joseph Almog, is a Descartes scholar whose last book What Am I? focused on the second half of this expression asking who is the “I”, who is thinking, and how does this entity somehow incorporate both body and mind? This book looks at the first half of the proposition — cogito. The book calls this the “thinking man's paradox”: how can there be, in and part of the natural world, a creature that thinks? Descartes' proposition declares that such a fact maintains and is self-evident; but as this book points out, from the point of view of Descartes' own skepticism it is far from obvious. How can it be that a thinking human can be both part of the natural world and yet somehow distinct and separate from it? How did “thinking” arise in an otherwise “thoughtless” universe and what does it mean for beings like us to be thinkers? The book goes back to the Meditations, and using Descartes' own methodology — and his naturalistic, scientific worldview — tries to answer the question.
Hans H. Penner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385823
- eISBN:
- 9780199870073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385823.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter details how as Buddha settled down in the grove near Kusinara the sal trees burst forth in abundant untimely blossoms that fell, covering his body. Heavenly coral tree flowers also fell ...
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This chapter details how as Buddha settled down in the grove near Kusinara the sal trees burst forth in abundant untimely blossoms that fell, covering his body. Heavenly coral tree flowers also fell from the sky, together with sandalwood powder, sprinkling and covering his body in homage. It describes how Buddha rehearsed the levels of meditation, just as he performed them during the watches of the night at Bodh-Gaya. Traversing and then reversing the levels of meditation, he attained final liberation.Less
This chapter details how as Buddha settled down in the grove near Kusinara the sal trees burst forth in abundant untimely blossoms that fell, covering his body. Heavenly coral tree flowers also fell from the sky, together with sandalwood powder, sprinkling and covering his body in homage. It describes how Buddha rehearsed the levels of meditation, just as he performed them during the watches of the night at Bodh-Gaya. Traversing and then reversing the levels of meditation, he attained final liberation.
Patricia Q. Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199793822
- eISBN:
- 9780199914531
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793822.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book investigates ritualizing and learning at introductory meditation classes at two Buddhist centers in Toronto, Canada. The centers, Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti, are led and attended ...
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This book investigates ritualizing and learning at introductory meditation classes at two Buddhist centers in Toronto, Canada. The centers, Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti, are led and attended by western Buddhists: that is, people from non-Buddhist familial and cultural backgrounds. Inspired by theories that suggest that rituals impart new knowledge or understanding, the book examines how introductory meditation students learn through formal Buddhist practice. Along the way, it explores practitioners' reasons for enrolling in meditation classes, their interests in Buddhism, and their responses to formal Buddhist rituals. Participants' learning experiences are illuminated by an influential learning theory called Bloom's Taxonomy, while the rites and practices taught and performed at the centers are explored using performance theory, a method which focuses on the performative elements of ritual's postures and gestures. But the study expands the performance framework as well, by demonstrating that performative ritualizing includes the concentration techniques that take place in a meditator's mind. Such techniques are received, traditional mental acts or behaviours that are standardized, repetitively performed, and variously regarded as special, elevated, spiritual, or religious. Having established a link between mental and physical forms of ritualizing, the study demonstrates that body and mind together gain new skills and understanding by way of embodied, gestural rites. The mind is thus experienced as both embodied and gestural, and the whole of the body as socially and ritually informed.Less
This book investigates ritualizing and learning at introductory meditation classes at two Buddhist centers in Toronto, Canada. The centers, Friends of the Heart and Chandrakirti, are led and attended by western Buddhists: that is, people from non-Buddhist familial and cultural backgrounds. Inspired by theories that suggest that rituals impart new knowledge or understanding, the book examines how introductory meditation students learn through formal Buddhist practice. Along the way, it explores practitioners' reasons for enrolling in meditation classes, their interests in Buddhism, and their responses to formal Buddhist rituals. Participants' learning experiences are illuminated by an influential learning theory called Bloom's Taxonomy, while the rites and practices taught and performed at the centers are explored using performance theory, a method which focuses on the performative elements of ritual's postures and gestures. But the study expands the performance framework as well, by demonstrating that performative ritualizing includes the concentration techniques that take place in a meditator's mind. Such techniques are received, traditional mental acts or behaviours that are standardized, repetitively performed, and variously regarded as special, elevated, spiritual, or religious. Having established a link between mental and physical forms of ritualizing, the study demonstrates that body and mind together gain new skills and understanding by way of embodied, gestural rites. The mind is thus experienced as both embodied and gestural, and the whole of the body as socially and ritually informed.
John Terning
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567639
- eISBN:
- 9780191718243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567639.003.0006
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter focuses on the basic idea of gauge mediation. There are three sectors in the theory: a dynamical SUSY breaking sector, a messenger sector, and the MSSM. SUSY breaking is communicated to ...
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This chapter focuses on the basic idea of gauge mediation. There are three sectors in the theory: a dynamical SUSY breaking sector, a messenger sector, and the MSSM. SUSY breaking is communicated to the messenger sector so that the messengers have a SUSY breaking spectrum. They also have SM gauge interactions, which then communicate SUSY breaking to the ordinary superpartners. This mechanism has the great advantage that since the gauge interactions are flavour-blind, it does not introduce FCNCs which are an enormous problem for supergravity mediation models. Exercises are provided at the end of the chapter.Less
This chapter focuses on the basic idea of gauge mediation. There are three sectors in the theory: a dynamical SUSY breaking sector, a messenger sector, and the MSSM. SUSY breaking is communicated to the messenger sector so that the messengers have a SUSY breaking spectrum. They also have SM gauge interactions, which then communicate SUSY breaking to the ordinary superpartners. This mechanism has the great advantage that since the gauge interactions are flavour-blind, it does not introduce FCNCs which are an enormous problem for supergravity mediation models. Exercises are provided at the end of the chapter.
Taigen Dan Leighton
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195304671
- eISBN:
- 9780199866861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304671.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 5 addresses what many today would consider the central ritual of Zen—zazen—or seated meditation. Although zazen is commonly understood by way of instrumental logic as a means or method for ...
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Chapter 5 addresses what many today would consider the central ritual of Zen—zazen—or seated meditation. Although zazen is commonly understood by way of instrumental logic as a means or method for attaining enlightenment, from the Sōtō Zen perspective initiated by Dōgen and featured in this essay, the order of cause and effect is reversed—zazen is “the practice‐realization of totally culminated awakening.” In developing this approach to meditation, Leighton traces its roots to Vajrayana teachings that were influential not simply in Japanese Shingon, but also in Nichiren, Tendai, Jōdo, and Zen. Upon that Buddhist foundation, the essay develops the “unity of practice and realization” by showing how this theme appears in Dōgen's instructions for meditation ritual (Eihei shingi), in his extended essays (Shōbōgenzō), and in direct teachings to his monks (Eihei kōroku). The essay claims that when meditation is taken as “the expression or function of buddhas,” rather than as a technique of spiritual acquisition, an emphasis on meditative awareness in everyday life is made possible.Less
Chapter 5 addresses what many today would consider the central ritual of Zen—zazen—or seated meditation. Although zazen is commonly understood by way of instrumental logic as a means or method for attaining enlightenment, from the Sōtō Zen perspective initiated by Dōgen and featured in this essay, the order of cause and effect is reversed—zazen is “the practice‐realization of totally culminated awakening.” In developing this approach to meditation, Leighton traces its roots to Vajrayana teachings that were influential not simply in Japanese Shingon, but also in Nichiren, Tendai, Jōdo, and Zen. Upon that Buddhist foundation, the essay develops the “unity of practice and realization” by showing how this theme appears in Dōgen's instructions for meditation ritual (Eihei shingi), in his extended essays (Shōbōgenzō), and in direct teachings to his monks (Eihei kōroku). The essay claims that when meditation is taken as “the expression or function of buddhas,” rather than as a technique of spiritual acquisition, an emphasis on meditative awareness in everyday life is made possible.
Nicholas Lossky
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198261858
- eISBN:
- 9780191682223
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198261858.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
A champion for Anglican cause for his rejection of doctrine of transubstantiation and the Calvanist doctrine of predestination, Lancelot Andrewes was hailed by T. S. Eliot as one of the Fathers of ...
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A champion for Anglican cause for his rejection of doctrine of transubstantiation and the Calvanist doctrine of predestination, Lancelot Andrewes was hailed by T. S. Eliot as one of the Fathers of the Church of England. His sermons were dubbed by Eliot as ‘one of the finest English prose of their time’. A bishop in a period that spans four monarchic ruling, Lancelot Andrewes was a witness to the Church of the early centuries and the Reformation Era. This book probes on Lancelot Andrewes, who is one of the significant figures in the history of Christian theology and spirituality. It aims to look at the theological meditations of Lancelot Andrewes to discover the controversies of the Reformation Era, the relationship of theology and the life of prayer and the relationship between the East and West Christendom. In this book, the sermons of Andrewes from 1500s to the 1600s are examined to determine his thoughts and theological perspective. Relatively unpopular today, the book includes long citations of Andrewes's sermons that offer glimpses of his thought and his theology.Less
A champion for Anglican cause for his rejection of doctrine of transubstantiation and the Calvanist doctrine of predestination, Lancelot Andrewes was hailed by T. S. Eliot as one of the Fathers of the Church of England. His sermons were dubbed by Eliot as ‘one of the finest English prose of their time’. A bishop in a period that spans four monarchic ruling, Lancelot Andrewes was a witness to the Church of the early centuries and the Reformation Era. This book probes on Lancelot Andrewes, who is one of the significant figures in the history of Christian theology and spirituality. It aims to look at the theological meditations of Lancelot Andrewes to discover the controversies of the Reformation Era, the relationship of theology and the life of prayer and the relationship between the East and West Christendom. In this book, the sermons of Andrewes from 1500s to the 1600s are examined to determine his thoughts and theological perspective. Relatively unpopular today, the book includes long citations of Andrewes's sermons that offer glimpses of his thought and his theology.
David L. McMahan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195183276
- eISBN:
- 9780199870882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183276.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The meaning, purpose, and social significance of Buddhist meditation has changed in important ways due to its encounter with modernity. While often seen as the central practice of Buddhism, it has in ...
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The meaning, purpose, and social significance of Buddhist meditation has changed in important ways due to its encounter with modernity. While often seen as the central practice of Buddhism, it has in some contexts also become detraditionalized, privatized, and unmoored from institutional authority and tradition. In places like psychologists’ offices and health clubs it has taken on a life independent of Buddhism altogether. This transformation is largely due to its encounter with the discourses and practices of western modernity, especially scientific rationalism, Romanticism, and psychology. Through them, meditation has been drawn into the orbit of the “subjective turn” in Europe and North America. Meditation has claimed a place within this turn by being construed as a spiritual technique aspiring to universal truth, as an empirical “inner science,” as a method for the enhancement of the individual’s freedom from social influence, and as a method for excavating the unconscious.Less
The meaning, purpose, and social significance of Buddhist meditation has changed in important ways due to its encounter with modernity. While often seen as the central practice of Buddhism, it has in some contexts also become detraditionalized, privatized, and unmoored from institutional authority and tradition. In places like psychologists’ offices and health clubs it has taken on a life independent of Buddhism altogether. This transformation is largely due to its encounter with the discourses and practices of western modernity, especially scientific rationalism, Romanticism, and psychology. Through them, meditation has been drawn into the orbit of the “subjective turn” in Europe and North America. Meditation has claimed a place within this turn by being construed as a spiritual technique aspiring to universal truth, as an empirical “inner science,” as a method for the enhancement of the individual’s freedom from social influence, and as a method for excavating the unconscious.
Mario Poceski
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195319965
- eISBN:
- 9780199785445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195319965.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou ...
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This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou school's doctrines and its approaches to spiritual cultivation. The second part offers an analysis of the Hongzhou school's attitudes in four key areas of medieval religious life: monastic mores and ideals, meditative praxis, canonicity and religious authority, and the use of scriptures. The exploration of their basic doctrinal and ethical frameworks shows that Mazu and his disciples were engaged in the creative reformulation of age-old monastic ideals and outlooks, which helped situate the Hongzhou school within a larger nexus of canonically inspired traditions of contemplative monasticism.Less
This chapter studies the Hongzhou school's teachings. The first part surveys the religious and intellectual milieus of Tang Buddhism, which formed the backdrop for the development of the Hongzhou school's doctrines and its approaches to spiritual cultivation. The second part offers an analysis of the Hongzhou school's attitudes in four key areas of medieval religious life: monastic mores and ideals, meditative praxis, canonicity and religious authority, and the use of scriptures. The exploration of their basic doctrinal and ethical frameworks shows that Mazu and his disciples were engaged in the creative reformulation of age-old monastic ideals and outlooks, which helped situate the Hongzhou school within a larger nexus of canonically inspired traditions of contemplative monasticism.
Michael A. West (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198521945
- eISBN:
- 9780191688478
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521945.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
Meditation is becoming a daily practice for more and more people, and is used by clinical psychologists, counsellors, and therapists to heal themselves and their clients. This book ...
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Meditation is becoming a daily practice for more and more people, and is used by clinical psychologists, counsellors, and therapists to heal themselves and their clients. This book provides a psychological appraisal of meditation, summarizing fifteen years of psychological research in the area, signposting new research and theoretical directions. The contributors are among international writers and researchers on the psychology of meditation. This collection represents an overview of research in the field. Readers will also gain knowledge of meditation and find new perspectives for understanding human behaviour more generally.Less
Meditation is becoming a daily practice for more and more people, and is used by clinical psychologists, counsellors, and therapists to heal themselves and their clients. This book provides a psychological appraisal of meditation, summarizing fifteen years of psychological research in the area, signposting new research and theoretical directions. The contributors are among international writers and researchers on the psychology of meditation. This collection represents an overview of research in the field. Readers will also gain knowledge of meditation and find new perspectives for understanding human behaviour more generally.
Laurence Freeman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Contemplative consciousness opens up new ways to seeing and understanding, by refreshing the mind and spirit for acceptance of the unusual and the seemingly unconnected. The prophetic seeks radical ...
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Contemplative consciousness opens up new ways to seeing and understanding, by refreshing the mind and spirit for acceptance of the unusual and the seemingly unconnected. The prophetic seeks radical insights into the transformation of present structures, no matter how apparently complex. Both search for the undeniable human need to give meaning to experience, observation, and prophesy. Mortality provides another backdrop, as well as the merging of contradictions. Simplicity, stillness, meditation, and free ranging thought based on faith and love enable us to contemplate tipping points from the unimaginable to the imaginable. The best science is contemplative. And the best responses are just, moderate, prudent, and courageous. We need to learn to respond, and contemplative meditation opens the pathways of the mind.Less
Contemplative consciousness opens up new ways to seeing and understanding, by refreshing the mind and spirit for acceptance of the unusual and the seemingly unconnected. The prophetic seeks radical insights into the transformation of present structures, no matter how apparently complex. Both search for the undeniable human need to give meaning to experience, observation, and prophesy. Mortality provides another backdrop, as well as the merging of contradictions. Simplicity, stillness, meditation, and free ranging thought based on faith and love enable us to contemplate tipping points from the unimaginable to the imaginable. The best science is contemplative. And the best responses are just, moderate, prudent, and courageous. We need to learn to respond, and contemplative meditation opens the pathways of the mind.
Martin Schöneld
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195132182
- eISBN:
- 9780199786336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132181.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the ...
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This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.Less
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.
Michael A. West
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198521945
- eISBN:
- 9780191688478
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521945.003.0011
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter presents the lack of consensus between meditators and researchers over the effects of meditation. The results of the research are reviewed and a variety of ...
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This chapter presents the lack of consensus between meditators and researchers over the effects of meditation. The results of the research are reviewed and a variety of unexplored research areas are identified. It is argued that much of value can be gained from a careful reading of Eastern psychology and from self-concept theory in Western psychology. Illustrations of the power of such theory for hypothesis derivation are presented. Self-awareness theory, reversal theory, and social psychology are also discussed as fruitful generators of predictions about the effects of meditation. Finally, it is argued that research on meditation presents a particular challenge to psychologists.Less
This chapter presents the lack of consensus between meditators and researchers over the effects of meditation. The results of the research are reviewed and a variety of unexplored research areas are identified. It is argued that much of value can be gained from a careful reading of Eastern psychology and from self-concept theory in Western psychology. Illustrations of the power of such theory for hypothesis derivation are presented. Self-awareness theory, reversal theory, and social psychology are also discussed as fruitful generators of predictions about the effects of meditation. Finally, it is argued that research on meditation presents a particular challenge to psychologists.
Benjamin D Koen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195367744
- eISBN:
- 9780199867295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367744.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 1 sets a new paradigm of research and applied practice based on the ontology of oneness; introduces medical ethnomusicology; lays a foundation for the study of music, health, and healing ...
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Chapter 1 sets a new paradigm of research and applied practice based on the ontology of oneness; introduces medical ethnomusicology; lays a foundation for the study of music, health, and healing through the harmony of science and religion; introduces music-prayer-meditation dynamics, neuroplasticity, cognitive flexibility, entrainment, holistic embodiment (or embeingment), and the Human Certainty Principle as culture-transcendent processes and principles that undergird musical healing; challenges moral and cultural relativism, focusing on the importance of applied work to benefit the whole of humanity; introduces maddâh devotional music and the culture of Badakhshan, Tajikistan as the primary cultural example of musical healing. Core theoretical and philosophical frameworks are established that draw on local beliefs and practices, ethnomusicology, health science, neuro- and cognitive science, and quantum physics.Less
Chapter 1 sets a new paradigm of research and applied practice based on the ontology of oneness; introduces medical ethnomusicology; lays a foundation for the study of music, health, and healing through the harmony of science and religion; introduces music-prayer-meditation dynamics, neuroplasticity, cognitive flexibility, entrainment, holistic embodiment (or embeingment), and the Human Certainty Principle as culture-transcendent processes and principles that undergird musical healing; challenges moral and cultural relativism, focusing on the importance of applied work to benefit the whole of humanity; introduces maddâh devotional music and the culture of Badakhshan, Tajikistan as the primary cultural example of musical healing. Core theoretical and philosophical frameworks are established that draw on local beliefs and practices, ethnomusicology, health science, neuro- and cognitive science, and quantum physics.
Benjamin D Koen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195367744
- eISBN:
- 9780199867295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367744.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 2 explicates the five factors of music, medicine, and culture—the physical/biological, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of life that must be factored into human ...
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Chapter 2 explicates the five factors of music, medicine, and culture—the physical/biological, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of life that must be factored into human experience to bring about transformation in one or all dimensions; builds upon the quantum theories of Planck, Einstein, and Heisenberg, to explore the culture-specific, culture-transcendent and potentially universal aspects of these factors, focusing on the history and culture of Badakhshan Tajikistan and emphasizing the role of a mystical orientation to life, the spiritual power of baraka, the practices of samâ‘ and zekr, prayer, meditation, the Persian language, and maddâh poetry play in the process of devotional musical healing. The chapter also explores collaborative and integrative research where physiological experiments can form part of ethnographic research, and ethnographic research inform experimental health science research and practice.Less
Chapter 2 explicates the five factors of music, medicine, and culture—the physical/biological, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of life that must be factored into human experience to bring about transformation in one or all dimensions; builds upon the quantum theories of Planck, Einstein, and Heisenberg, to explore the culture-specific, culture-transcendent and potentially universal aspects of these factors, focusing on the history and culture of Badakhshan Tajikistan and emphasizing the role of a mystical orientation to life, the spiritual power of baraka, the practices of samâ‘ and zekr, prayer, meditation, the Persian language, and maddâh poetry play in the process of devotional musical healing. The chapter also explores collaborative and integrative research where physiological experiments can form part of ethnographic research, and ethnographic research inform experimental health science research and practice.
Benjamin D Koen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195367744
- eISBN:
- 9780199867295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367744.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 3 introduces the music-prayer-meditation dynamics model and shows how it can be employed in ethnographic and health science research; presents a case study; explores cognitive flexibility as ...
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Chapter 3 introduces the music-prayer-meditation dynamics model and shows how it can be employed in ethnographic and health science research; presents a case study; explores cognitive flexibility as a culture-transcendent dynamic necessary to bring about healing transformations; frames the quantum field as a middle ground of transformation between the tangible and intangible, between that which is manifest as matter and that which is its source—a source that is non-physical and unmanifest; shows how cognitive flexibility is related to local beliefs, symbols, metaphors, the natural and built environment, as well as musical structures of maddâh devotional music; and shows how cognitive flexibility facilitates entering a state of higher consciousness and quantum potentiality where healing can occur.Less
Chapter 3 introduces the music-prayer-meditation dynamics model and shows how it can be employed in ethnographic and health science research; presents a case study; explores cognitive flexibility as a culture-transcendent dynamic necessary to bring about healing transformations; frames the quantum field as a middle ground of transformation between the tangible and intangible, between that which is manifest as matter and that which is its source—a source that is non-physical and unmanifest; shows how cognitive flexibility is related to local beliefs, symbols, metaphors, the natural and built environment, as well as musical structures of maddâh devotional music; and shows how cognitive flexibility facilitates entering a state of higher consciousness and quantum potentiality where healing can occur.
Benjamin D Koen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195367744
- eISBN:
- 9780199867295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367744.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 6 details a power-laden and affective symbol, metaphor, poetic and musical sign in Pamir culture that is central to concepts of health and healing. This is done through poetic and musical ...
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Chapter 6 details a power-laden and affective symbol, metaphor, poetic and musical sign in Pamir culture that is central to concepts of health and healing. This is done through poetic and musical analysis that shows the pervasiveness and centrality of this local sign, which is manifest in local belief, the natural and built environment, and the musical and poetic structure of maddâh devotional music. A physiological experiment that was conducted in the context of maddâh ritual performance is presented and statistical data analyzed and interpreted showing a significant downward modulation of systolic blood pressure at p-value of .0003. Further, the culture-transcendent aspects are applied in another research project in the U.S. among a culturally diverse group of people (ages 18-85) where participants learn to create health, healing, or transformation through practices of music, sound, vocalization, and meditation. The GAP — Guided Attention Practice is presented as part of this latter research project.Less
Chapter 6 details a power-laden and affective symbol, metaphor, poetic and musical sign in Pamir culture that is central to concepts of health and healing. This is done through poetic and musical analysis that shows the pervasiveness and centrality of this local sign, which is manifest in local belief, the natural and built environment, and the musical and poetic structure of maddâh devotional music. A physiological experiment that was conducted in the context of maddâh ritual performance is presented and statistical data analyzed and interpreted showing a significant downward modulation of systolic blood pressure at p-value of .0003. Further, the culture-transcendent aspects are applied in another research project in the U.S. among a culturally diverse group of people (ages 18-85) where participants learn to create health, healing, or transformation through practices of music, sound, vocalization, and meditation. The GAP — Guided Attention Practice is presented as part of this latter research project.
Dale S. Wright
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195382013
- eISBN:
- 9780199870332
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382013.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into ...
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Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into various ways to conceive of contemplative practice in the contemporary, global world. It analyzes meditation at three levels of human consciousness—immediate experience, reflective experience, and reflexivity, or self‐awareness. The chapter reflects on the relations between meditation and philosophy.Less
Chapter 5 is divided into two sections. The first section presents an overview of the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the perfection of meditation, dhyānapāramitā. The second section inquires into various ways to conceive of contemplative practice in the contemporary, global world. It analyzes meditation at three levels of human consciousness—immediate experience, reflective experience, and reflexivity, or self‐awareness. The chapter reflects on the relations between meditation and philosophy.
Paul D. Numrich
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195386219
- eISBN:
- 9780199866731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386219.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Lake Street Church, officially affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA denomination, is “intentionally ambiguous” about its identity and draws only loose boundaries between Christians and ...
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Lake Street Church, officially affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA denomination, is “intentionally ambiguous” about its identity and draws only loose boundaries between Christians and non-Christians. Each year the church invites non-Christian representatives to participate in its Worldwide Community Sunday. The pastor sees this celebration as a way to be as “radically inclusive” as Jesus was in his own table fellowship. The church also offers regular programs on world religions, including Hindu and Buddhist meditation. The chapter features a Bhagavad Gita discussion group and interviews with church members who find Lake Street Church a supportive community for their spiritual journey. “Spiritual seekers, regardless of racial, sexual, or religious orientations are all welcome!” proclaims a church brochure, which notes that more than sixteen religious traditions are represented in the congregation.Less
Lake Street Church, officially affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA denomination, is “intentionally ambiguous” about its identity and draws only loose boundaries between Christians and non-Christians. Each year the church invites non-Christian representatives to participate in its Worldwide Community Sunday. The pastor sees this celebration as a way to be as “radically inclusive” as Jesus was in his own table fellowship. The church also offers regular programs on world religions, including Hindu and Buddhist meditation. The chapter features a Bhagavad Gita discussion group and interviews with church members who find Lake Street Church a supportive community for their spiritual journey. “Spiritual seekers, regardless of racial, sexual, or religious orientations are all welcome!” proclaims a church brochure, which notes that more than sixteen religious traditions are represented in the congregation.
Steven Heine (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199754465
- eISBN:
- 9780199932801
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754465.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In this book scholars of Buddhism from both sides of the Pacific explore the life and thought of Zen Master Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of the Japanese Soto sect. Through both textual and ...
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In this book scholars of Buddhism from both sides of the Pacific explore the life and thought of Zen Master Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of the Japanese Soto sect. Through both textual and historical analysis, the volume shows Dōgen in context of the Chinese Chan tradition that influenced him and demonstrates the tremendous, lasting impact he had on Buddhist thought and culture in Japan. The chapters provide critical new insight into Dōgen's writings. Special attention is given to the Shobogenzo and several of its fascicles, which express Dōgen's views on such practices and rituals as using supranormal powers (jinzu), reading the sutras (kankin), diligent training in zazen meditation (shikan taza), and the koan realized in everyday life (genjokoan). The book also analyzes the historical significance of this seminal figure: for instance, Dōgen's methods of appropriating Chan sources and his role relative to that of his Japanese Zen predecessor Eisai, considered the founder of the Rinzai sect, who preceded Dōgen in traveling to China.Less
In this book scholars of Buddhism from both sides of the Pacific explore the life and thought of Zen Master Dōgen (1200–1253), the founder of the Japanese Soto sect. Through both textual and historical analysis, the volume shows Dōgen in context of the Chinese Chan tradition that influenced him and demonstrates the tremendous, lasting impact he had on Buddhist thought and culture in Japan. The chapters provide critical new insight into Dōgen's writings. Special attention is given to the Shobogenzo and several of its fascicles, which express Dōgen's views on such practices and rituals as using supranormal powers (jinzu), reading the sutras (kankin), diligent training in zazen meditation (shikan taza), and the koan realized in everyday life (genjokoan). The book also analyzes the historical significance of this seminal figure: for instance, Dōgen's methods of appropriating Chan sources and his role relative to that of his Japanese Zen predecessor Eisai, considered the founder of the Rinzai sect, who preceded Dōgen in traveling to China.
David E. Riggs
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195304671
- eISBN:
- 9780199866861
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304671.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Chapter 8 seeks to uncover the historical origins of kinhin, the ritual of walking meditation as it has been practiced in the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen. Practiced today between periods of zazen, ...
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Chapter 8 seeks to uncover the historical origins of kinhin, the ritual of walking meditation as it has been practiced in the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen. Practiced today between periods of zazen, the Sōtō style of kinhin entails an exceptionally slow pace of walking in order to coordinate each step with a full cycle of respiration. Although Sōtō monks typically attribute this practice to the founding figure, Dōgen and his teacher in China, Riggs finds the origins of the practice considerably later than this in the eighteenth century Sōtō leader Menzan Zuihō's writings, the Kinhinki, a brief text describing the practice of kinhin, and the Kinhinkimonge, a commentary connecting this practice to traditional Buddhist texts.Less
Chapter 8 seeks to uncover the historical origins of kinhin, the ritual of walking meditation as it has been practiced in the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen. Practiced today between periods of zazen, the Sōtō style of kinhin entails an exceptionally slow pace of walking in order to coordinate each step with a full cycle of respiration. Although Sōtō monks typically attribute this practice to the founding figure, Dōgen and his teacher in China, Riggs finds the origins of the practice considerably later than this in the eighteenth century Sōtō leader Menzan Zuihō's writings, the Kinhinki, a brief text describing the practice of kinhin, and the Kinhinkimonge, a commentary connecting this practice to traditional Buddhist texts.
