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The Art of Meditation
Honors 001
Wednesday 7:30-9:10
Miller Center Dance Studio
Ben Howard
e-mail: fhowardb@bigvax.alfred.edu
Meditation
To practice meditation is to open what is closed, reveal what is hidden, and balance what is reactive in the heart and mind. Amidst the pressures and distractions of academic life, meditation affords a return to the ground of being and a path to authentic presence.
In this course you will gain experience in the art of meditation. Employing the methods of sitting and walking meditation, as taught by Jack Kornfield and Thich Nhat Hanh, we will focus on awareness of posture, breath, and movement; mindfulness of feelings, thoughts, and speech; and the transformation of negative states of mind. Cultivating the energy of mindfulness, we will bring that energy into our daily lives. Practicing the art of mindful living, we will explore ways to relate to others, to our environment, and to ourselves with wisdom and compassion.
A Daily Practice
It is essential that you establish a daily meditative practice. Please select a time and place where you will not be disturbed. For sitting meditation, it is important that your back be straight, your posture stable and comfortable. I would recommend that you use a cushion (zafu) and mat (zabuton) or a kneeling (seiza) bench. For walking meditation, you will need a private area where you can walk very slowly, following your breath.
Stopping and Looking (samatha and vipassana)
Buddhist meditation has two aspects-- samatha and vipassana. Samatha (stopping; calm abiding) develops concentration, stability, and inner peace. Vipassana (insight; looking deeply) uses the concentrated awareness of samatha to observe events unfolding in the present moment. In the classic Buddhist texts, vipassana reveals, through direct experience, that "everything that arises passes away and is not self."
During the first half of this course, we will emphasize samatha, using guided meditations to develop stability and concentration. During the second half, we will emphasize vipassana, allotting more time to silent meditation. In practice, however, stopping and looking are aspects of a single process. They "inter-are."
Readings
Our central texts will be the Anapanasati Sutra (Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing), Thich Nhat Hanh's The Miracle of Mindfulness, Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein's Seeking the Heart of Wisdom, and Breath Sweeps Mind: A First Guide to Meditation Practice. For those who are interested, I can recommend a wide range of supplemental readings.
Discussion
Some of our time will be spent in discussion. The themes of our discussions will include mindfulness, impermanence, interdependence, environmental awareness, and the cultivation of compassion.
Insights
In the West, vipassana is known as insight meditation. If you are regularly practicing meditation, you will have many insights and intuitions.
Please keep a notebook with you and jot down your insights as they occur. At a later time, develop your notations into a poem or prose paragraph and bring it with you to class. I will respond to your poem or paragraph and return it to you the following week.
Evaluation
Your grade in this course will be based on the depth and consistency of your involvement, as reflected in your participation, your contribution to class, and your written work.
Conferences
I would like to meet with you at midterm and again toward the end of the semester to discuss your experience in the course. If you would like to meet with me at any other time, please get in touch by e-mail or drop by during my office hours.
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