Singing Nature, Dancing Buddha: Zen, Language, and the Groundlessness of Silence

This thesis presents Zen experience as aesthetic in nature. This is done through an analysis of language, a central concern for Zen Buddhism. The thesis develops two modes of language at work in Zen: representational and indexical. What these modes of language entail, the kind of relations that are developed through their use, are explored with recourse to a variety of Zen platforms: poetry, the koan, zazen, music, and suizen. In doing so, a primacy of listening is found in Zen - a listening without a listener. Given this primacy of listening, silence comes to the forefront of the investigation. An analysis of John Cage's 4'33" provides this thesis with justification of the groundlessness of silence, and the groundlessness of subjectivity. Listening allows for the abyssal subject to emerges, which in tum allows for reality to present itself outside of the constitutive function of language.

La caractérisation neuromagnétique de l'attention sans réflexion chez les méditants zen dans un contexte d'images visuelles négatives.

L’état d’attention sans réflexion, aussi appelé « mindfulness », a démontré des effets positifs en clinique pour les désordres émotionnels associés à diverses conditions. Le nombre d’études portant sur la caractérisation des substrats neuronaux de cet état attentionnel croît, mais il importe d’investiguer davantage à ce chapitre pour éventuellement améliorer les interventions cliniques. La présente étude compte aider à déterminer, par la magnétoencéphalographie, quelles régions cérébrales sont en corrélation avec le mindfulness chez des experts, i.e. des méditants Zen. Ces derniers cultivent un état dans lequel ils s’abstiennent de rechercher ou de rejeter les phénomènes sensoriels, ce qui en fait d’excellents candidats à la présente étude. Dans un contexte de stimulations visuelles émotionnelles, il fut demandé aux méditants tantôt d’observer les images dans un état de mindfulness (condition expérimentale), tantôt dans un état dit normal (condition contrôle) où aucun effort particulier d’attention n’était requis. Les résultats d’analyse suggèrent que les participants expérimentèrent une intensité émotionnelle moins importante en mindfulness : les cotes subjectives ainsi qu’une réponse magnétique cérébrale reliée aux émotions nommée Potentiel Positif Tardif magnétique (PPTm) suggèrent cela. Cependant, le résultat le plus statistiquement probant dépasse la nature affective des stimuli. Il s’agit d’une diminution temporellement soutenue de l’activité de fréquence gamma au niveau des zones visuelles associatives du lobe temporal droit, sans égard à la nature des images. Également, une suppression de l’activité gamma d’une zone du cortex préfrontal latéral gauche fut observée. Ceci pourrait indiquer une diminution de la conceptualisation des stimuli reliée au langage et aux processus réflectifs du soi.

Deconstructive spiritual inquiry : experiential undoing in Advaita and Zen

A study of the meditative techniques of Advaita and Zen. The thesis develops a methodology that allow's practioner's experience to be mapped against the philosophical underpinnings of tradition. The results show that despite opposing philosophies, in both traditions the psychological dynamics of "experiential undoing" are similar.

A relação homem-mundo em René Descartes e no Zen-Budismo

Este trabalho procura justapor duas visões do homem no mundo, a cartesiana e a zen-budista, ressaltando o aspecto fragmentador da primeira e o aspecto integrador da segunda. O objetivo básico é contribuir para maior articulação e integração do homem contemporâneo através de três movimentos. Primeiro, através da critica à concepçao racionalista, mecânica, prepotente e antinatural, fundada na lógica dual e antitética do paradigma da ciência e do pensamento ocidental em boa parte construido por René Descartes; Segundo, através da divulgação e da exposição enfática, em nosso meio acadêmico ocidental, da metafisica e da mística budistas, especialmente em sua versão Zen, que compreende o mundo em permanente transformação e construção como um todo articulado ao equilibrio universal, no qual as palavras, os conhecimentos e a percepção são meros signos passageiros que escondem a realidade cósmica. O movimento final pretende negar uma visão maniqueísta da realidade onde a oposição não é vista como a liquidação de um dos termos pelo outro, mas como a busca de uma nova síntese: a gestação, enfim, de um novo referencial do mundo - e aqui apenas se levanta a questão - a ser construído, quem sabe, a partir da integração dos paradigmas caracterizados hoje como ocidental e oriental.

Not so not-for-profit

To address the sub-theme of the journal: Artistic Practices in a Time of Crisis, the author discusses the context of economic cuts and recent international crises on his PhD interactive and visual design research project undertaken in Australia. Identifying an apparent root-cause of current global crises, the author in reply, has structured a research plan and created a suite of new media, interactive, technology artworks, and installation art. Notions of Zen Buddhism, and stillness through meditation, are applied in the research and context of the artworks to support awareness of wellbeing, in response to the root-cause condition. The discussion will focus on the overarching question: how can one obtain value through the arts during current times of economic reduction conditioning?

Zazen, philosophy of mind, and the practicality of realising impermanence

This dissertation involves a general overview of the meditative practice of zazen and analytic philosophy of mind while suggesting a potential bridge between them in the form of an analysis of the practicality of realising impermanence. By the end of my argument I hope to have offered up some compelling evidence in favour of the idea that analytic philosophy would benefit greatly from adopting principles which are best learned and expressed through the practice of, and scholarship around, Zen Buddhism and in particular the treatment of the concept of impermanence. I demonstrate the Western philosophical tendency to make dichotomous assumptions about the nature of mind, even when explicitly denying a dualist framework. I do so by examining the historical and philosophical precedent for dualistic thinking in the work of figures such as Plato and Descartes. I expand on this idea by examining the psychology of categorisation - i.e. creating mental categories and boundaries - and demonstrating how such categorisations feeds back into behaviour in practical ways, both positive and negative. The Zen Buddhist principle of impermanence states that all phenomena are impermanent and therefore lack essential nature; this includes intellectual concepts such as the metaphysical framework of the analytic approach to mind. Impermanence is a principle which is realised through the embodied practice of zazen. By demonstrating its application to analytic philosophy of mind I show that zazen (and mindfulness practice in general) provides an ongoing opportunity for clearing up entrenched world views, metaphysical assumptions and dogmatic thinking. This in turn may promote a more holistic and ultimately more rewarding comprehension of the role of first-person experience in understanding the world. My argument is not limited to analytic philosophy of mind but reflects broad aspects of thinking in general, and I explain its application to issues of social importance, in particular education systems.

Mangá: uma nova gênese : análise da história em quadrinhos Neon Genesis Evangelion

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A Framework for Conceptualizing Psychologically Healthy Contemplative Practice.

In recent years contemplative practices such as Zen Buddhism and yoga have become increasingly utilized in the United States (Mann et al., 2001). The most visible contemplative practice in America today is the practice of yoga. According to a 2008 market study conducted by Yoga Journal, yoga was a 5.6 billion dollar industry in America in 2008. This market study also found that 15.8 million people, or 6.9% of American adults, practice yoga (Yoga Market Study, 2008). Zen Buddhism may be less visible than yoga in popular culture, yet its presence in the United States is substantial. While exact statistics are difficult to come by, Harvard University's Pluralism Project cites that the number of practicing Buddhists in America ranges from 2.4 to 4 million people, although it is unclear how many of these individuals practice Zen, or contemplative Buddhism (Pluralism Project Statistics, 2009). The popularity of Zen in America is further evidenced by the presence of Zen centers in most major cities. The sizeable and growing presence of Buddhism in America indicates a move towards the inclusion of contemplative practice in the cultural mainstream (Pluralism Project Statistics, 2009).

Zenmon hōgoshū : kōho tenchū /

Mode of access: Internet.

Goke sanshō yōromon /

Mode of access: Internet.

A meditation on boredom: Re-appraising its value through introspective phenomenology

Boredom is almost universally regarded as a dysphoric mental state, characterised by features such as disengagement and low arousal. However, in certain quarters (e.g., Zen Buddhism), boredom is seen as potentially having great value and even importance. The current study sought to explore boredom through a case study involving introspective phenomenology. The author created conditions in which he would experience boredom for an hour, and recorded his experience in real-time using a variant of the Experiencing Sampling Method. The data were analysed using an adaptation of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The results indicated that the state of boredom contained three main sources of value: (a) altered perception of time; (b) awakened curiosity about the environment; and (c) exploration of self. Consequently, the paper offers a re-appraisal of boredom, suggesting that rather than necessarily being a negative state, if engaged with, boredom has the potential to be a positive and rewarding experience.

Architecture of the Landscape and Landscape of the Architecture in Japan. A dialogue between water and earth

It's very difficult in traditional Japanese culture separate the landscape from the architecture. The Japanese architectural culture has its roots in China but soon this culture has developed its own culture and an aesthetic that was the result of a long isolation from the rest of the world. Zen Buddhism and the constant relationship with nature define the main characteristics of Japanese architecture: minimalism and simplicity. The architecture is a perfect balance of harmony, proportion and purity. This paper aims to analyze the cultural roots of the relationship between architecture and landscape in Japan and where the characteristics previously defined are very important for to know the significance of the Japanese architectural thinking.

Paths to Buddhahood : the "sudden" and "gradual" awakening models in Mah ̄y n̄a and Vajray n̄a Buddhism

Examines the graduated paths of Mah ȳn̄a and Vajrayn̄a Buddhism and the instantaneous paths of Ch'an/Zen, rDzogs chen and Mahm̄udr.̄ The main contention between these approaches relates to how the mental defilements are to be purified and how the positive qualities of Buddhahood are to be realised. After comparing and examining the paths it is argued that the polarisation of the "sudden" and "gradual" approaches is the result of the critical philosophies of late Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, rather than a real spiritual dilemma for adherents of either path.

The (zen) Buddhist heart of I ♥ Huckabees

 This paper offers a Buddhist reading of I ♥ Huckabees (2004). I begin with an overview of director David O. Russell's Zen influence to reveal how he weaves the Buddhist metaphor of Indra's net (a metaphor for the doctrine of pratitya-samutpada) and the principles of meditation into the narrative. The main objective, however, is to demonstrate that Russell doesn't merely re-present Buddhist ideals but also attempts to "practice" Buddhism by using the visual vernacular of contemporary media culture to rework film as meditation and meditation as film. In weaving Buddhist ideals into his satire on contemporary culture, I argue that Russell is engaging us in religious and ethico-political reflection.