Another Spring semester 2008 course to consider...
The Art of Meditation, Spring 2008 (second eight weeks only), CLLC L100 / Class 13252 Credit Hours: 2.0, M/W 6:50p - 8:20p, Collins Living-Learning Center Ed Basement, Instructor: Doug Hanvey (dhanvey@indiana.edu)
In this course you will learn and practice mindfulness, the essential meditation practice of Buddhism. In addition to meditating, you will read, discuss and write about several core concerns of Eastern philosophy, including the nature of consciousness, reality, time, self, and the ultimate goal of spiritual enlightenment. We will broadly compare Eastern and Western approaches to psychological and spiritual development, asking how Western traditions that aim to strengthen the ego can be reconciled with Eastern traditions that aspire to transcend it.
Note that this will not be an easy "activity" class (or in this case a "nonactivity" class). While we will meditate regularly and intensively, the discussion component of this class will be equally emphasized. In fact, you may discover that meditation is more rigorous than you thought it would be, and the philosophical ideas you will learn about may turn your world upside down and inside out (which is also the fun of it). You may be challenged at the deepest levels of your being–intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically. But as a saying goes, "Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the gift is yours."
An understanding of the basic principles of psychology is helpful, but not required. Requirements will likely consist of participation, reading quizzes and two papers.
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