Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Spring 2010 Class on Meditation, Buddhism, and Sustainability

Meditation, Buddhism, and Sustainability
Spring 2010 (1st eight weeks only)
CLLC L100 / Class 11743
Credit Hours: 2.0
T/R 6:50p - 8:20p
Instructor: Doug Hanvey (dhanvey@indiana.edu)

In this highly experiential course you will learn the practice of Buddhist meditation, or “mindfully allowing what is.” In addition to meditating, you will read, discuss, and write about several core concerns of Eastern philosophy, including the nature of consciousness, time, and self, and the ultimate goal of spiritual enlightenment. Our final topic will be to explore the question, “How might Buddhist teachings and meditation practices help in planting the seeds for a truly peaceful and sustainable world?” This will not be an easy “activity” class (or in this case “non-activity class”). You might even 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 will explore yourself at the deepest levels of your being and be challenged 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.”