Hindu, Buddhist and Daoist Meditation
Cultural histories
Large waves of global interest in meditation over the last half century have all focused on techniques stemming from Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. This collection of essays […]
Is meditation selfish?
The question is good, but the answers provided by Zoë Pollock on The Dish aren’t all that informative. First, they seem to equate meditation with Buddhism, which is less than half the story. Second, they don’t really talk so much about meditation as about Buddhist philosophy. And, disappointingly for an otherwise interesting blog, it […]
Meditation or self-indoctrination?
Is meditation a technique that opens the mind to a direct and unmediated experience of subtler aspects of reality? Or is it just a way of hypnotising the mind into "experiences" of "truths" prescribed by scripture and ideology? The answer undoubtedly depends on the type of meditative technique. The buddhologist Paul Harrison argues that early Buddhist meditation was much more closely related to scripture than we now usually assume.
Monks and nuns have got it!
Most of us are not inclined to leave society behind and become monks and nuns. But it is interesting to see how some of those who do so seem to have an interest in and an understanding of meditation that makes them a highly interesting group to discuss with.