HU 3900: Inquiry Seminar - Meditation: Journal Articles

Abstract:
This paper argues that all spiritual paths and attainments are locatable only in their own traditions that have their own logic, culture, and interpretive lenses. Within this first principle, one can see that there are possibilities for a skillful use of Buddhist practices in a Christian contemplative agenda. The author argues that Buddhist practices could serve various purposes: as a contemplative augment; as a direct facilitating of a Christian contemplative agenda; and as a way of providing what might be missing in traditional contemplative practices. They ought to be approached, however, to the degree that they can assist a robust Christian spirituality. Limitations can be theoretical, theological, or practical, and these need to be respected. Given respect for the Christian agenda and limitations inherent in the differences between the two traditions, the author commends the practice of vipassana or insight meditation as a way of facilitating what John of the Cross calls active nights of the senses and spirit. Furthermore, Buddhist samadhi practices of the divine-abiding meditations could augment what might be missing in an all too constricted Christian contemplative spiritual posture. The author also argues that these Buddhists practices can only go so far in assisting a Christian contemplative agenda and that their authentic usages as well as the original agenda of these usages should be respected as religiously different.

Abstract:
This article explores the popular Sunlun and Theinngu meditation traditions in Myanmar. The founders, Sunlun Sayadaw Ven. U Kavi (1878–1952) and Theinngu Sayadaw Ven. U Ukkaṭṭha (1913–1973), both led a lay life until in their mid-40s and only then took up meditation, going on to become highly respected meditation teachers. Their meditation techniques are similarly distinctive in employing rapid, strong and rhythmic breathing. They combined this with the contemplation of the intense, usually unpleasant, bodily sensations that are thus induced. I document their techniques and application in detail, highlighting their complexity and diversity. I draw contrasts between the use of sati, mindfulness, in their methods and the way it is used in the modern Mindfulness movement. Finally, I discuss the ways in which the practices and experiences of both masters had to be authorised to survive where other meditation traditions have been outlawed. Senior members of the Burmese Sangha catechised both masters separately, using Pāli canonical and post-canonical texts as a benchmark to verify the popular belief amongst Burmese people that they were arahants. I locate this testing within the context of the concerns, sense of duty and status experienced by Burmese lay people in relation to defending Buddhism from decline.

Abstract:
This article explores how meditation is inculcated throughout the life of Shan Buddhists using poetic phrasing and texts, culminating in several forms of meditation as part of the practice of temple-sleeping undertaken by lay Buddhist seniors from the age of 40 upwards. I look at how the poetic texts, lik loung, that form the basis of temple-sleeping practice, may have shifted in content in the 19th to 20th centuries to focus on meditation topics, in a move parallel to the development of vipassanā in lowland Burma in reaction to the threat colonialism posed to Buddhism. I then document the rise of separate vipassanā meditation centres in Shan regions from the 1930s and their ambiguous status as either representatives of Burmese hegemony or drivers of Shan revival. I note the influence of Shan lik loung on practice at such centres, as well as a more recent development, the uptake of vipassanā within temple-sleeping contexts.

Abstract
This article gives an overview of Buddhist-oriented meditation techniques that were integrated with art projects for four and five year old kindergarten children at Dong Guk Kindergarten, Gyeongju City, South Korea. The article assesses the effect of this program on the creatvitiy levels of the children.