[A post from Jason Durso] The popular understanding of Zen philosophy is that it is painfully frustrating, contrived and lies outside the realm of rational discourse. Rather than offering some sort of platform for discussion or some set of assertions which can be systematically analyzed and negotiated into a personal system of meaning the proponents of this view will often Continue Reading …
Zen and the Brain
http://vimeo.com/8294568 Watch on Vimeo One way to naturalize Buddhism is to discern the moral lessons it might offer after shedding its metaphysics. Another way is to scrutinize the physiological effects of its practices. As Owen Flanagan explained on PEL's first "naturalized Buddhism" episode, not all Buddhist sects practice meditation. But of course, many do, particularly Continue Reading …
Glimpses of Zen: No Self vs. Big Self
As mentioned on the podcast, our original intention was to cover Zen, but that seemed difficult without covering some of the history. Nagarjuna was a big influence on Zen, particularly in the "Reasoning" reading where he urges disassociation from even Buddhist doctrine itself, i.e. the transcendence of all views. That's the kind of mind-bending apparent self-contradiction that Continue Reading …