 2015 - 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 0687-3420-01 | From the Buddha to the Besht:the Formation of Buddhist and J | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 4.0
Course description
From the Buddha to the Besht:
The Formation of Buddhist and Jewish Meditative Practices
Dr. Keren Arbel & Dr. Tomer Persico
One of the greatest contributions to the encounter between East Asia and the West in the Twentieth Century is the dispersion of a variety of meditative practices. Various meditative techniques, mostly from the Buddhist tradition, became very popular in Europe and the United States. As an outgrowth from them, and in response to them, various methods of "Jewish Meditation" have been created in recent decades, some of which rely on Kabbalistic and Chassidic practices (while adjusting them to the modern practitioner), and some are imported almost wholly from the Buddhist tradition.
The purpose of the seminar is to get to know, from a historical perspective, the theory and structure of the meditative practices in Buddhism and Judaism. We will examine the various meditation techniques proposed by Buddhist and Jewish thinkers and the formation of diverse meditative currents in these religious traditions. We will examine these techniques from a comparative perspective, while discussing the differences and common elements between them.
The first half of the seminar will be devoted to Buddhist meditation. We will read texts about meditation and attempt to decipher the intention of the authors. We will learn key concepts of the theory of meditation and clarify the relationship between doctrine and practice. The second half will focus on Jewish meditation of various types: analyzing traditional texts as well as modern, and endeavor to determine whether what is defined as “Jewish Meditation" is a continuation of an existing tradition, or is in actuality an adoption of Buddhist techniques.
The Formation of Buddhist and Jewish Meditative Practices
Dr. Keren Arbel & Dr. Tomer Persico
One of the greatest contributions to the encounter between East Asia and the West in the Twentieth Century is the dispersion of a variety of meditative practices. Various meditative techniques, mostly from the Buddhist tradition, became very popular in Europe and the United States. As an outgrowth from them, and in response to them, various methods of "Jewish Meditation" have been created in recent decades, some of which rely on Kabbalistic and Chassidic practices (while adjusting them to the modern practitioner), and some are imported almost wholly from the Buddhist tradition.
The purpose of the seminar is to get to know, from a historical perspective, the theory and structure of the meditative practices in Buddhism and Judaism. We will examine the various meditation techniques proposed by Buddhist and Jewish thinkers and the formation of diverse meditative currents in these religious traditions. We will examine these techniques from a comparative perspective, while discussing the differences and common elements between them.
The first half of the seminar will be devoted to Buddhist meditation. We will read texts about meditation and attempt to decipher the intention of the authors. We will learn key concepts of the theory of meditation and clarify the relationship between doctrine and practice. The second half will focus on Jewish meditation of various types: analyzing traditional texts as well as modern, and endeavor to determine whether what is defined as “Jewish Meditation" is a continuation of an existing tradition, or is in actuality an adoption of Buddhist techniques.