Saturday, February 05, 2011

Upaya Dharma Podcasts - Zen Brain 2011: Consciousness and the Fundamental Nature of Mind Series: All 7 Parts

Upaya Zen Center

I have come to really look forward to the excellent Buddhism and Brain Science work that comes from the Upaya Zen Center. They offer the annual Zen Brain conference, which I WILL one day attend, and which features important people in their respective fields as presenters. This year is no different.

Here is the description from the first installment:

Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice distinguish between selflessness and fundamental mind, on the one hand, and mental states conditioned by the cognitive and affective distortion of self, on the other hand. In recent years, neuroscience has contributed new insights into the effects of meditation practice on the brain and behavior, as well as insights into how wholesome and unwholesome mental states and traits arise from and affect the workings of the brain and body.

Neuroscience also illuminates the brain systems underlying various modes of consciousness across the sleep-wake cycle, including waking states of perception, emotion, and memory, as well as dreaming, lucid dreaming, and deep sleep. In this retreat, prominent scientists and scholars will explore the koan of the basic or original nature of mind from the perspectives of Buddhist theory and practice, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind.

Special consideration will be given to the detailed conceptions of mind and consciousness in the Buddhist philosophical schools known as Yogacara/Cittamatra (Yoga-Practice/Mind-Only) and Madhyamaka (Middle Way), which also support and inform Zen. The potential cross-fertilization between these schools and contemplative neuroscience research will be emphasized at this retreat. Talks, discussions, and explorations with participants are embedded within Zazen practice throughout each day.

This year's presenters: Joan Halifax, Al Kaszniak, Richard Davidson, John Dunne, Evan Thompson, and Cliff Saron. Evan Thompson is particular favorite of mine - his work on embodied cognition is excellent - a recent example (in press) analyzes Daniel Dennett's "brain in a vat" thought experiment.

Zen Brain 2011: Consciousness and the Fundamental Nature of Mind Series: All 7 Parts

Recorded: Thursday Feb 3, 2011

The 7 part series Zen Brain: Consciousness and the Fundamental Nature of Mind is now published. You can access the desired part of the series by clicking on its link below:

1-20: Joan Halifax, Al Kaszniak, Richard Davidson, John Dunne, Evan Thompson, Cliff Saron: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 1 of 7)

1-21: John Dunne: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 2 of 7)

1-21: Richard Davidson: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 3 of 7)

1-21: Joan Halifax, Al Kaszniak, Richard Davidson, John Dunne, Evan Thompson, Cliff Saron: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 4 of 7)

1-22: Evan Thompson: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 5 of 7)

1-22: Joan Halifax, Al Kaszniak, Richard Davidson, John Dunne, Evan Thompson, Cliff Saron: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 6 of 7)

1-23: Joan Halifax, Al Kaszniak, Richard Davidson, John Dunne, Evan Thompson, Cliff Saron: Zen Brain 2011 (Part 7 of 7)


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