Buddhist Philosophy & Meditation Practice

Professor Rafael Espericueta

This course will provide a brief introduction to the basic principles of Buddhist philosophy, and their realization through meditative practices. The particular point of view is that of Zen, but the course will also explore the concepts of perennial philosophy manifested though various religious traditions in various times and places.

The course will include actual meditation instruction and practice. We will not just study about meditation, we’ll also practice it! On the first day of class a simple basic form of meditation will be introduced, and we'll end each class with a short meditation period.

Course Itinerary

Each week the class will examine a particular mystic tradition, considered from the Zen/perennial-philosophic non-dual perspective. Tracing the roots of Zen, we’ll study Chinese Taoist philosophy, as well as Mahayana Buddhism including the Vajrayana practices of Tibet. Then we’ll continue south to India where we’ll encounter the ancient teachings of Advaita Vedanta. From India we’ll move west to visit the Sufi mystics from the land of Islam. Then we'll explore the old Kabala of Hebraic mysticism (with its deep roots in the esoteric traditions of Egypt), along with spiritual alchemy and the Western Mystery Schools. Next we'll visit a few Christian mystics from past and present times. We’ll then see that "primitive" peoples are not necessarily all that primitive, when it comes to a grasp of perennial philosophy, as we take a look at indigenous shamanistic traditions. Finally we’ll compare and contrast perennial philosophy with modern science, including modern physics, as well as recent findings from modern functional brain imaging techniques on how meditation changes the brain.

Each week, the links for that week's topics will be made active. The readings for this class are all online, freely available on the Web. In addition to readings, you'll find links to some excellent short videos that are also freely available on the Web that explore further some of the topics covered in class.

Table of Contents

Chapter  1 - Perennial Philosophy

Chapter  2 - Buddhism & Zen

Chapter  3 - Taoism

Chapter  4 - Vajrayana

Chapter  5 - Advaita Vedanta

Chapter  6 - Qabalah

Chapter  7 - Alchemy

Chapter  8 - Sufism

Chapter  9 - Christian Mysticism

Chapter 10 - Shamanism

Chapter 11 - Compassionate Communication ( also called Nonviolent Communication )

Chapter 12 - Science & Mysticism

 

Meditation

You are welcome to join us for Zen-style meditation at our home on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings, from 8:30am to 9:30am. For more information, please visit: http://shimmeringvoid.org

Contacting the Prof

Rafael is most easily contacted by email at resperic@bc.cc.ca.us
His homepage is http://www2.bc.cc.ca.us/resperic