REL 251 Technologies of No-Self: Buddhist Meditation in East Asia (Not offered 1999-2000)*
According to the received understanding, Buddhist meditation is a mystical and ineffable activity of an individual in search of supreme freedom, and as such cannot be discussed or described intellectually, it can only be experienced. Skeptical approaches, on the contrary, tend to downplay meditation as the irrational and stultifying activity of an unproductive social group. The course aims at overcoming such limited visions of this important cultural phenomenon by addressing Buddhist meditation from the perspective of intellectual history. We will study (1) techniques, doctrinal explanations, and institutional contexts of the main Buddhist meditation traditions in East Asia, and (2) the reasons for their modern interpretations (and mystifications). In particular, the course will place Buddhist meditative practices in broader cultural and ideological contexts, as related to the definition of the self, the theory of knowledge, economics, gender and class, and power relations, within religious institutions and societies at large. Lecture and discussion. Requirements: full attendance and participation, 3-page critical comments on weekly assignments, and a final paper. Open to all classes without prerequisite.