Entangled Religions
December 2, 2025
Louis Komjathy
The present article explores Daoist effortless meditation with particular attention to its association with the inner cultivation lineages of classical Daoism (ca. 350–ca. 90 BCE). In addition to discussing the technical specifics of the practice, including its intimate connection to wúwéi 無為 (lit., ‘without acting/doing’; non-action/effortlessness), consideration is given to related...
July 8, 2024
Louis Komjathy
1 citation
The present chapter discusses the impact of Contemplative Studies on research paradigms. It explores the state of the field; the possibility and importance of actual interdisciplinarity; and contemplative inquiry and application. It concludes with a visionary statement about an imagined (im)possible future for the field.
Religions
May 27, 2022
Louis Komjathy
2 citations
Animals teach each other. For humans open to trans-species and inter-species dialogue and interaction, animal-others offer important insights into, invocations of and models for diverse and alternative modes of perceiving, experiencing, relating, and being. They in turn challenge anthropocentric conceptions of consciousness and offer glimpses of and perhaps inspiration for increased awareness...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
November 6, 2019
Louis Komjathy
Abstract Meditation has been and remains a central practice in the Daoist (Taoist) tradition. This chapter examines Daoist meditation, often referred to as dazuo (“engaging in sitting”) and shouyi (“guarding the One”) in Chinese, from the Later Han dynasty to the present. It provides a general overview of the five major forms of Daoist meditation, namely, apophatic meditation, ingestion,...
Teaching Theology & Religion
April 1, 2011
Tom Coburn, Fran Grace, Anne Klein et al.
31 citations
Abstract Contemplative Pedagogy is a new and sometimes controversial pedagogical practice. Faculty often have basic questions about how to implement the pedagogy in their classrooms, in addition to questions that challenge the educational value and appropriateness of the practice. Assembled here are the most frequently asked questions about Contemplative Pedagogy, with responses from six...
2007
Louis Komjathy
This section presents works relevant to the analysis of the early phases of the Quanzhen religious movement, and the lives and teachings of Wang Chongyang and his first-generation disciples. The book presents an examination of Quanzhen from the perspective of comparative religious studies, specifically in terms of conceptions of self, religious praxis, and comparative mysticism. The study of...