Supplements for “Teaching Students about Mindfulness and Modern Life”
Andrew O. Fort, Mark Dennis
June 11, 2020 DOI: 10.65959/eaa.1636 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Practical guide or manual |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Meditation contemplative practices |
| Duration | One semester |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The syllabus proposes that a mindful life can be cultivated through a course integrating traditional Buddhist ideas, modern science, and liberal arts reflection, with regular meditation, discussion, and contemplative exercises. It argues that such training develops attention, critical thinking, and self-exploration, drawing on William James, John Dewey, and Shunryu Suzuki to frame mindfulness as education par excellence and a remedy for distraction and blindness to others' feelings. |
Abstract
What does it mean to live a mindful life today?What kind(s) of thinking and practice does such a life entail?How would it fit into a busy college student's life?We will address these questions through both theory and practice in this course.We will range from traditional Buddhist ideas to modern science, from classic liberal arts reflection to contemporary mindfulness practices.We will consider how practice and reflection influence one another, and how we engage in personal relationships, society, and the natural world.Be prepared to explore (and challenge) common notions of self through our inquiry.After beginning most classes with a 10-minute meditation, we will discuss the day's reading material.We will then generally do another practice and end with a "circle of discussion."We will also have guest speakers in some classes.Throughout this course, we ask you to be open and flexible.We may need to make some minor modifications to the schedule and such as we move through the semester.If we do make changes, we'll make sure to announce them in class and notify you by email. a) Quotations:The following quotations capture some of the key issues we will take up over the course of the semester as we attempt to be more mindful in a distracted age.The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgement, character, and will...An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence.(William James, The Principles of Psychology 1 ) Education, in order to accomplish its ends both for the individual learner and for society, must be based upon experience -which is always the life experience of some individual…There is no discipline in the world so severe as the discipline of experience subjected to the tests of intelligent development and direction… ( John Dewey, Education and Experience) Now the blindness in human beings…is the blindness with which we all are afflicted in regard to the feelings of creatures and people different from ourselves.(William James: On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings)In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.(Shunryu Suzuki: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) b) Objectives -leading to Course Outcomes: Through short reaction papers, various exercises, and a final reflection paper, you will be assessed on your ability to:• understand theory about and practice of mindfulness and related concepts.• undertake a variety of contemplative practices.• comprehend multiple ways of mind-body knowing.• read critically, think analytically, speak persuasively, and write effectively through the description, analysis, and evaluation of mindfulness teachings and practices.• perform self-exploration; existential inquiry is an inevitable component of this course.