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SUMMARY:ERC BuddhistRoad cancelled!
DTSTART:20230125T090000Z
DTEND:20230125T110000Z
DTSTAMP:20260416T194937Z
UID:erc-buddhistroad-9244@ceres.rub.de
CATEGORIES:
DESCRIPTION:Unfortunately the Talk with Flavio A. Geisshuesler must be can
 celled. The event is rescheduled for a later this year.\nInformation about
  the new date will be published soon.\n\n\nMeeting with Buddhologists - Ta
 lk with Flavio A. Geisshüsler\n\nTitle: Framing the Sky: Great Perfection
  Meditation and the Tibetanization of Buddhism\n\n\nThis study offers an i
 ntroduction of the famous Tibetan practice known as “Direct Transcendenc
 e” (thod rgal\, Tögal) in order to explore its origins\, development\, 
 and relevance for the study of meditation more generally. In what is likel
 y one of the world’s most extraordinary techniques of meditation\, yogis
  sit on top of mountains and gaze into the dark blue of the open skies abo
 ve Tibet until they start to perceive specks of light that grow into compl
 ex mandalic shapes until they finally swirl back into empty space.\n\nDraw
 ing on a vast range of primary sources (such as Dunhuang manuscripts\, 10t
 h-century tantras of the Dzogchen tradition\, 14th-century commentaries\, 
 as well as other mythical-ritual texts belonging to the Ancient School of 
 Buddhism and Tibetan Bön)\, it not only reveals the unexpected origins of
  this practice—demonstrating that it likely originated amongst shamanic 
 practitioners prior to the introduction of Buddhist to Tibet in the 7th ce
 ntury—but also asks larger questions regarding the nature of meditation.
  Indeed\, despite its esoteric character\, scholars have compared the Tibe
 tan sky-gazing technique to mindfulness meditation\, which has become phen
 omenally popular across Western societies in recent decades. It has not on
 ly been argued that these types of practices share a frame of mind charact
 erized by freedom\, but also a series of closely related traits\, such as 
 present-centeredness\, relaxation\, or a non-judgmental attitude.\n\nThis 
 study contextualizes Tögal practice within a larger contemplative system\
 , which includes mythical-historical narratives of origin\, anatomical des
 criptions of our subtle bodies\, and philosophical speculations about the 
 nature of language\, in order to show that meditation is not simply domina
 ted by freedom. On the contrary\, this research project provides the reade
 r with a series of “frames” that not only demonstrate that meditation 
 frequently confines our freedom\, but also suggest that its truly liberati
 ng power stems from increasing our awareness of the various limitations th
 at make up human existence. Amongst many other things\, it shows that pres
 ent-centeredness requires us to be aware of our pasts\, relaxation involve
 s an appreciation of our bodily energies\, and a non-judgmental attitude c
 alls for an understanding of how our brains are inherently geared towards 
 structure and meaning- making.
LOCATION:CERES-Palais\, Raum "Ruhrpott" (4.13)
URL:https://ceres.rub.de/de/events/erc-buddhistroad/
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