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07-27-00 |
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Philosophy 312: Oriental Philosophy Yoga--Ways to the Goal Abstract: Yoga is viewed in the
Vedanta tradition as the path which seeks to unite one's own soul with Atman.
Two basic meaning are implied:
(2) to place under discipline or training. A. Hatha yoga--mastery and control over the body; ideally complete control over the body's every function; hence, it's not identical with gymnastics or physical culture. "Hatha" means "violent effort."
2. The idea is a Mircea Eliade points out in Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (p. 227) "...since liberation can be gained even in this life, the body must be preserved as long as possible, and in perfect condition, precisely as an aid to meditation." 3. Without a perfectly healthy body, one cannot know bliss. Hatha yoga is not so much philosophy as it's physics and physiology. 4. Hatha yoga is used to develop physical powers far beyond the normal. Models of body centers enable understanding of the unconscious. 5. Interestingly, much of hatha yoga as it is practiced today may well have orginated from the Scandinavian gymnastics tradition[1].
b. emotional (valuing or feeling) c. essentially active (sensation) d. empirical or experimental (intuitive)
1. Appeals to the thinker, the philosopher, and the analyst (e.g., Siddhartha's early life in Hesse's book). 2. Three main parts of this path
b. Reflection: breathing life into the concept of Atman into a momentous reality. Active awareness. Look at how language is used everyday. "My" distinguishes what I think stands apart). I am changes in personality and chemicals over time. {Personality can be seen as the masks through which others see us in accordance with the roles we play.)
[Nintendo] "Oh! I lost my tail." [Hesse's Siddhartha] Siddhartha referred to himself in the third person. Note that perception is selective.
With meditation one has the detached viewpoint of an onlooker--one still feels pain, but the fear is gone.
2. The adoration is in passionate inwardness and is personal in character. 3. God's personality is indispensible--the worship of God through human incarnation. 4. Emphasis on Hinduism's myths esp.
Thou are everywhere, but I worship you hers; Thou are without form, but I worship you in these forms: Thou needest no praise, yet I offer you these prayers an salutations, Lord, forgive three sins that are due to my human limitations. 7. Three special feature of this approach.
b. ringing the changes on love--different nuances of love in different relationships. All aspects are part of the love for God. c. the worship of God as one's chosen ideal as one of God's human incarnations: Christ, Rama, Krishna, or Buddha.
2. The idea is that every action performed upon the external world has its imprint on the mind. Cf., the doctrine of Karma.
b. Every act done without thought of self diminishes self-centeredness and brings one closer to the divine.
b. Literally, the psychological framework is that the "I" does nothing at all. c. Gita: "To the work you have the right, but not to the fruits thereof." One who does the task dictated by duty Caring nothing for the fruit of the action This one is yogi. d. A yogi meditating on the banks of the Ganges saw a scorpion fall into the river--he scooped it out only to be stung. This happened two more times. When asked, "Why do you do this?," the yogi replied, "It is the nature of scorpions to bite; it is the nature of yogi's to help others when they can."
b. Having done something or forced to leave it before it is finished, the yogi goes on to another duty in the same spirit. c. Concentrate fully and calmly on each duty as it presents itself and all emotional hindrances disappear with the realization no task is ever completed. d. Since all actions are uncompleted, anything you do is the only thing you do. Pain, loss, shame, and so forth only touch the surface self.
2. The experiments consist of practicing certain prescribed mental exercises and seeing the effect on our mental condition. 3. Hindu model of man as a layered being. Perhaps, it's more metaphorical than literally accurate--even so it's a map of the territory of great use. 4. The positive effects are getting beyond the pitter-patter of daily existence (Samsara), but great risks are involved also.
b. Christmas Humphreys, Concentration and Meditation: A Manual of Mind Development:
"More men and women have been driven insane through a premature awakening of forces latent in these centers than most students realize" (p. 21.)
(2) The five observances: cleanliness, contentment, self-control, studiousness, contemplation of the divine.
(4) Mastering the breath--normal breath can easily disrupt consciousness.
(b) A kind of hibernation is obtained by a yogi who can reduce the amount of CO2 exhaled from the normal 4% to 2% with a cycle of 16 counts in, 64 holding, and 32 counts out.
(b) A yogi can be oblivious to beating on a tin pan near him.
(b) The average time one can spend thinking about one thing is about 3.5 seconds. Thoughts begin to buggle up from the unconscious. (c) What you concentrate on doesn't matter--the breath, Om, the tip of your nose.
(b) The sense of time and the duration of time disappears.
(b) Atman is realized through meditation.
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Introduction | Siddhartha | Hinduism | Confucianism | Buddhism | Zen | Taoism |
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