Meanings and practices of mindfulness

Meet weekly from January 5 to March 2, 2023
Thursday at 5 pm PST | 8 pm EST (USA and Canada)
Friday at 10 am JST (Japan)
Instructor: Rev. Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon

Course Description

Mindfulness is now not just a practice, but a movement, sweeping the globe and being applied across numerous social sectors. Yet, the forms of practice are far more varied than simple definitions and descriptions might suggest. What are the origins of these practices, where do they come from, and how do they differ? This course will examine the different ways mindfulness has been defined and practiced through the ages. With a mixture of textual studies, history, and mindfulness practice, you will experience both ways these various traditions look in writing and in practice. It will especially look at Buddhist traditions that form the basis of the current movement. Through the course, you will come to understand how the approaches from Buddhist schools were similar and different, as well as how they compared to secular approaches. You will also learn how these different mindfulness practices have been applied and what their different purposes are for.

Course Schedule

Jan 5

Introduction and Early Buddhism

Jan 12

Early Buddhism: Sutras

Jan 19

Early Buddhism: Sutras II

Jan 26

Theravada Commentaries

Feb 2

No Class

Feb 9

Mahayana Schools

Feb 16

 Vajrayana approaches

Feb 23

Secularizing Mindfulness

Mar 2

Ethics, Values, and Virtues

Register here
Nathan

Rev. Dr. Nathan Jishin Michon is a Shingon Buddhist priest, interfaith minister, chaplain, and scholar. Jishin completed their PhD in religious studies at Graduate Theological Union and MDiv in Buddhist chaplaincy at University of the West. Jishin specializes in crisis and disaster care and completed Fulbright research in Japan, examining the development of Buddhist chaplaincy there since the tsunami of 2011. During Jishin’s years in Japan, they cared for tsunami survivors while also traveling the country interviewing leaders of Buddhist chaplaincy programs and observing their different chaplain training courses. Among other works, Jishin is the editor of A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Buddhists in your Community, co-author of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion entry on “Buddhist Chaplaincy,” and translator of the forthcoming Providing Presence in the Face of Pain: My Journey into Interfaith Chaplaincy by Wako Amano. On the side, they are co-director of interfaith ministry education for Unity and Diversity World Council. Jishin has lived in seven countries and previously trained extensively in Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Tradition before ordaining within the Shingon tradition.