Religion & Psychology

Readings on Buddhism and Psychology - First read Chapter 9 in Taylor, if you haven't already - the discussion questions for that were posted last week, and are listed again below. Then read the first three articles linked below for sure, and browse the last two if you wish. Finally - the reading reflection question for your written response is here:

(Two parts:) (1) In thinking about American popular culture and popular religion, and reflecting on the reading from Taylor, what effects have you observed in religious practice, religious beliefs, and psychological therapies from the influence of Eastern religious practices and ideas? (2) From the readings on Buddhism (below), what positive impact on Western psychology might be possible from Buddhist thought and practice?

Taylor Chapter 9 discussion questions (185-207)

1. What were Vivekananda’s messages about the values of Hinduism for American people? (185-188)

2. How have American’s adapted religious ideas from Asia? (189-191)

3. How did Western writings influence Suzuki’s Zen philosophy, and what has his influence been? (194-197)

4. In what ways has the Dalai Lama been influential in America? (197+)

Articles on Buddhism and the Mind

I've listed a link below to an interview about neurological science and Buddhism. Read this for sure, and browse through the links on the article as well (especially useful is a 3-page piece by Ricard). Some are no longer current.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/mind/s943369.htm

Here's an overview article which also gives a summary discussion of Buddhist precepts. Please read this:

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhapsych.html

Here's a brief article by a Western psychotherapist about some benefits from Buddhist understanding for psychological practice:

http://www.buddhanet.net/compassion.htm

And the link below to an article written for a conference on Buddhism and psychology is interesting as well. Please note that the site hosting this article wants users to register. It seems a legitimate site to me, and the registration is to protect their materials, but if you are uncomfortable registering for an unknown web site, you don't have to read this article.

http://www.american-buddha.com/freedom.to.be.htm

The link below is a more scholarly article written by a psychology student at Bryn Mawr. This is optional.

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/Pilou.html