Upcaming events at UCLA - CBS

Dear Members:

Happy new year! We hope 2014 is a year of good health and much happiness.

We are pleased to announce our upcoming events. Please check our website for more information.

http://web.international.ucla.edu/buddhist/

Buddhism in the Writings of Tao Hongjing (456-536)

Lecture by Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Arizona State University

Friday, January 17, 2014
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Bunche Hall 10383

No RSVP required

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Expressions of the Inexpressible: The Princeton Dictionary Of Buddhism

Monday, January 27, 2014 | 7 pm
LACMA Brown Auditorium

Reservation required (please see below)

In an event launching the recently published book The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, two eminent scholars of Buddhism—Robert E. Buswell, Jr. and Donald S. Lopez, Jr.—come to LACMA to present their process and research in developing the book. The publication features over 5,000 entries totaling over a million words—the most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of Buddhism ever produced in English. Buswell and Lopez also speak about how Buddhism can be understood through resources presented in the book. A book signing follows the lecture.

Robert E. Buswell, Jr. is the Irving and Jean Stone Endowed Chair in Humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies and the founding director of the Center for Buddhist Studies.

Donald S. Lopez, Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan.
LACMA, Brown Auditorium
Free and open to the public; reservations required
Tickets: 323 857-6010 or reserve online

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Classical Mindfulness Conference

Classical Mindfulness: Enhancing Modern Mindfulness-Based Therapies A conference on classical mindfulness, its relevance to modern therapy, and clinical and research potential

Wednesday, January 29, 2014
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
314 Royce Hall

Please RSVP at http://web.international.ucla.edu/buddhist/events/10311

The Buddhist canonical teachings on mindfulness are attracting growing interest for their promise in building upon the clinical and research foundation laid by Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) therapy. These traditional accounts of mindfulness also promise to bring greater clarity to the role of mindfulness in mental cultivation, amidst the current “confusing” versions and practices.

This conference is an attempt to introduction classical mindfulness, its relevance to modern therapy, and clinical and research potential. Four renowned scholars and researchers in this field will be presenting papers, followed by discussion. Though classical mindfulness training entails both sustained attention (samatha) and insight (vipassana), this conference will focus primarily on sustained attention.

B. Alan Wallace, PhD, a prominent Buddhist scholar and researcher, will introduce the history, the relevance, and practice, of sustained attention (samatha) in both the Pāli and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Wendy Hasenkamp, PhD, a neuroscientist and researcher, will discuss her research findings on sustained attention (samatha) involving expert meditative practitioners, and its potential implication for further research and clinical application.

Lobsang Rapgay, PhD, will discuss the clinical and research related benefits and issues associated with MBSR. He will also explore the potential of sustained attention (samatha) for clinical application and research, and also some of the issues involved in studying sustained attention.  He will also present a short rationale of how to integrate MBSR with classical mindfulness for clinical application.

Cliff Saron, PhD, will summarize ongoing investigation regarding the ways in which attentional, emotional and physiological processes are modified over the course of three months of intensive full-time training in meditative quiescence (Shamatha) and emotional balance (loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity) taught by Alan Wallace, in a longitudinal randomized wait-list controlled study known as “The Shamatha Project.”

Robert Buswell, PhD, the director of the Center for Buddhist Studies will serve as moderator.