|
Visiting Professor Guy Claxton lectures held at Kagyu
E-Vam Buddhist Institute |
|
Contacts
@ Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute | Return to Tapelist | |
 |
Contacts
@ Maitripa Contemplative Centre Suellen Fuller 528 Myers Creek Road, Healesville Victoria, 37777. Phone: 61-3-5962 6167 |
|
Biodata: |
|
'NO HARD FEELINGS? WHY WE NEED NEGATIVE EMOTIONS' Both Buddhism and psychotherapy can sometimes be seen as legitimating, or even strengthening, an aversion to the so-called 'negative emotions' - fear, anger, lust, distress and so on. Yet we could not live without some fundamental attachments and aversions and their concomitant feelings. In this talk I shall argue that 'desire' is not a problem, only certain kinds of secondary processes that make us over-react to the gaining or losing of the objects of desire. Equanimity can be found as much in the midst of despair or disgust as in happiness or tranquillity. |
||
| 'WHY PEOPLE BECAME
SELVES (AND WHAT TO DO WITHOUT ONE)' Buddhism and Psychotherapy Conference October 2001 If certain versions of the 'self' are pernicious and self-defeating,
as Buddhism teaches, why on earth did human beings invent them in the
first place? At some point in our biological and cultural evolution, the
self must have seemed like a good idea. In this talk I argue that several
strands of the self developed, each of which was useful on its own but
which, woven together, started to generate unwanted and unhappy side-effects.
Self-concern emerged as one way of mopping up spare brain capacity - but
the strategy got out of hand. It is possible to reduce self-concern, and
thereby diminish suffering; but then we have another problem: what to
do with the energies we have liberated …. |
||
|
'MINDFULNESS AND CREATIVITY' |
||
| 'INTUITION: SPIRITUAL
AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES' Buddhism and Psychotherapy Conference October 2001 The concept of prajna, intuitive wisdom, is central to Buddhist teachings. Analogous ideas can be found in all spiritual traditions from Sufism and Taoism to Kabbalah and Christian mysticism. It is also central to the work of counsellors and psychotherapists. But what is this intuition? Where does it come from? Is it 'incorrigible'? And how can intuitive wisdom be cultivated? Recent developments in our scientific understanding of the human brain and mind may be capable of helping to illuminate these vital questions. In this workshop, we shall use our own experience to explore the nature and the status of intuition, and discuss the relationship between spiritual and psychological approaches to its development. |
||
|
PSYCHOLOGY OF AWAKENING - HEART PSYCHOLOGY OF AWAKENING - SELF PSYCHOLOGY OF AWAKENING - MIND In this series of talks, psychologist Guy Claxton explores the ways in which contemporary scientific approaches to human nature and human welfare both enriches, and are enriched by, traditional Buddhist insights and practices. The first talk discussed how meditation corrects certain conditioned faults in mental functioning. The second talk looks at the nature of self- why it evolved and what it is for. Finally, the third talk, the implications for living with a peaceful and open heart are spelt out. |
||
|
WISDOM AND COMPASSION |