Teachers and Visiting Lecturers - Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Dr Robert Miller

lectures held at

Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute
Melbourne, Australia

Contacts @ Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute
Office
673 Lygon Street (Between Pigdon and Park Streets),
Carlton North, Victoria, 3054.
Phone: 61-3-9387 0422
Fax: 9380 8296
email: e_vam@smartchat.net.au
Website: http://www.evaminstitute.org.au

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Contacts @ Maitripa Contemplative Centre
Suellen Fuller
528 Myers Creek Road,
Healesville Victoria, 37777.
Phone: 61-3-5962 6167

Biodata:

Robert Miller was born in Scotland. He studied philosophy at Edinburgh - awarded M.A. in 1975; mainly interested in Neitzche and Existentialism. The he studied at Cambridge and became involved with Buddhism; also Krishnamurti's approach. Robert spent some time away from the academic scene practicing meditation, e.g.. at San Fransisco Zen Centre. He submitted a thesis on the Young Hegelian, Max Stirner, and on Zen, and was awarded a Cambridge M.Litt. in 1980. Thereafter he taught meditation in Edinburgh. In 1982 he came to Monash to study for the Ph.D, mainly working on Kant; received his Ph.D in 1985 and since then has been teaching philosophy at RMIT in Melbourne. He has a particular interest in synthesizing Eastern and Western approaches to philosophy.

THE WAY OF BEAUTY OF BEING AND PLAY (lectures) 29 June 2000 2 tapes From a Zen perspective, informed by books such as 'Games Zen Masters Play' by R.H. Blyth, and using detailed handouts, the dynamic between meditation and action is discussed. Between the mysterious beauty of being beyond words and the creative tension of play, between aesthetic stillness and lucid movement, between silence and thought - that both peace and energy may be 'eternal delight'.
WONDERMENT (lectures) Buddhist Summer School 2000 January 15-20 4 tapes "From time emptiness, wondrous being."Suzuki Roshi 1. After post modernism - the art of Buddhism: the re-enactment of everyday life. 2. Philosophy at the end of the millennium: the new aesthetic paradigm: wonderment, emptiness, play. 3. Buddhism: focus on emptiness, non-attachment. 4. The Art of Meditation: life itself as the ultimate aesthetic object. 5. The Eightfold Path: strategies for the reenactment of everyday life. Lyrical lectures, cryptic handouts, playful exchanges and poems/songs.
PHILOSOPHY AND BUDDHISM (talks) June 24 1999 3 tapes Talk 1. The Bottom Line: Coping with the Pain and Suffering of Life - some suggestions and advice from western philosophy (especially the ancient Stoics) and from Buddhism. Talk 2. A Debate Motion: That the meaning of life is to get younger every day - some philosophical (mainly post modern) and Zen-like suggestions on this theme. Talk 3. Moral and Political Consequences - some ethical and political considerations arising from a synthesis of ancient Stoic, post modern, and Buddhist perspectives
POST MODERN RE-ENCHANTMENT (talks) August 20 1998 4 tapes Uchiyama Roshi says occidentals fixate on the logos (word, concept, meaning) through which they try to grasp reality. However, post moderns (e.g. Derrida, Baudrillard) attack, from within the tradition, this logocentrism. This brings western philosophy closer to Buddhism. This is explored in the first two talks. Then post modern ethics and Buddhism (via Bauman, Levinas) is looked at. The final talk focuses on love, relationships and re-enchantment, in light of the preceding.
BUDDHISM AND EXISTENTIALISM Buddhist Summer School '93 - January 9-14 5 tapes "East is East, West is West, never the twain shall meet?" Likewise Buddhism and Existentialism? This will depend on how both are interpreted. In this course they are interpreted in a way that allows for a viable synthesis. The Existentialism focuses on freedom, choice, taking responsibility, dealing with Angst and having an authentic 'encounter with nothingness'. The Buddhism focuses on the Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Madhyamika, sunyata, Ch'an in the T'ang Dynasty and meditation.
AN INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOTHERAPY (PHILOSOTHERAPY) (lectures) July 23 1992 6 tapes In recent times there has been a noticeable shift away from classical psychoanalytical models of the mind and treatments of mental problems such as anxiety, anger, depression, etc. ("everyday neurosis"), toward a more philosophical (or cognitive) and self-help approach. This course looks at some of the main forms of this newer type of therapy including: 1. Rational-Emotive Therapy 2. Autosuggestion Therapy 2. Autosuggestion Therapy 3. Existential Psychotherapy 4. Psychology of Self-esteem 4. Psychology of Self-esteem 5. Buddhism as Psychotherapy 6. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 6. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
BUDDHISM AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (lectures) Buddhist Summer School January 11-16 1992 3 tapes Since the 1950s psychoanalysis has lost popularity while newer forms of therapy, such as 'cognitive' therapies, e.g. Rational-Emotive Therapy, have come more to the fore. There has also been a growing interest in what Buddhism has to offer. Some have expressed interest in ego transcendence; others in meditation. Undervalued so far is the element of cognitive therapy found in Buddhism. How these ideas may complement the newer western therapies is considered. The interpretation of Buddhism is generally pragmatic, agnostic and rather 'existential'.

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Last Updated: 10 April 2003