"Meditation: Traditions and Practices" at USF, a Jesuit catholic university

Event: "Meditation: Traditions and Practices"
Organization: University of San Francisco(USF), a Jesuit catholic university.
Audience: University Students , ~30 students
Duration: 45 minutes (25 minutes presentation, 15 minutes meditation experience)

We were invited as a guest speaker as a part of the course "Meditation: Traditions and Practices" in USF, a Jesuit catholic university by Associate Professor John Nelson of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Director(Asian Studies Degree Program) of USF.

Feedback:
We may get invited next year.
Many students of this class visited our meditation center to know more about us and to experience meditation.

Brief Overview:

Details of the course:

"Meditation: Traditions and Practices"Fall 2008

This 1-unit course introduces students to the diverse practices of meditation in a systematic, historical, ethnographic, and experiential manner. Four types of meditative practices will be introduced—reflection, cultivation, concentration, and mindfulness—but our emphasis will be on the last type. Each class will provide an opportunity for students to both gain insight into and explore through direct experience various meditative practices derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. When possible, guest speakers who are involved in a particular practice will introduce its methodology and guide the class in a short meditation that is representative of the tradition.

Learning Outcomes

Students taking this class will explore various types of meditation, assess the scientific and spiritual benefits of meditation, visit local centers and temples, and record their progress and discoveries in journals.

Assessment

Student will keep journals of the class (guidelines forthcoming), and produce an annotated bibliography of 15 entries (guidelines forthcoming). They will also make a final presentation which will...

• describe their fieldsite & position it within the tradition of meditation

• recount their experience at the site

• convey information from an interview with a long-time practitioner

• analyze the experience from personal and scholarly perspectives

Class Schedule (15 meetings)

10. 7 (T) Brahma Kumaris (Guest)

Readings: CR, Brahma Kumaris history