ANTH 380 - Zen Anthropology

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Zen and Anthropology are different practices. Zen is a type of religion from one part of the world; Anthropology is a kind of science from another. But there are remarkable resemblances. Both are, in a sense, methods for learning about the nature of human reality. Both ask practitioners to pay attention to the here and now. Both ask us to be accepting of other forms of life. Both recognize that reality changes, and that one of our tasks as human beings is to try to understand those changes and come to terms with them. Drawing on Zen and Anthropological texts, the seminar explores what these different methods teach us about ourselves. Each class begins with a short period of zazen, or sitting meditation. See department chair.