Learn Tai Chi and Qigong

Learn Tai Chi and Qigong

If you’ve ever seen a group of people moving in exquisitely graceful dance-like exercises in your local park, gym, or community center, you have witnessed the ancient Chinese arts of tai chi (taiji) and qigong. These ordinary people are improving their health, strength, balance, concentration, and mental well-being—and they are having fun while doing it! Best of all, you can enjoy all these benefits yourself, regardless of your current level of physical fitness.

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Tai chi is a philosophy of balance and a pinnacle of the martial arts, known as tai chi chuan (or taijiquan), which means “the ultimate martial art.” Qigong, which is traditionally studied alongside tai chi, means “energy exercise.” Together, these two disciplines are transforming the way people take care of themselves. No need for high-intensity workouts that focus on a limited set of muscles and leave you feeling drained. Instead there is a better, centuries-old way to exercise that has these advantages:

• The slow-motion moves of tai chi and qigong utilize more of your muscles than other exercises, giving you a total-body workout.
• Tai chi and qigong are meditation in motion. You lose yourself in the rhythmic flow of the forms. Anxiety and the cares of daily life dissolve away.
• The documented medical effects of tai chi and qigong include improved heart, lung, bone, and mental health, and an enhanced immune system.
• Tai chi and qigong require no equipment. You can do them anywhere and need only enough space “for an ox to lie down,” as the traditional expression puts it.
• People of all ages enjoy tai chi and qigong, while the low intensity of the poses makes them especially well suited for older people.

Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong is a complete introduction to the practice, history, benefits, and philosophy of these immensely rewarding activities. In 24 half-hour lessons, you learn the fundamentals of tai chi and qigong from an internationally renowned tai chi champion and trainer, David-Dorian Ross, who has been practicing tai chi for more than 35 years.

No other presentation of these venerable arts is as comprehensive and enjoyable. Unfailingly friendly and helpful, Mr. Ross explains each movement in easy-to-follow steps. He has a gift for anticipating a beginner’s questions, leaving no doubt about how you should be positioned for each pose.

And where other video products exist that emphasize mimicking an instructor’s choreography, which can end in boredom or burnout, this course is a multi-layered combination of practical instruction aimed at physical and mental health, together with deep insight into how to motivate and enrich movement and mindfulness in your own life, using the best of qigong and tai chi.

Those already experienced in tai chi and qigong will gain an unprecedented scope of understanding and will find Mr. Ross’s mindset and detailed instructions invaluable for refining their own skills. And his presentation of background topics, such as Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts history, will enrich the practice of tai chi and qigong for everyone.

Master the World’s Most Popular Tai Chi Routine

Each lesson of Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong starts with a standing qigong exercise to get you energized. In the middle, you perform an easy tai chi movement to get you into the flow. You conclude each lesson with a posture from the Yang family short form, the best known of the different tai chi styles. The 24-movement Yang family short form, often called simply the short form, is the most widely recognized and performed tai chi routine in the world. When you see tai chi practitioners in the park—from Beijing to San Francisco to Paris—they are most likely doing the short form. By mastering one segment of the short form in each lesson, you will be able to join them, and even step out on your own, in no time!

The short form includes such memorable movements as Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane, White Crane Spreads Wings, and Waving Hands Like Clouds. The names are mnemonics to help you remember the graceful shapes you create as you take a step, turn, raise your arms, and then move forward, back, or to the side, making a distinctive figure depending on the movement. One posture beautifully merges with the next, with moves that are the foundation for many other tai chi routines.

You also learn about four other family styles of tai chi, as well as personal modifications you can make so that tai chi and qigong will work for you, no matter what your level of fitness or flexibility.You even investigate rudimentary weapons exercises, as well as a two-person exercise of tai chi, called push hands, that you play with a partner.

Get in Balance and Improve Your Health

Studies by Harvard Medical School and other research centers show that tai chi and qigong have a wide range of health benefits. These include:

• Blood pressure and cholesterol: Tai chi and qigong are good for your heart, with effects including lowered blood pressure and improved levels of cholesterol.
• Weight loss: Tai chi burns calories at a surprisingly high rate and reduces stress, making weight loss easier. It is also an excellent activity for people who are overweight.
• Healthy back: One of the principles of tai chi and qigong is proper body alignment, which leads to good posture. The practice also helps control and relieve back pain.
• Managing chronic disease: Tai chi and qigong are an effective adjunct to standard medical therapies for chronic diseases, helping you manage symptoms and stay healthier.
• Better balance: Even simple tai chi and qigong poses improve balance, reducing the risk of falls for older people and those with neurological problems.

Balance also encompasses the way you lead your life, both at home and at work. We are all familiar with the competing demands on our time and attention that produce stress. Practicing tai chi and qigong can help resolve these tensions—not by making them disappear, but by putting them in perspective and making them manageable. Whenever life is in balance, everything works better. This inner harmony is represented by the ancient Chinese yin-yang symbol, and you will be intrigued to learn how completely this idea of balanced opposites permeates Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts—and how tai chi epitomizes the best of those traditions, bringing them together for you in ways that are eminently practical, and potentially life-changing.

Take a Journey of Health and Fulfillment

Impressively graceful, Mr. Ross looks like he was born to do Chinese martial arts. But it’s inspiring to know that he was never athletic growing up; that as an adult he couldn’t sit still long enough to meditate in a seated posture, yet he fell in love with the moving meditation of tai chi; and that he has gone on to win the highest awards ever given to an American for international tai chi performance.

There’s no reason you can’t take a similar journey of health and fulfillment. “The best way to begin,” says this consummate practitioner and guide, “is to find a joy in the basic rhythms. All you have to do is put one foot forward and start.” Take that step

AVERAGE CUSTOMER RATING:  4.5 out of 5 Write a Review 87%of reviewers would recommend this series

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By: DocPossum

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Location:Kerrville, TX

Top 1000 Contributor

Excellent!!!

Date:November 26, 2014

" I'm a retired surgeon and have always looked at healing and physical/mental well-being through Western eyes. This course is my first venture into the Oriental side of things. I must admit I was a bit dubious of a Tai Chi/Qi Gong course but knowing TGC's reputation for excellence decided to take the leap. I see things differently now; feel things differently now.

Mr. Ross is an excellent guide into the world of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. His manner is patient and helpful; he breaks the movements down into footwork and handwork, then combines the two. From my point of view this aids immensely in the learning process. The information section of each lesson is well thought out and delivered. While this adds great value to the course, it does not dominate at the expense of the forms; this is a excellent balance

In Lesson 8, Mr. Ross mentioned that beyond the 24 movement form he teaches in this course, there is a 48 movement form. I sincerely hope TGC will invite Mr. Ross back to teach this "advanced course" in the near future. "

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JKDPS

Location: San Francisco

TOP 100 CONTRIBUTOR

December 15, 2014

I would also like to see TGC ask Mr. Ross to do another, extended or "advanced" tai chi course. Surely there's much more basic information about the discipline that Mr. Ross was unable to cover in this first lecture series.

110

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By: RevMJS

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Location:MT

Most enjoyable

Date:December 17, 2014

" Essentials of Tai Chi and Qigong is one of many courses which I have enjoyed through the years from The Great Courses. This one was special, because it was the first that pertains to health and exercise which I have taken. Several years ago I took a short course in Tai Chi from a local instructor, but was working at the time and did not practice after the course ended. I was pleasantly surprised to see this course listed and immediately purchased it. I have not been disappointed. The instructor is truly knowledgeable, has excellent background from great masters of Tai Chi and Qigong, and above all, knows how to teach! His manner is gentle and encouraging. The camera is his friend!

I agree with all of the positive comments made by others, but would like to address a couple of complaints. First of all, if one were simply to be taught the 24 steps of Tai Chi without knowing anything at all about the origin or history, philosophy or benefits, what would be the point? The same goes for Qigong. Without a knowledge of the concept of the Qi, its function in Chinese medicine, where would the mind be while doing the exercises?

This is a very well-integrated course. The instructor begins each session with Qigong, usually one per session, explaining the benefits and leading the student through the movement several times. Then, he gives an excellent lecture about some vital aspect of Tai Chi or Qigong. This helps to integrate the mind with the physical movements. Perhaps this is the sticking point for some of the negative comments. Every movement in Tai Chi and Qigong has a purpose, and in order to gain the most benefits one needs to unite body, mind, and soul. These are not just physical exercises. When well done, it is a unitive experience. This is totally different from going to the gym, listening to music or whatever on the iPod while the body does its thing. In Tai Chi and Qigong, the whole person is invited to the party.

Now, as to the complaints about finding the exercises on the DVD. Take it from me. I am 75 years old, and if I can do it, so can you! Simply jot down the time in each lesson where the instruction begins for the Tai Chi movement. (Hover over the “play” and you will see the exact time.) Also, write down the name of the movement. Thus far I have learned 8 movements which I can perform in sequence. However, this was done by returning time and again to each lesson to review. Go to the lesson where the exercise is, simply click on “play” and then move the mouse to the desired time and click. That takes you to the exercise. The reason this is such a great course if that one can return to each exercise dozens of times and work through it.

This is one of the most beneficial and enjoyable courses I have taken thus far. And, listen to this 75-year-old woman. My back ache is much less now than it was before this course. Yes, it hurt a lot in the beginning, but after a few weeks it is much better. Not only that, but I can actually balance on each foot for for several seconds! (A first in my life!) And, doing the steps in order each day is an experience which brings calm, energy, peace, and vitality. I think the saying holds true, that we get out of it what we put into it. Having learned so much in 8 lessons, I look forward each day to the next presentation.

Thank you, Great Courses and David-Dorian Ross, for this excellent presentation! Please do another. Part II??? "

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By: Linzj

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Location:Philadelphia

Excellent, but needs one change

Date:February 26, 2015

" This is a great course. The instructor is excellent, and I am actually learning tai chi. My one criticism, and it is a big one, is that all of the tai chi movements learned up to that point are not repeated in each lesson. Instead, as the instructor teaches a new movement, he ties it only to the single movement that has come before. Tai chi is not easy to learn (at least for me). As I practice, I strongly suspect that I am making alterations in the movements. But if I want to review movements from earlier lessons, I have to go back to each lesson and hunt around until I find them. It might make a lot of sense if, each time he teaches a new movement, the instructor would first do all the previous movements, then slow down and teach the new one. The repetition would be reinforcing and extremely useful. "

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By: safGeez

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Location:Orem, UT

Qigong an important addition to Tai Chi study

Date:March 14, 2015

" Really, really, really good. I've purchased other Tai Chi Videos and tried to learn from them over the years. Best to date has been the Tai Cheng series by Dr. Mark Cheng. Those are good, but from my point of view, a bit too sports/youth oriented for my tastes. I'm 60+ years, so the calisthenics presented there are only somewhat interesting and/or doable.

By contrast, this instructor goes into a lot more depth into the Chinese tradition, history, medical philosophy, etc. of the subject. He also sets things into perspective with the context of Qigong, "energy exercise", of which Tai Chi is just one exercise of many.

I must say, I am finding the Qigong exercises more interesting than the Tai Chi, but the Tai Chi is taught excellently and I'm doing that too. The Qigong "frolic of the five animals" and "eight pieces of brocade" are great simple Tai Chi-like movements, but they are easy and fun. You could entertain young children by showing them tiger, deer and monkey movements, or the "wise old owl looks behind". With these, the teacher gives great examples of what he states up front as one of the keys to Tai Chi and Qigong, "HAVE FUN!".

You will learn Tai Chi from this video and a whole lot more.

This video goes far beyond my expectations in excellence. "

Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad

Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad

Confucius. Buddha. Jesus. Muhammad. Four extraordinary sages who influenced world civilization more deeply than any other human beings in history. As just one measure of their importance, current rankings of the most influential people in history consistently put them at or near the top of the list. Four centuries after the rise of the scientific worldview, their influence in human affairs continues to be fundamental, underscoring issues ranging from questions of ethics and justice to religious and political conflicts to other issues that dominate today's headlines.

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In the 21st century, much of humanity still looks to the lives, teachings, and actions of these four sages for guidance on how to live, for their conceptions of morality, and for understanding the most crucial human values.

Never merely historical figures, as models of human living they remain dynamically alive for countless millions of people around the world, exemplifying the moral and spiritual precepts our civilizations are built on. Taken together, their influence extends over most of the human population, from Asia to the Middle East and from Europe to the New World.

No understanding of human life, individual or collective, could be complete without factoring in the role and contribution of these history-shaping teachers.

Now, in Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, award-winning Professor Mark W. Muesse of Rhodes College takes you deep into the life stories and legacies of these four iconic figures, revealing the core, original teachings, and thoughts of each, and shedding light on the historical processes that underlie their phenomenal, enduring impact.

Two Compelling Streams of Knowledge

Speaking from multilevel personal experience with these teachings, Professor Muesse leads you in an inquiry with a dynamic double thrust.

First, in his presentation of the vital wisdom of each sage, he offers you the chance to reflect in depth on the most essential values of spirituality and the art of living, seen from four archetypal perspectives. Regardless of your own religious or philosophical orientation, you draw crucial distinctions from the teaching of the four sages that bear directly on the fundamental perception of selfhood and on what it is to live a meaningful life, both in thought and action.

Second, you complete the course with far-reaching insight into the historical contexts and individual lives of the four sages, and how the religious and philosophical traditions we associate them with came into being. The lectures serve as a unique window on the origins of these traditions, through their focus on the teachings, actions, and historical roles of the sages who inspired them.

Four Exemplars of Noble Living

Confucius, the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad were all born into ancient cultures in the midst of tumultuous changes. Each addressed fundamental existential problems within their societies, developing codes of ethics and behavior that broke with the past, and offering bold new visions of human life.

Grounding your inquiry in the dramatic historical settings of their teachings, you explore and define the unique contributions of each man:

• Confucius: China's primordial philosopher/sage, whose teaching integrally shaped the Chinese constructs of government, human relations, culture, and history. You study the system of Confucian thought that formed the basis of Chinese education for 2,000 years, founded on the sage's core precepts of "uncommon" humaneness, reciprocity, and the creative power of virtue.
• The Buddha: The high-born prince who turned his back on a life of privilege to follow an unrelenting quest for the "supreme state of sublime peace." You dig deeply into the Buddha's teachings on the nature of reality, the delusions of human perception, and the practical means for ending suffering.
• Jesus of Nazareth: Beloved icon of Christianity, a revered prophet in Islam, and the dominant figure in Western culture for nearly two millennia. You explore his archetypal dual role as both harbinger of God's kingdom and spiritual teacher, and you see how his teachings revealed a liberating alternative to humanity's oppressive inequities.
• Muhammad: Al-Lah's "last" prophet and the central example of the faithful Muslim. His teachings brought Islam into being even as he struggled with the roles of both political and military leader of his community. You study Muhammad's teachings on the oneness and inscrutability of the absolute, his dynamic vision of ethical action, and Islam's complex spiritual disciplines.

Teachings that Shaped Human Civilization

In uncovering the original wisdom and practices of each sage, you grapple with these key questions:

• How did each man understand the nature of the universe and ultimate reality?
• How did each envision the human self and the matter of human fulfillment?
• What moral and ethical principles did each advocate, and why?
• What spiritual disciplines did each practice and teach as a means of self-realization?

Drawing from texts including the Confucian Analects, the Buddhist Pali Canon, the Gospels, and the Hadith of Islam, Professor Muesse immerses you in the teachings, which include the following:

• You see how Confucius's precepts, including ren (humaneness), humility, and filial piety, were inextricably tied to specific behavior—to disciplined actions, etiquette, and ritual. You probe the dialectical connection between external acts and internal states; the experiential shaping and transforming of character through conscious action.
• You see how the Buddha located the source of suffering in a deceptive conception of reality—the human mind's reduction of the universe and its organic processes to an illusory world of "things" and a "self" that is perceived as separate and alone. You learn how his path of contemplation and compassion worked to transcend this perception.
• You witness how Jesus's teaching challenged and disrupted his listeners' beliefs, especially in his use of parables that reversed the apparent order of the world—making clear that in God's kingdom, "what the world calls power will be revealed as weakness; the losers will be declared winners; the first shall be last."
• You probe Muhammad's essential doctrine of human fulfillment through willing, devoted submission to al-Lah—the absolute, eternal ground of being prior to all existence. You observe how he submitted to the absolute through deliberate acts of witnessing to God's unity and revelation, generosity, ritual prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage.

Lives of Struggle and Revelation

A thrilling storyteller, Professor Muesse enriches the teachings with the historical background and the pivotal moments of insight that fired their development.

You learn about early Arabian religious and tribal culture, and how Muhammad's emergence threatened a centuries-old way of life. You track the evolution of Indian spirituality preceding the Buddha, including the cultural origins of belief in rebirth and karma. You study the culture and political struggles of the ancient Jews in Palestine, and the divine cosmology of the Zhou dynasty that informed Confucius's thinking.

You hear the words of Muhammad's revelations on the Mountain of Light, and the stories of his military leadership and his actions promoting the legal and marital rights of women. You follow Confucius through the trials of his years in exile, which refined his character and his insight into humanity.

In Jesus's conception of God's kingdom as present reality, you find evidence of deep spiritual experience. And you follow the Buddha's path of unyielding spiritual practice, leading to his final awakening and liberation from the conditioned mind.

Finally, you compare the sages' lives and teachings, finding the defining differences but also their common ground on the practice of contemplation and on the "self" as a prime factor in unhappiness.

This uniquely designed course takes you to the core of four majestic wisdom traditions within a single, penetrating inquiry. In words reflecting profound and compassionate insight, Professor Muesse brings the teachings vividly alive as they speak to their essential purpose—as a guide to the realities, challenges, and possibilities of life—and as they shed light on the critical and creative choices we all face, moment by moment, in living deliberately and savoring life to the fullest.

Take this rare chance, in Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, to taste the authentic, living wisdom of these visionary sages and to understand the sources of their monumental role in our world.

Great World Religions: Hinduism | The Great Courses

Great World Religions: Hinduism | The Great Courses

Terms we associate with Hinduism—"Hinduism," "religion," and "India"—are all Western labels, terms that for most of history did not accurately reflect the thinking of those who practice this ancient faith. In fact, one of the primary themes of Professor Mark W. Muesse's lectures is the difficulty of studying Hinduism without imposing Western perceptions on it.

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In Hinduism you will find a religion that is perhaps the most diverse of all. It worships more gods and goddesses than any other, and it rejects the notion that there is only one path to the divine.

A Window into All Religions

These lectures provide a window into the roots of, perhaps, all religions. You will explore over the course of Hinduism's 5,000-year journey:

• The Indus Valley civilization
• The sizable variety of Hindu gods and goddess
• The sacred writings in the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads
• Ritual purity rites
• The Aryan language of Sanskrit, whose roots can be seen in English words such as "divine," "video," and "ignite."

The story of Hinduism is the story of very non-Western traditions—arranged marriages and the caste system—that have survived and thrived for thousands of years; and of a wealth of gods, terms, and practices—karma, Krishna, yoga, guru—that have found a home in Western lives and language.

The course also explains that Hinduism rejects the notion that there is only one path to the divine, and at its best, it honors all seekers of truth.

Understand the Oldest Religion

Hinduism is the world's oldest living religious tradition, with roots deep in the early cultures of India. These ancient cultures, the most important of which were the Indus Valley civilization and the Aryan society, combined to create a highly diverse family of religions and philosophies.

The series moves chronologically through the history of Hinduism, from its earliest precursors through its classical manifestations to its responses to modernity. Along the way, Dr. Muesse discusses salient aspects of Hindu life and places them in historical and theological context.

The journey begins with an examination of the early cultures that most significantly shaped the development of Hinduism.

• Dr. Muesse makes a brief visit to the indigenous culture of northern India, the Indus Valley civilization, before introducing the migration of the Aryans from Central Asia.
• Hinduism received from the Aryans its most sacred and authoritative scripture, the Veda, which is explored in detail.
• After the Vedic period, classical Hinduism formed many of its basic ideas and practices, including the notions of transmigration of the soul, reincarnation, and karma. Major social arrangements were established in Hindu culture.
• The classic phase strongly influences the present day. Social stratification and gender relations greatly affect the nature of spiritual life for all Hindus. Professor Muesse discusses the caste system, and the different life patterns for men and women.

The Way of Action, ye Way of Wisdom, the Way of Devotion

Hinduism is religiously and philosophically diverse. It affirms the multiplicity of the divine and acknowledges that there are multiple paths to divine reality. Dr. Muesse outlines:

• The Way of Action, the spiritual discipline pursued by most Hindus, aims to improve an individual's future lives through meritorious deeds, according to the Hindu belief in reincarnation. The lectures look at several examples of such action, including ritual, festival, and pilgrimage.
• The Way of Wisdom is a much less-traversed pathway to salvation because it is so demanding and rigorous. Gaining wisdom means to understand the unity of the soul and ultimate reality, and to live one's life accordingly.
• The Way of Devotion, or bhakti, is oriented toward faith in a deity of personal choice. It is a widely chosen road to god among Hindus. Your introduction to bhakti practice comes through one of the most important and beloved Hindu texts, the Bhagavad Gita, a wondrous story of a warrior's dilemma and the counsel of the god Krishna. It has been a treasure trove of spiritual enrichment for Hindus for centuries.

Dr. Muesse also explores the functions of images in Hindu worship and how Hinduism can be both monotheistic and polytheistic. You learn about devotion to the Goddess and her many manifestations in the Hindu pantheon, and investigate some of the theory and practice of Tantra, a yogic discipline associated with the Goddess.

Hinduism Today

Modern Hinduism faces challenges from Islam and from Western culture. Theological differences between Hinduism and Islam have generated tense relationships between Hindus and Muslims, frequently erupting into outright violence.

Dr. Muesse describes the British Raj and the Indian independence movement led by Gandhi, includes examples of Hindu missions to the West, and discusses the tensions between Hinduism and modernity.

The many paths of Hinduism involve very different conceptions of divine reality, and Dr. Muesse explains how such divergent views coexist within the Hindu tradition.

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Religions of the Axial Age | The Great Courses

Religions of the Axial Age | The Great Courses

What could the beliefs and traditions of a Zoroastrian, a person of Jewish faith, a Buddhist, a follower of Confucius, or a Christian have in common? How do religions evolve over time?

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This course offers a rare opportunity to relate your own spiritual questions to a variety of ancient quests for meaning and transcendence. In Religions of the Axial Age, Professor Mark W. Muesse shows you the historical conditions in which the world religions arose, while letting you see how they answered shared metaphysical and human dilemmas. He helps you think about specific traditions while pondering the common processes of religious development.

Not content to study religion merely from books, Professor Muesse has also observed and participated in these traditions in their native contexts, especially in South Asia. Thus his approach to the study of religion is not solely academic or historical but also reflects a deep respect for religious experience as it is felt and lived.

You will explore fascinating aspects of several major world religions at the time of their birth. Although Professor Muesse emphasizes the early religious traditions of Iran, South Asia, and China, he also shows how these compare, contrast, and contribute to contemporary Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

What Is the Axial Age?

Professor Muesse offers striking insights as he draws you closer to the period between 800 to 200 B.C.E., an era with notable parallels to our own. Using a term first coined by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers and recently popularized by the religious scholar Karen Armstrong, Professor Muesse calls this period the Axial Age because of its pivotal nature.

Through sacred texts, modern scholarship, and thoughts arising from his own personal experiences, Professor Muesse reveals what it meant to be a conscious, morally responsible individual in the Axial Age. For example, Confucius wanted to help politicians and civil servants do a better job of governing their countries; Buddha hoped to show men and women how to break free of suffering. You'll also examine the rise of Zoroastrianism in Persia (now Iran); Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism on the Indian subcontinent; and Confucianism and Daoism in China.

Zoroaster, Prophet of Personal Accountability

Was the Iranian prophet Zoroaster the first to conceive of the concepts of heaven and hell? Professor Muesse explains Zoroaster's vision of a blissful afterlife for those who sided with good, but a hellish afterlife for those who chose evil. Zoroaster may not have offered the first statement of an afterlife, but he may have been the first to hinge the eternal destiny of an individual to his or her worldly behavior. Moreover, for Zoroaster, humanity—and history itself—move in a direct, linear path toward a cosmic conclusion in which good ultimately triumphs, evil is annihilated, and paradise is established on Earth.

Zoroaster, who is also known as Zarathustra, taught that humans are responsible for the moral choices they make in a world where good and evil are locked in struggle. Zoroaster's apocalyptic vision may have been coupled with a bodily resurrection of the dead, in which those who had gone to heaven return again to Earth to continue life in physical form. If this were Zoroaster's belief, he would have been among the first—if not the first—to imagine such a fate.

The Wisdom of Ancient India

We're not the first people to ask the question, Is this all life has to offer? Professor Muesse shows us the longstanding centrality of this question in his extended exploration of the major religions of ancient India—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism—during their formative stages.

Our journey first takes us to the indigenous Indus Valley civilization, a culture focused on agriculture, goddess worship, and fertility, and its encounter with tribal nomads called Aryans, believed by most scholars to be from Central Asia No one is certain how this encounter took place, but the fusion of cultures and beliefs profoundly altered Indian religion and provided the basis for the Hindu family of religions.

Eventually, as urbanization increased and some orders of society became wealthier, men and women began to wonder whether life had something more to offer. They questioned the emphasis on ritual and expressed concerns about the authority of the priests. The Upanishads, composed by a counter-cultural movement of mystics and ascetics, address questions of life, death, and the meaning of both. This concern with the fundamental meaning of life marks the rise of classical Hinduism and coincides with the Axial Age's beginnings in India.

A central element in the evolution of Hinduism was the widespread acceptance of the concept of samsara, the belief that individual beings undergo a series of births, deaths, and rebirths governed by the moral principle known as karma. In fact, virtually every school of philosophy or sect of religion that arises in India's history—including Buddhism and Jainism—takes samsara as the fundamental problem of existence, and each in its own way seeks to address it. This new religious concern reflects and shapes India's entrance into the Axial period.

Next, Professor Muesse takes you to northeastern India in the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.E., when many spiritual seekers had given up the comforts of home to seek enlightenment. They lived as hermits or apprenticed themselves to spiritual guides. Meditating and practicing ascetic disciplines, they sought a deep, internal understanding of reality's ultimate nature. You'll grasp the significance of the Buddha's life and thought as it emerged during this period. The Buddha advocated a strict if moderate regimen to break those habits perpetuating the illusion of selfhood and encouraging people to deny the world's impermanence. Learn about the Buddha's eightfold path to nirvana, a path that emphasizes the importance of acting ethically, developing virtue, and restraining both body and mind through the practice of meditation.

Like the Buddha, Mahavira, a founder of Jainism, achieved a visionary enlightenment after withdrawing from the luxury and temptations of the world. While he confronted similar issues, his own teachings gave innovative interpretations to the idea of the soul and karma. Jainism emphasizes the principle of ahimsa (doing no harm) and offers special practices for attaining personal liberation.

China and the Paths of Virtue and Nature

Our next stop is China, where we learn about Confucius and the mysteries of Daoism. Professor Muesse takes us inside China's earliest (pre-Axial Age) spiritual practices to give a context for the life and thought of Confucius—as well as Laozi, who was probably a fictional character invented by the philosophers of Daoism. Muesse explains that although Daoism arose in opposition to the ideas of Confucius, both systems of thinking can simultaneously coexist in the Chinese mind along with the ancient beliefs and rituals of Chinese folk religion and the later, imported wisdom of Buddha.

Confucianism and Daoism both draw a connection between public and private (state and family) harmony and governance. Confucius and his early followers, however, saw the cultivation of virtue as a cultural, human activity emphasizing study and ritual. The early Daoists aligned the self with a larger, ultimately harmonious natural order. They advocated accepting change as inherent to the way of nature. Eventually, Confucianism and Daoism were institutionalized and the philosophies of the founders went through considerable reinterpretation.

Professor Muesse's final lecture offers reflections on a central question of the course: What does the study of the Axial Age teach us about religion as a phenomenon in our lives?

Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Professor Mark W. Muesse, Ph.D.

•  
  Rhodes College
•  
  Harvard University

 Mindfulness allows us to become keen observers of ourselves and gradually transform the way our minds operate.

Dr. Mark W. Muesse is W. J. Millard Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Asian Studies Program, and Director of the Life: Then and Now Program at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in English Literature from Baylor University and a Master of Theological Studies, a Master of Arts, and a Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University. Before taking his position at Rhodes, Professor Muesse held positions at Harvard College, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Southern Maine, where he served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of the 2008 Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching, Rhodes College's highest faculty honor. Known for his experiential teaching style, Professor Muesse was honored for his effective use of imaginative and creative pedagogy as well as his ability to motivate his students toward lifelong study. Professor Muesse has written many articles, papers, and reviews in world religions, spirituality, theology, and gender studies and has coedited a collection of essays titled Redeeming Men: Religion and Masculinities. He is currently compiling an anthology of prayers from around the world. Professor Muesse is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion and has been Visiting Professor at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, India. He has traveled extensively throughout Asia and has studied at Wat Mahadhatu, Bangkok, Thailand; the Himalayan Yogic Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal; the Subodhi Institute of Integral Education, Sri Lanka; and Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.

What is meditation? For thousands of years, human beings have practiced refined techniques of mental focusing, designed to change the habitual conditioning of the mind. Central to many spiritual and philosophical traditions and known in English as "meditation," these practices are considered a major means for enhanced awareness and self-mastery.

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In recent decades, modern science has dramatically confirmed what advanced meditators have long claimed—that meditation, correctly practiced, offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being.

The many practical benefits of meditation include

• marked and lasting reduction of stress;
• increased ability to focus and concentrate, as well as clarity of thinking;
• freedom from detrimental patterns of thought and emotion;
• increased learning capacity and memory; and
• greatly enhanced well-being and peacefulness.

If practiced consistently, the results are real and very far-reaching. In the largest sense, meditation allows you to live in harmony with the realities of the world—to embrace life's ever-changing impermanence, to live in equanimity with the inevitable ups and downs of being human, and to feel deeply connected to the whole of life.

Now, in Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation, award-winning Professor Mark W. Muesse of Rhodes College takes you on a dynamic exploration of your own mind, giving you a clear and useable understanding of the essence of meditation and how to practice it.

In 24 detailed lectures, using numerous guided exercises, Professor Muesse teaches you the principles and techniques of sitting meditation, the related practice of walking meditation, and the highly beneficial use of meditative awareness in many important activities, including eating and driving. As a major strength of the course, you learn in depth how to use the skills of meditation in working with thoughts and emotional states, in deepening sensory awareness of the body, and in becoming deeply attentive to the operation of your mind. Emphasizing clarity and practical understanding, this course will leave you with a solid basis for your own meditation practice and for bringing meditation's remarkable and empowering benefits to every area of your life.

"Mindfulness"—The Eye of the Witness

Meditation, as you learn it here, is closely related to the notion of "mindfulness." In Professor Muesse's words, "Mindfulness is a deliberate way of paying attention to what is occurring within oneself as it is happening. It is the process of attentively observing your experience as it unfolds, without judgment or evaluation."

"Meditation," he adds, "refers to certain exercises that can be used to enlarge and refine mindfulness." Meditation cultivates mindfulness by training you to develop deep attention to the present moment, allowing the mind to become settled and centered.

With the ongoing practice of meditation, you gain the ability to bring the liberating effects of mindful awareness to moment-to-moment living. Ultimately, this means developing a mind of openness and flexibility, profound physical calmness, and a deepening freedom to choose how you respond to life.

Throughout the lectures of this course, you practice the principles of mindfulness through focused meditations and guided exercises, including these:

• Sitting meditation: The core practice of the mindfulness tradition. You learn the specific methods of meditation with mindful awareness.
• Body scan meditation: A second fundamental practice, bringing deep focus to the body and bodily sensations, promoting both concentration and physical relaxation.
• Mindful engagement with thoughts: You learn four specific practices for releasing detrimental patterns of thought.
• Metta meditation: Central to the mindfulness tradition, you learn this form of directed contemplation, focusing on the well-being of others and powerfully effective for cultivating compassion.
• Meditations for physical pain: You practice two forms of meditation for alleviating pain and physical discomfort of all kinds.

The Insights of Meditation in Action

Building on your practice-based understanding, Professor Muesse takes the exploration into many different areas of life, showing you in depth how meditation and mindfulness apply to daily living.

Early in the course, you practice meditative awareness in the act of eating, in an exercise vividly highlighting all five senses. This exercise uncovers a richness of experience that usually goes unexplored and illustrates one of meditation's significant benefits—being deeply present in the moments of your own life.

You study the mindfulness tradition's approach to difficult emotions, using the example of anger. Here you find a way of disarming anger that builds on meditation, based in nonjudgmental attention, conscious acceptance, and the mental spaciousness to choose your response.

In the course's second half, you explore how mindfulness is used both in building qualities of personal character and in facing life's most challenging experiences. In individual lectures, you learn specific practices for cultivating generosity, empathy, and the beneficial use of speech, and for dealing with the inevitability of loss and grief.

Clarity on the Nature of Reality

As a core theme of this course, you delve into one of the most revealing and practical benefits of mindfulness—the freedom that comes with rigorous clarity about the nature of reality. Drawing on what Buddhism calls the "three marks of existence,"

• you see how our conditioned resistance to the transience and passing away of all things causes suffering, and how mindfulness practice allows you to freely and joyfully embrace life's impermanence;
• you explore the ways in which mindful awareness gives you freedom from the "insatiable" quality of human experience—the tendency to endlessly pursue the outward symbols of happiness and achievement;
• you look at the factors that determine the sense of separateness that burdens many people, and how mindfulness practice leads to a fundamental experience of connectedness to the whole.

The Power of Living Mindfully

An expert in Eastern philosophies, Professor Muesse is the rare teacher with both extensive academic credentials and decades of experience as a meditator, having studied and practiced with meditation masters in Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. He enriches your experience with compelling reflections on his own journey with mindfulness practice, filmed demonstrations of key techniques, and enthralling stories and perspectives from the great spirits of history.

You hear the Buddha's penetrating counsel to a woman in the throes of grief, and Rilke's passionate words on the necessity of giving joyful consent to all of life. You hear about Professor Muesse's own transformative experience with the practice of generosity, and you contemplate the Zen parable of a man caught between two hungry tigers, highlighting the existential choices we all face in living rich and satisfying lives and in savoring life to the full.

In Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation, Professor Muesse offers you a rare and extraordinary opportunity. By grasping the essential nature of meditation and mindful awareness within the setting of specific, grounded practice, you deepen the power to shape your own mind and experience, to know a well-being that is not ruled by circumstances, and to find yourself truly and lastingly at home in the world.

Join Professor Muesse in this empowering journey of the spirit—the art of living at its most fulfilling, expansive, and meaningful.

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24 lectures

 |  31 minutes each