About

With the academic purview of a philosophy professor, the view of an academic scholar, and the spiritual experience of a practitioner and teacher of Zen, Professor Bret W. Davis' Real Zen for Real Life reflects the push and pull between Eastern and Western traditions and cultures with the goal of making the study and practice of Zen more accessible and engaging to all viewers.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. What Is Zen? Recovering the Beginner's Mind

35m

Professor Davis introduces you to the concept of Zen by explaining that you need to clear your mind of anything you think Zen might be in order to understand what Zen actually is. He debunks common Western interpretations of what Zen is not, while introducing what we can take away from traditional Zen teachings and apply in modern Western culture.

2. The Zen Way to Know and Forget Thyself

31m

Professor Davis first helps you move past superficial titles you might use to define yourself and understand more about who you really are through holistic meditation. As he walks you through a brief practice meditation, he'll help you understand how to better empty your mind and leave the meditation with "less" than you came in with.

3. Zen Meditation: Clearing the Heart-Mind

36m

Professor Davis helps you achieve a better intellectual understanding of meditation by breaking down the different methods of meditation, providing tips on how best to prepare, and addressing how to overcome common blocks to meditating properly, such as anxiety about wasting time. He breaks down five benefits of successful meditation and reveals how it can help give rise to inner confidence.

4. How to Practice Zen Meditation

32m

Moving you from learning about Zen meditation to actually trying it, Professor Davis walks you through setting up an optimal time and place for your practice, determining which positions work best for you. He provides an in-depth explanation of the best ways to properly breathe and how to focus on your breathing, in order to calm the "monkey mind."

5. The Middle Way of Knowing What Suffices - Meditation Checkup: The Middle Way of Meditation

41m

As Professor Davis notes, "It is impossible to understand Zen Buddhism without learning something about the teachings of the Buddha." Professor Davis analyzes the traditional concept of the Middle Way through stories and diagrams and looks at how we have reinterpreted the meaning in the context of modern western culture.

6. Embracing the Impermanence of Life

34m

Professor Davis breaks down the doctrine that became the framework for the Buddha's other teachings: The Four Noble Truths. Through anecdotes, examples, and parables, you'll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the goals of the Buddha's teaching. Professor Davis will challenge you to examine and potentially reconsider desires you may have previously had.

7. The True Self Is Egoless - Meditation Checkup: Lead with the Body and Physical Stillness

42m

Professor Davis introduces the first of three lessons focused on the philosophical core of Zen Buddhism--which he admits, up front, may be the most intellectually and emotionally challenging. The crux of this episode focuses around how we are not, and can never be, exactly the beings we deeply desire to be, and how the true self may be ungraspable.

8. Loving Others as Yourself

34m

Spend this episode looking further into the interconnected nature of the true self and what it means to say that "the whole world is you." Professor Davis explores the concept of self and others. With a focus on the senses and coexistence, this episode shows you how to "taste" the oneness of all life without losing sight of the real differences between individual lives.

9. Taking Turns as the Center of the Universe - Meditation Checkup: From Mindless Reacting to Mindful …

42m

What happens when two persons who have had a realization of their true self meet? Do worlds collide? Is the world big enough for more than one true self? Look at how we are united in our differences as you explore the answers to these questions and more. Examine the idea that to realize oneself as the center of the universe requires, paradoxically, letting go of all self-centeredness.

10. Who or What Is the Buddha?

32m

Take a step back with Professor Davis to look at who Buddha actually was, as you explore the various meanings of "Buddha" across the various traditions of Buddhism. Looking at Buddha through the lens of Western examples, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how the meaning of "Buddha" is by no means restricted to a historical teacher, but rather an appellation that means "enlightened one."

Extended Details

SeriesReal Zen for Real Life

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great CoursesDirector

The Great CoursesProducer

Bret W. DavisActor