Meditation used to be regarded as a religious practice rooted in East Asian cultures (especially in Buddhism). In the contemporary world, however, it has become one of the popular ways of pursuing one’s health and wellbeing. According to a survey published by Pew Research Center in 2014, it is reported that as many as 40% of American people practice meditation regularly, at least once a week. One of the reasons that meditation has gained large popularity would be found in the fact that the common meditative methods such as Mindfulness and Yoga have been taught as psychological and/or bodily practices separating from their original religious contexts. For example, in mindfulness meditation, participants are required just to be aware of the ongoing processes in their mind, body, and the surrounding environment. For most of the beginners, it is rather natural to practice meditation as a stress reduction method without knowing their religious backgrounds.

Based on the above, this symposium will address the following questions:

• What motivates so many people to practice meditation? Is it mainly physical, psychological, or spiritual?

• Do people seek for some sorts of spiritual experiences instead of traditional religions? Do meditations satisfy their potential spiritual needs?

• What is really experienced in meditations? Are meditations limited to psychological and/or bodily experiences, or are they inherently continuous to spiritual experiences?

Program

• 10:00-10:05 (17:00-17:05)
  Welcome & Opening Remarks by Mr. Jakob Skyt Jensen
  Deputy Director, Tokai University European Center

• 10:05-10:35 (17:05-17:35)
  Presentation by Dr. Shogo Tanaka
  Director, Institute of Civilization Research, Tokai University, Japan
  On the Spiritual Dimension of Embodied Experience

• 10:35-11:05 (17:35-18:05)
  Presentation by Dr. Denis Francesconi
  Guest Professor at the University of Vienna, Austria
  The Scientification of Meditation

• 11:05-11:35(18:05-18:35)
  Presentation by Ms. Jihe Hsieh
  Ph.D. student at Graduate School of Letters, Tokai University, Japan
  Breathing Techniques and Holistic Health

• 11:35-11:55 (18:35-18:55)
  Q&A and Discussion

• 11:55-12:00 (18:55-19:00)
  Closing remarks by Dr. Shogo Tanaka
  Director, Institute of Civilization Research, Tokai University, Japan

• 12:00 (19:00)
  End of program