Buddhist, Yogic And Daoist Cultivation Techniques And Comparisons

Lecture 3 is all about Mahayana Buddhism, which is the "evolution of Buddhism under foreign conditions." We will cover key areas such as the 3 features of all Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha-nature (which is the essence of Mahayana Buddhism), key features of Tibetan Buddhism, mind training, ideas about breath training, their key practises, followed by some take home chanting to try.

Day 4 covers everything related to Daoism, such as the two types of Daoism, defining what Daoism is, discussing its core practises and how the essence of Daoist training is related to the abdomen. We will talk about this idea of open, close, cat, cow and injury prevention, and go through a problem with their practise, followed by the essence of Daoist living. Finally you will be given a take home practise, teaching you how to use the centre/core.

Lecture 5 starts by talking about the 4 types of yoga, the 8 fold path and cakras. These discussions are followed by examining the 2 models of Hathayoga and Hathayoga characteristics. We will talk about the yogic breathing practises such as as natural breathing and the importance of a long breath out. Finally, we will review some yogic meditation practises, followed by going through a take home practise exercise.

In lecture 6 we will compare and contrast Buddhism, yoga and Daoism. One such example of the comparisons made is in relation to breath training where the Buddhists observed the breath, the Daoists breathed like babies and yogis aimed to extend the in an out breath. We will also discuss the core similarity of non-action that all these philosophies have and many other variations between the differing schools of thought.

The final lecture covers some new ideas such as the Western method of cultivation versus the Asian method and how we need to incorporate both ideas in our daily life. We will talk a little about Indo-European history and then bring all the ideas together for a concluding discussion and where to find more information in regard to further studies.