A case study in the relationship of mind to body

transforming the embodied mind

Mike Ball

pp. 391-407

in: Human Studies 38 (3), 2015.

Abstract

This paper employs ethnographic research methods to study a Buddhist meditation practice that takes the walking body as its object. The mundane act of walking is transformed into a meditative object for the purpose of refining states of embodied consciousness. This meditation practice offers a glimpse of the relationship of body to mind, a fundamental concern within the philosophy of mind. The analytic focus of this paper is the practical nature of meditation work. Aspects of Buddhist Philosophy are explored and compared to analytic themes within Phenomenology and Ethnomethodology.