Ihor Kolesnyk

In this article author tries to show the understanding of role of unconscious in Zen, the powerful tradition of work with deepest levels of human psyche. This tradition was formed in religious and contemplative practice of school. Author states that tradition of Zen has long history and sometimes shows deeper understanding than western spiritual traditions. Also author analyzes the main idea, functions and types of using of unconscious in eastern and western spiritual traditions. Key words: cosmic unconscious, personal unconscious, Zen, transpersonal experience, "liberation", "nature of Buddha".

There’re examined worldview systems of Buddhism and natural science, their approaches to constitution of the world and the place of human conscious in its world’s cognition. The author demonstrates actuality of comparison between systems of Eastern and Western thought and difficulty of prognosis of possible results. There are analyzed possibilities and problems which are connected with cultural interrelationship: demarcation of science and non-science elements, problem of definitions and relation between philosophical-religion system of Buddhism and western natural science. Key words: Buddhist philosophy, natural science, worldview, Emptiness, quantum entanglement, dependent arising, psychocosm.

Western science discovered widely Buddhism and its philosophy in XXth century. Buddhism as difficult tradition of thinking and attainment of specific goals (Enlightenment or Awakening) consists of different elements and demonstrates their compatibility with these goals. In our article we analyze concept of kōan in context of philosophical anthropology. This concept is part of Zen Buddhism and represents syncretism instead of differentiation, pragmatism in studying of human nature and transformation of conscious instead of theorization. Kōan became an object of researches of modern buddhology, philosophy, cultural studies, religious studies and psychology. Concept of kōan functions as link between some parts of Buddhists practice and its cultural dimension. It is link between human conscious, Buddhists sangha and society. There are different researches of kōan. For example A. Watts and D. Suzuki accent on mystical and psychological aspects of kōan practice, S. Heine focuses on textual aspects and B. Stephenson – on social rituals based on this concept. Also there are interesting researches of Russian buddhologists – N. Abaev and A. Maydanov. These researches are defined as trends for buddhologists for last 30-40 years. We consider that these trends are likely result of long and difficult dialogue between Buddhism and Western culture. The fact is that most of terminology isn’t compatible: different understanding of philosophy, spiritual practice and nature of human conscious causes misunderstanding. Also this incompatibility causes stable interest of scientists and discovering of better methodologies. We propose to research kōan in context of philosophical anthropology. This allows connecting psychological, philosophical, cultural and textual elements in one process which have its own dynamic. Studying of kōan must consider also cultural context: practice of kōan induces changes in culture, art, social practices and rituals. Stating this idea we mean that practitioner of Zen became a cultural subject who creates new artifacts texts and elements of intellectual landscape. The concept of kōan includes such constituents: 1) textual dimension of Buddhism; 2) individual process of awakening and transformation; 3) results of conscious transformation as cultural artifacts and creativity. Society adapts Zen Buddhism not only as some kind of intellectual fashion but mainly as system of conscious cultivation. Conscious that transforms in process of kōan’s practice demonstrates deeper understanding of nature, role of human being in this nature and new ways of expressions this deep communication. We can observe results in traditional art in China and Japan: tea ceremony, architecture, gardening, decoration etc. Also Zen practice (including kōan) is actually useful for society in nowadays world in monasteries (as system of retreats) and in popular forms (as adaptation in popular culture, art, music etc). We can observe unusual interest in society for kōan practice and worldview that is produced by Zen Buddhism. Main goal of kōan practice in context of philosophical anthropology is complementation of textual, rational, verbal practices with nonverbal, unconscious, irrational elements which usually are ignored. Kōan provokes personal «live» philosophy or in terms of Buddhism – awakened consciousness which reacts with world as it is. Kōan as upaya or specific Buddhists pedagogy is focused on extra-textual parts of life and pushing of conscious from zone of illusionary comfort. In terms of informational culture kōan is a virus that resets system of thinking and shows that life possibilities realization are bounded only by personal will to function «as usual». Social and cultural dimensions of kōan are still opened for researchers and philosophical anthropology can provide new point of view. It’s very important to understand non-severability of individual spiritual practices, social practices and fundamental role of conscious transformation. Fact of awakening changes all dimensions and cultural practices in general. Key words : koān, Zen-Buddhism, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of Buddhism, buddhology, transformation of conscious.

The article discusses key meditation-based programs aimed at nurturing and training the ability to empathize. Historically, these programs have been drawn to Buddhist teachings and traditional meditation practices, but in the process of adapting to global world and a secular context, they separate themselves from religion. In the process of research, I try to demonstrate the importance of these methods for philosophy, ethics and education, since the cultivation of compassion helps to better and more deeply understand the nature of a person, motivation and improve social interaction. Important for the modern world can be not only the therapeutic effect of the mentioned methods, but also their application in the field of philosophy. Although the vectors of Buddhism as religion and humanistic ethics may differ, they seek to improve the quality of human life, develop compassion, respect, trust to the world, and complement each other in conditions of environmental, social, and psychological crisis. For Ukraine, methods of compassion training are very important in the context of war and post-war healing of society. Education in general, and philosophical education in particular, will need a wide range of tools for healing collective trauma, returning to oneself, finding the home of being.

The article examines the peculiarities of the spreading of Buddhism in Ukraine through the prism of modern global trends. The most famous areas, schools, and teachers were chosen for the convenience of the study. It should be noted that not all Buddhist centers have official registration, occupying rather an informal niche. In the example of schools that are registered and continue activities in Ukraine, we note commonalities in the processes of adaptation and dialogue with local cultures. This feature is common to European, American, and Ukrainian Buddhism in all its various forms. The author draws attention to the fact that common trends determine our involvement in global processes and certain problems in the understanding, translations, and formation of unique local forms of Buddhism, which are also part of the process of spreading this teaching, and its religious, and philosophical forms in Ukraine. Among the presented schools of Buddhism in Ukraine, we can mention: Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan schools, which are accordingly classified by famous Buddhist scholars (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana). Also, teachers with personal traits, who continue active missionary and educational activities deserve special attention. Based on the analysis of the features of the spread of Buddhism in Ukraine, the author of the article claims that, in general, global processes affect the Buddhist Sangha in Ukraine, and therefore the trends common to the West (Western Europe and North America) are also preserved for local schools. Among the noticeable changes are the gradual Ukrainization of Buddhist texts, religious practice, and liturgy, the representation of the main trends and schools that were first assimilated in the West and then continued their journey in post-Soviet countries and the concentration of communities in large cities. With the preservation of the further trends of Buddhism in Ukraine, we can predict a gradual increase in the number of Buddhist centers, mainly in big cities, where there is a need for alternatives to Christian forms of religion or religious philosophy. Ukrainization is also noticeable, albeit very slowly, but the need for Ukrainian-speaking teachers, books, sacred texts, and sermons is growing. We hope that these trends will continue in the future.

Однією із сильних сторін наукового світогляду є здатність створювати дослідницькі середовища, які постійно між собою взаємодіють, належачи навіть до різних галузей знання. Поняття медитації – це приклад того, як увага дослідників з різних наукових дисциплін фокусується на одній темі, на одному предметі, але підходи зумовлюють різні визначення. У статті розглянуто основні існуючі підходи до поняття медитації і виокремлено основні: нейронауковий, інклюзивний (партисипативний), галузевий (наприклад, психологічний) і міжгалузевий. Здійснено попередню систематизацію підходів до визначення поняття медитації з огляду на труднощі, які пов’язані з контекстами, інтепретаціями і запитами сучасного світу до контемплятивних практик. У випадку з медитацією наука демонструє водночас проблему спеціалізації, схильність редукувати досліджуваний феномен згідно з власними методологіями, пояснювати локальні культурні середовища крізь призму постколоніального спадку. Особливу роль у цій дискусії відіграють саме гуманітарні науки (філософія, релігієзнавство, психологія), методологія яких більше орієнтована на людину, людські практики і значущість суб’єктивного знання.