H610T: Who am I? Becoming a self-reflective educator through Zen and psychology

What we see is shaped by how we look, and rarely do we look with innocent eyes. Despite our effort to understand the world objectively, our views are constructed with and limited by our often-hidden preconceptions and motivations. This course aims at helping students to reflect on and examine the hidden forces that shape our values, decisions, and actions in order to achieve transformative growth.
 
To achieve this goal, this course adopts a cross-cultural approach that contrasts and connects Western and East Asian perspectives on understanding the mind. Specifically, the course draws lessons from psychology research – which provides scientific theories and evidence regarding psychological phenomena and mechanisms – and Zen philosophy – which provides holistic and experiential insights into the nature of the mind and emphasizes self-reflection and self-realization.
 
In this course, students will read classic texts and scholarly writings on Zen, examine cases of prominent Zen teachers, analyze relevant psychological findings, participate in interactive lectures and class discussions, and complete reflective exercises.