Dancing with Dharma

Harrison Blum is the Buddhist Spiritual Advisor and Mindfulness Programs Coordinator at Northeastern University, USA. He also works as a Staff Chaplain at Franciscan Hospital for Children, where he teaches mindfulness mediation to adolescent patients on an acute psychiatric unit. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents


Preface

Introduction

Section 1. Movement

Gesture of Awareness (Charles Genoud)

Body: The Foundation of Insight (Bhikkhuni Thanasanti)

Movement as Skillful Means to Stillness (Lori Wong)

Finding Our Flow: Continuum Movement and Buddha Dharma (Adrianne E. Vincent)

Permissive Movement as a Dharma Door (Brian Kimmel)

Fostering Equanimity and Mindfulness through Dance/Movement Therapy and Authentic Movement (Joan Wittig)

“Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light”: Dance/Movement Therapy in a Single Moment of Life (Cristina Livingstone)

Section 2. Dance

Doing Being: Tibetan Buddhism and Postmodern Dance Improvisation (Karen Nelson)

5Rhythms: A Moving Meditation Practice (Lucia Horan)

Ordinary Miracles: Tibetan Yogic Dance (Rose Taylor Goldfield)

Dance as Dharma Practice in the ­Twenty-First Century (Lalitarāja)

Contemplative Dance Practice: A Dancer’s Meditation Hall, a Meditator’s Dance Hall (Barbara Dilley)

Zenful Dance: Breath Movement Meditation (Leah Joy Malberg)

Section 3. Performance

Co-Creating with Space: Space Is Solid, You Are Empty (Lee Worley)

Dancing in the Footsteps of the Buddha (Wynn Fricke)

Sangha in the Spotlight: Performance and ­Community-Building in a Small Prairie City (Fran Gilboy)

Commit, Amplify, Inquire: Dark Work and Remix as Contemplative Rehearsal Practices (Sean Feit)

The Whole World Is a Symbol: Performing the Embodied Landscape as a Buddhist Practice (Anna Tzakou)

Section 4. Ritual

Dharma Jam: A Modern Buddhist Dance Liturgy (Harrison Blum)

Charya Nritya: Nepalese Ritual Dance of Deity Yoga (Helen Fox Appell)

The Mandala Dance of the 21 Praises of Tara (Prema Dasara)

Moving in Grace: A ­Buddhist-Inspired Ritual Dance Practice (Hilary Lake)

Circles in Our World, Rituals for Our Time: Dances of Universal

Peace (Anahātā Iradah)

Section 5. Theory

Somatic Meditation: Rediscovering the Body as the Ground of the

Spiritual Path (Reginald A. Ray)

Body as the Dharma Gate (Willa B. Miller)

Shadowing the Ephemeral: Embodied Emptiness Through Form (Tomie Hahn)

Cast: Exploring Ground, Path, and Fruition in Early Embryology (Kim ­Sargent-Wishart)

Section 6. Guided Practices

Earth Breathing Practice Instructions (Reginald A. Ray)

Accessing the Subtle Energy Body (Bhikkhuni Thanasanti)

Authentic Movement: Moving and Witnessing (Joan Wittig)

Basic Contemplative Dance Practice Form (Barbara Dilley)

Permissive Movement (Brian Kimmel)

Tune In, Stand Around: Four Postmodern Dance Improvisation Scores (Karen Nelson)

Zenful Dance: Leading Breath Movement Meditation (Leah Joy Malberg)

Ground, Path and Fruition (Kim ­Sargent-Wishart)

Geopoetics: A ­Buddhist-Inspired ­Site-Specific Performance Practice (Anna Tzakou)

Dharma Jam: How to Lead a Buddhist Dance Ritual (Harrison Blum)

Moving in Grace: How to Guide the Practice (Hilary Lake)

References

About the Contributors

Index