Here are three papers I wrote in college about the music-meditation connection.
Extramusical Benefits of Musical Improvisation
My favorite of the three. This was my first exploration of the link between Ed Sarath’s ideas and MBSR, Shinzen Young, and Culadasa.
A Portrait of the Shakuhachi as a Meditative Tool
My undergraduate thesis. A review of the literature on the Fuke-shu, an old group of Japanese monks who claimed to use the shakuhachi flute as a basis for attaining enlightenment.
John Cage Versus the Zen Masters
A paper exploring John Cage’s ideas about Zen Buddhism and it influence on his music. I then compare him to some of the other stuff I’ve read about Zen. I’m more critical of him in this paper than I would have otherwise been, but I had to take a stance for the sake of the class.
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