A Rutgers University Dean's Grant has funded a research study on the effects of meditation and exercise on depression. This study is a collaborative work between So Shim Sa and Rutgers University. So Shim Sa created the curriculum for meditation education to be used in the study, while the University's Recreation Department provided the exercise curriculum. Also involved are the Psychology Dept., Dept. of Alcohol Studies and CAPS Health Services. The projected length of the study is 3 years. We hope that the collected data will help reinforce the therapeutic effects of meditation and that our program of meditation and exercise can become standardized as an intervention to alleviate the suffering of people with depression.
On Monday, June 22 nd Soshima Zen Center presented “Life, Death, Bardo, Next... a Meditative Journey Cloaked in Music”, a dramatic representation of the universal human journey as reflected in Mahayana Buddhist teachings. Attendees entered a darkened room to encounter a circle of cushions surrounded by a ring of electric candles. As they lay supine in the silent hall, the reverberation of the meditation bell signaled the beginning of the journey. Then, a dramatic narration began, accompanied by musical selections chosen to inspire the listener to imagine each stage of the process. The narrative told the story of a person transitioning from living mundane everyday life, unmindful of death, through sudden diagnosis of serious illness, struggle with disease, gradual acceptance of death, passing away of the body, the migration of the spirit, wandering in the bardo, liberation from the wheel of samsara, and the attainment of the Bodhisattva ideal. The conclusion of the prog...
