Asian philosophies and religions have always been occupied with the mind - or consciousness -  its action, its place in human life, in watching reality, in ethics and art. What is the mind/. is it separate from the body or connected to it? Does it represent reality as it is? Is there anything apart form mind? Is consciousness private, human only, or cosmic, that of a universal being? IS there a difference between them? Is it a delusion or is it speaking the truth? Is a a friend or a foe?

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The seminar will survey these questions by reading Indian, Chinese, and Japanese tests - such as the Upanishads, early and later Buddhist texts, taoist writings, and modern texts. We will also touch upon the interface between theories of the mind in traditional Asia, and modern theories of consciousness in the West.