The Body, Self-Cultivation, and Ki-Energy

By Yasuo Yuasa
Translated by Shigenori Nagatomo & Monte S. Hull

Subjects: Asian Religion And Philosophy
Series: SUNY series, The Body in Culture, History, and Religion
Paperback : 9780791416242, 266 pages, September 1993
Hardcover : 9780791416235, 266 pages, September 1993

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Table of contents

Translator's Introduction

Author's Preface to the English Version

PART I: EASTERN MIND-BODY THEORY AND THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

1. Eastern Mind-Body Theory

I. Introduction
II. The Eastern Tradition of Self-Cultivation and Western Mind-Body Dualism
III. Meditation in Stillness and in Motion
IV. Meditation and Psychotherapy
V. Meditation and Mind-Body Oneness
VI. Self-Cultivation and Artistry
VII. Characteristics of the Japanese Martial Arts

2. Beyond the Contemporary Period

I. From Disjunctive Mind-Body Dualism to Correlative Mind-Body Dualism
II. Three Information Systems in the Body
III. Conditioned Reflex and Control of the Autonomic Nerves
IV. A Methodological Reflection

PART II. KI AND THE BODY: MARTIAL ARTS, MEDITATION METHODS, AND EASTERN MEDICINE

3. Ki and the Body in the Martial Arts and Meditation Methods

I. Introduction
II. Unifying Mind and Ki-Energy
III. Meditation Training Transforms Ki
IV. The Transformation of Ki
V. Aspects of Inner Image Experiences Accompanying the Transformation of Ki
VI. The Meaning of Knowledge in Eastern Thought: An Intermediary Methodological Investigation

4. Ki and the Body in Eastern Medicine

I. Introduction
II. Fundamental Characteristics of Eastern Medicine's Theory of the Body
III. The Relationship Between Ki and Emotion in the Meridians
IV. The Unconscious Quasi-Body's Function Directed Toward the External World
V. Memory and the Lived Body

PART III. THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE SCIENCE OF KI

5. The Science of Ki and Its View of Human Being

I. Introduction
II. Ki-Energy and Its Relation to the External World
III. Transportational Synchronization of Ki and the Problem of Technology

6. Ki and the Problem of Paranormal Phenomena

I. Introduction
II. Problems of the Dispute
III. An Assessment of Parapsychology
IV. The Need for an Epistemological Critique of Modern Science
V. Beyond Causality

7. Toward an East-West Dialogue

I. Teleology and Science
II. Objectivistic Science and Subjectivisitc Science
III. Concluding Remarks: Mind, Life, and Matter

Postscript

Notes

Glossary

Index

An inquiry into ki-energy, its role within Eastern mind-body theory, and its implications for our contemporary Western understanding of the body.

Description

This book is an inquiry into ki-energy, its role within Eastern mind-body theory, and its implications for our contemporary Western understanding of the body. Yuasa examines the concept of ki-energy as it has been used in such areas as acupuncture, Buddhist and Taoist meditation, and the martial arts. To explain the achievement of mind-body oneness in these traditions he offers an innovative schematization of the lived body. His approach is interdisciplinary and cross-cultural, offering insights into Western philosophy, religion, medical science, depth psychology, parapsychology, theater, and physical education.

To substantiate the relationship that ki-energy forms between the human body and its environment, Yuasa introduces contemporary scientific research on ki-energy in China and Japan, as well as evidence from acupuncture medicine and from the experience of meditators and martial arts practitioners. This evidence requires not only a rethinking of the living human body and of the mind-body and mind-matter relation, but also calls into question the adequacy of the existing scientific paradigm. Yuasa calls for an epistemological critique of modern science and explores the issue of the relation of teleology to science.

Yuasa Yasuo is Professor of Japanology and Director of International Studies at Obirin University in Japan. He is the author of many books in Japanese, and the translation of his The Body: Toward an Eastern Mind-Body Theory is also published by SUNY Press.

Reviews

"Among Japan's contemporary philosophers, Yuasa is one of the most provocative and far-reaching. His work critiques in a fruitful way the foundational ideas in Asian and Western philosophy, science, medicine, and the study of religion. He not only shows how ideas are culturally embedded, but also suggests how we can work across those cultural lines to make our theories more universal and more efficacious. Of his works available in English, this is not only his latest, but perhaps his most accessible. " — Thomas P. Kasulis, The Ohio State University