The Buddhism and Breath Summit is an online resource exploring Buddhist practices of working with the breath and/or bodily “winds.” Thirteen scholars and practitioners address how Buddhist presentations of breath, “wind” or “life force” (prāṇa in Sanskrit, qi in Chinese, rlung in Tibetan, or lom in Thai, for example) have influenced contemplative, philosophical, and medical theories and practices in Buddhist traditions. The B&B Summit includes a pre-recorded conversation between the panelists as well as video presentations and supplementary educational resources, all publicly and freely available (see below).
The Buddhism and Breath Summit webinar was held Sept. 17, 2021, co-hosted by Frances Garrett and Pierce Salguero. This event was co-sponsored by the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto and Jivaka.net.
Panelist Presentations (Video Format)
Introductions
- Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim, Winds in Transit: Experiencing Breath in Translation
- Geoffrey Samuel, Wind and Breath in Tibetan Thought: the Confluence of Tantra and Ayurveda
Practice Perspectives
- Kin Cheung, Blurry Boundaries Between Breath/Qi/Ki and Buddhism: Agency for a Contemporary Chinese American Religious Healer
- David Collins, Experiencing the Theravādin Buddhist Jhāna Absorptions through the Breath
- Napakadol Kittisenee, Of the Last and Lasting Breath: Two Accounts of Mindfulness in the Face of Death Sentence
- Nathan Jishin Michon, Breath Energy and Healing in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism
- Tom Patton, Buddhist Wizards, Breath Meditation, and Superpowers
- David Wells, Winds in Traditional Thai Yoga, Reusi Dat Ton
Critical Lenses
- Saskia Abrams-Kavunenko, Troubled Breath: Windhorse, Smog, and the Stagnation of Vital Energies
- Nalika Gajaweera, Creating Safe(r) Spaces for Mindfulness of Breath: Non-White Western Practitioners’ Experiences of Race, Racism and Whiteness in American Mindfulness
Focus on Tibet
- Susannah Deane, Mind, Wind, and Heart: Tibetan Notions of Wind in Mental Health and Illness
- Anne Carolyn Klein, Breath: In the Body and Beyond
- Michael Sheehy, Tummo: Fierce Lady of Yogic Heat