This document provides instructions for two discussion assignments related to Hinduism, Buddhism, and mindfulness meditation. It instructs students to write carefully and use examples from the assigned texts. The first assignment asks students to define and discuss the paths to liberation in Hinduism and Buddhism, and the goal of liberation in each religion. The second assignment provides instructions for a 10-15 minute mindfulness meditation practice focusing on the breath, then asks students to describe its effects on body and mind and whether it could be helpful for regular stress reduction.

1. NOTE:
Discussion Board writing should be done with the same craft
and care as a Reflection Paper: check for spelling and
grammatical clarity. Use multiple paragraphs to structure your
thinking. Use specific details and examples from text and
traditions to support general statements.
Choose only 1 of the following two discussion assignments:
Q1:
Paths to Liberation
Both Hinduism and Buddhism delineate specific paths to
liberation. Define and discuss these
paths
and define the
goal
(liberation) they lead to in both religions. Use terms as
precisely as possible to show that you have read the assignment.
Q2
:
A Breathing Practice for Stress Reduction and Clarity
Practice the following instructions for Buddhist mindfulness
relaxation. This is NOT a religion or a form of worship, but a
practical stress reduction technique used by many stress
counselors and psychologists, but it is an example of how
practices from another culture can be part of our own. Practice
this at least twice for ten minutes before writing about it. Do

2. not write about the instructions without practicing them! In your
journal:
*Please describe effects both in
body
and
mind
and how the
breath
affects both.
*
End by explaining how this practice might or might not be
helpful as a regular stress-reduction practice.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Find a
comfortable sitting position.
Do not lie down, but you may sit relaxed in any position as
long as your spine is upright.
2.
Do
not resist noises.
i
f external noises come up
.
Let them be. It's not the ambient noises, but our resistance to
them, that distracts us!
3. If

3. thoughts
come and go,
do not try to control them
or push them out. Do not attempt to 'make the mind a blank.'
Just let them pass as they come, without clinging to them or
resisting them.
4. Without strain,
gently
observe your breath
. Let the mind gently
return to
the breath in the present moment
every time it wanders off into the past or the future.
5.Observe the breath as it rises and falls. Let breath softly but
thoroughly sweep the body. Breathing in, let your attention flow
upward, from your belly toward your forehead. Breathing out,
let it flow back down toward the belly. Let the breath become
slower, gentler, finer. The instruction is not to concentrate-on
or control the breath, but to
observe it.
6. Inhalation energizes all the cells of the body. Exhalation
brings relaxation. As you breathe out, allow the muscles of the
chest, the solar plexus, and the belly to relax.
7.If
physical sensations
arise, Do not resist them, just feel them, and observe them,
allowing them to come and go.

4. 8. Letting thoughts go,
sink into silence.
Feel the power of that inner silence.
Ending the Session:
Don't mind the time
or watch the clock. When you feel that
about 10-15 minutes
have passed, bring your attention to the body as a whole. Honor
your body, just as it is. Then slowly open the eyes.