Santa Clara University

Comparative Study of Contemplative Practices

in the Silicon Valley

Philip Boo Riley
Religious Studies Department
Bannan Dialog and Design Grant
November 1, 2005

Overview

In addition to documenting congregations and organizations, the Local Religion Project (LRP) is developing research projects on religion in the Silicon Valley. The project outlined in this proposal, a comparative study of contemplation in the region, is one of these research projects. The proposed study emerged from meetings and conversations among LRP director Philip Boo Riley, Sarita Tamayo-Moraga, Ph.D. (lecturer in SCU’s religious studies department) and Fr. Kevin Joyce, Ph.D. (founding director of SpiritSite whose interest in LRP stems from his participation in the March 2005 discussion of Hans Kung’s “Global Ethics” project; Fr. Joyce holds a Ph.D. in spirituality from Catholic University). Several interests surfaced:

  • Prof. Tamayo-Moraga’s scholarly expertise in mysticism
  • Fr. Joyce’s positive response to LRP’s desire to collaborate with local congregations
  • Prof. Riley’s need to document contemplative practice and inter-faith activity
  • The opportunity to focus on Buddhist-Catholic contemplative practices and dialogue

Discussions between Riley, Tamayo-Moraga and Joyce over Summer and Fall 2005 about these interests generated possible approaches and ideas for a collaborative LRP research project: documentation and analysis of the many communities in the Valley offering workshops, courses, and direction in contemplative practices; the opportunity to study SpiritSite as a “start up” contemplative practice program in the San Jose Diocese; comparative studies of contemplation in Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu communities in the area; ties to the Spirituality and Health Institute research and outreach projects developed by SCU and other faculty in the region that is now part of the Ignatian Center; using contemplation as a focus within the “difficult dialogues” proposal LRP submitted to the Ford Foundation in October; and the need for critical study of contemplation that yielded insights into the potential downsides as well as benefits of contemplative practices.

In order to focus these varied ideas and possibilities for a research project and at the same time serve our various teaching interests we decided to start with strategies to engage undergraduate students in both the study and practice of contemplation as it is practiced in the South Bay Area. How can we do this?

 

Methods

We propose a research project that develops over one year, from Spring 2006 to Spring 2007, in which undergraduate students play a vital role. Prof. Tamayo-Moraga’s two courses--Comparative Mysticism in World Religions (Spring 2006) and Mysticism in Action: Zen and Catholicism (Winter 2007)—provide us the “captive audience” with which to develop it. We intend to use the two classes to develop a project that would unfold in four stages. To read about the stages in detail, please full the PDF of this grant proposal.
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