Primitive Presence: A Workshop

111 S. Independence Mall East,Philadelphia PA 19106

03 December, 2021

Description

Our working hypothesis will be: Presence is primitive when it is maximally emptied of stimulus response. Our working hypothesis will be: Presence is primitive when it is maximally emptied of stimulus response. Because it goes against the flow of habituated everyday activity, which is characterized by agitation (we are agitated even in our sleep, even at rest), it requires practice. We can also think of this as irreducible presence—being maximally devoid of over-determining, World-imposed, representations. (NOTE: Here, “maximally” means to x extent, not completely; “primitive” means early, undeveloped, basic, not original. We are not engaged in a return to the pure primordial state, or anything like that. This issue might be a valuable topic of conversation for us.) Primitive presence consists of three features: Stillness—unmoving body.Silence—speechless.Monoperception—of a single phenomenon: the breath.We will spend ample time practicing. Premise: Useful is the letting-lie-before-us. So, too, the taking-to-heart. For, not separately from the presence of what is present can you find out the taking-to-heart. (Martin Heidegger's hypertranslation of a Parmenides fragment.) Why might you want to experiment with this practice? To counter and resist the incessant influx of data-stimuli buffeting our every moment. To extract the techno-tentacles of the stimulation-consumption-capitalist maelstrom.To deflate extraneous representations, which attach to stimulus response.To settle, rest, be at ease, watch, feel, examine, pay attention, play with emptiness, range exultant in the void, wonder, dream.To do nothing—for a change.This practice has implications for certain psychological, political, and philosophical concerns, such as the formation of subjectivity, the nature of ideology, transcendence/immanence, identity/universalism, and the possibilities for personal and social transformation that all of these issues bear on. We can discuss these and any other issues that participants feel bear on our concern. The text Non Buddhist Mysticism might be useful. Facilitator: Glenn Wallis holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University. He is the author of several books, including Cruel Theory/Sublime Practice and Basic Teachings of the Buddha as well as numerous articles, chapters, and essays on various aspects of Buddhism and Western Buddhism in contemporary society. His more recent work, A Critique of Western Buddhism: Ruins of the Buddhist Real, employs the “non-philosophical” approach of François Laruelle. Wallis has taught at Brown University, Bowdoin College, and was tenured at the University of Georgia. He is the founder of the blog Speculative Non-Buddhism and Incite Seminars. His most recent book is An Anarchist’s Manifesto. Readings at Incite Seminars Rigorous & Rebellious Learning