Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2018 First 6 Week Session
This course will consider materials drawn from various Buddhist traditions of Asia, from ancient times to the present day. However, it is not intended to be a comprehensive or systematic survey; rather than aiming at breadth, it is designed around key themes such as ritual, image veneration, mysticism, meditation, and death. The overarching emphasis throughout the course will be on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Buddhism in particular.
Introduction to the Study of Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This introduction to the study of Buddhism will consider materials drawn from various Buddhist traditions of Asia, from ancient times down to the present day. However, the course is not intended to be a comprehensive or systematic survey; rather than aiming at breadth, the course is designed around key themes such as ritual, image veneration, mysticism, meditation, and death. The overarching emphasis throughout the course will be on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Buddhism in particular.
Introduction to the Study of Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2016
This course is an advanced introduction to the major teachings of Indian Buddhism and their philosophical elaborations. We will cover the core tenets attributed to the Buddha, and the later doctrinal and scholastic developments that turned Buddhism into one of the principal philosophical traditions of India. For this we will read select primary sources—in principle, extracts of the scriptures and later treatises—and academic articles and book chapters. Rather than offering a broad introductory survey of Buddhist traditions across space and time, this class is geared towards students who are already familiar with the basics of Buddhism and want to deepen their understanding of the principal teachings of Buddhism originating in India.
Buddhist Thought in India: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2018 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
This course is a broad introduction to the history, doctrine, and culture of the Buddhism of Tibet. We will begin with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century and move on to the evolution of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist literature, ritual and monastic practice, the place of Buddhism in Tibetan political history and the contemporary situation of Tibetan Buddhism both inside and outside Tibet.
Tibetan Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2017
This course is a broad introduction to the history, doctrine, and culture of the Buddhism of Tibet. We will begin with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century and move on to the evolution of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist literature, ritual and monastic practice, the place of Buddhism in Tibetan political history, and the contemporary situation of Tibetan Buddhism both inside and outside of Tibet.
Tibetan Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2015
A critical survey of the main themes in the history of Japanese Buddhism as they are treated in modern scholarship. The course covers the transmission of Buddhism from China and Korea to Japan; the subsequent evolution in Japan of the Tendai, Shingon, Pure Land, Nichiren, and Zen schools of Buddhism; the organization and function of Buddhist institutions (monastic and lay) in Japanese society; the interaction between Buddhism and other modes of religious belief and practice prevalent in Japan, notably those that go under the headings of "Shinto" and "folk religion."
Japanese Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2015
This course is an introduction to the history of Buddhism in China from its beginnings in the early centuries CE to the present day. Through engagement with historical scholarship, primary sources in translation, and Chinese Buddhist art, we will explore the intellectual history and cultural impact of Buddhism in China. Students will also be introduced to major issues in the institutional history of Buddhism, the interactions between Buddhism and indigenous Chinese religions, and the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Previous study of Buddhism is helpful but not required.
Buddhism in China: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
This course covers the history of Mongolian Buddhism from its inception in the Yuan dynasty to the present. The importance of Mongolian Buddhism to the greater dharma lies not only with the ways of its priests but also with the means of its patrons, the Mongol aristocracy, in forging a distinctive tradition in Inner Asia and disseminating it throughout the world. While maintaining a historical thread throughout, this course will examine in detail some of the tradition’s many facets, including Mongolian-Buddhist politics, the politics of incarnation, the establishment of monasteries, economics, work in the sciences, astral science and medicine, ritual practice, literature, sculpture and painting, music and dance, and more.
Mongolian Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020
Modern Chinese Buddhism emerged from a variety of reactions to the challenges posed by modernity. The course aims at introducing students to the ways in which Buddhists in China have engaged and continue to engage with a modern society and a globalized world. The course will follow the trends of Chinese Buddhism from the early twentieth century down to the most recent developments in the present. In exploring modern constructions of Buddhism in China, we will distinguish between modernism and modernity, and investigate how Chinese Buddhists introduced reforms and innovations, while also attempting to maintain continuity with traditional ideals and modes of practice.
Buddhism in Modern China: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
This course will discuss the social, economic, and cultural aspects of Buddhism as it moved along the ancient Eurasian trading network referred to as the “Silk Road”. Instead of relying solely on textual sources, the course will focus on material culture as it offers evidence concerning the spread of Buddhism. Through an examination of the Buddhist archaeological remains of the Silk Road, the course will address specific topics, such as the symbiotic relationship between Buddhism and commerce; doctrinal divergence; ideological shifts in the iconography of the Buddha; patronage (royal, religious and lay); Buddhism and political power; and art and conversion. All readings will be in English.
Buddhism on the Silk Road: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2011, Fall 2009, Spring 2008
A thematic course on Buddhist perspectives on nature and Buddhist responses to environmental issues. The first half of the course focuses on East Asian Buddhist cosmological and doctrinal perspectives on the place of the human in nature and the relationship between the salvific goals of Buddhism and nature. The second half of the course examines Buddhist ethics, economics, and activism in relation to environmental issues in contemporary Southeast Asia, East Asia, and America.
Buddhism and the Environment: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2015 10 Week Session, Summer 2015 First 6 Week Session
A study of the Buddhist tradition as it is found today in Asia. The course will focus on specific living traditions of East, South, and/or Southeast Asia. Themes to be addressed may include contemporary Buddhist ritual practices; funerary and mortuary customs; the relationship between Buddhism and other local religious traditions; the relationship between Buddhist institutions and the state; Buddhist monasticism and its relationship to the laity; Buddhist ethics; Buddhist "modernism," and so on.
Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
A study of the Buddhist tradition as it is found today in Asia. The course will focus on specific living traditions of East, South, and/or Southeast Asia. Themes to be addressed may include contemporary Buddhist ritual practices; funerary and mortuary customs; the relationship between Buddhism and other local religious traditions; the relationship between Buddhist institutions and the state; Buddhist monasticism and its relationship to the laity; Buddhist ethics; Buddhist "modernism," and so on.
Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Spring 2010, Summer 2007 Second 6 Week Session
This course will introduce students to the Zen Buddhist traditions of China and Japan, drawing on a variety of disciplinary perspectives (history, anthropology, philosophy, and so on). The course will also explore a range of hermeneutic problems (problems involved in interpretation) entailed in understanding a sophisticated religious tradition that emerged in a time and culture very different from our own.
Zen Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2017, Fall 2015
This course will discuss the historical development of the Pure Land school of East Asian Buddhism, the largest form of Buddhism practiced today in China and Japan. The curriculum is divided into India, China, and Japan sections, with the second half of the course focusing exclusively on Japan where this form of religious culture blossomed most dramatically, covering the ancient, medieval, and modern periods. The curriculum will begin with a reading of the core scriptures that form the basis of the belief system and then move into areas of cultural expression. The course will follow two basic trajectories over the centuries: doctrine/philosophy and culture/society.
Pure Land Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2013, Spring 2010
The emergence of the tantras in seventh and eighth-century India marked a watershed for religious practice throughout Asia. These esoteric scriptures introduced complex new ritual technologies that transformed the religious traditions of India, from Brahmanism to Jainism and Buddhism, as well as those of Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan. This course provides an overview of tantric religion across these regions.
Tantric Traditions of Asia: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2018
The main aim of this course is to provide a multi-disciplinary approach by exploring the origins, development and diffusion of Buddhist art and archaeology along the maritime and overland trade routes chronologically and geographically through the combined study of archaeological records (excavations, pottery, glass, seals, coins, etc.) and key religious texts and epigraphy. This course will attempt to show how the spread of Buddhism from South Asia to Southeast Asia is closely connected with the growth of the maritime and overland networks based on trade that facilitated the movement of Buddhist merchants, travelling monks and teachers.
Buddhist Art and Archaeology along the Maritime & Overland Silk Routes: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2016, Spring 2014
This course is an introduction to the study of medieval Buddhist literature written in classical Chinese. We will read samples from a variety of genres, including early Chinese translations of Sanskrit and Central Asian Buddhist scriptures, indigenous Chinese commentaries, philosophical treatises, and sectarian works, including Chan (Zen koans). The course will also serve as an introduction to resource materials used in the study of Chinese Buddhist texts, and students will be expected to make use of a variety of reference tools in preparation for class. Readings in Chinese will be supplemented by a range of secondary readings in English on Mahayana doctrine and Chinese Buddhist history.
Readings in Chinese Buddhist Texts: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
This course is an introduction to the study of medieval Buddhist literature written in Classical Japanese in its wabun (aka bungo) and kanbun forms (including kakikudashi). The class will read samples from a variety of genres, including material written in China that are read in an idiosyncratic way in Japan. Reading materials will include Chinese translations of Sanskrit and Central Asian Buddhist scriptures, scriptural commentaries written in China and Korea, Japanese subcommentaries on influential Chinese and Korean commentaries, philosophical treatises, hagiography, apologetics, histories, doctrinal letters, preaching texts, and setsuwa literature. This course is intended for students who already have some facility in literary Japanese.
Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2016
Rather than offering a comprehensive survey, this course deals with select themes that shed light on the origins, development and diffusion of Buddhist art chronologically and geographically through a combined study that considers the archaeological record (excavations, coins, etc.), key religious texts and epigraphy. Typical themes will be the early notion of aniconism and the evolution of iconic art (Buddha and bodhisattva images); the depiction of Jatakas and other narratives in reliefs and painting; the cave sculptures of the Western Deccan; tantric art, temples and monasteries; the art, archaeology and architecture of South India and Sri Lanka; Indic Buddhist monuments in South-East Asia such Bagan in Burma, Borobudur, and Angkor.
The Origins and Development of Buddhist Art in South Asia: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Not yet offered
This course studies the purview of astral science under Buddhist dominion. Here it is at once promoted for promulgating Buddhist world order and repudiated for begetting the suffering-inducing physical universe, a warped vessel of ceaselessly turning stars that the Buddhist dharma must transcend. The course begins with the part astral science plays in genesis, the creation of Buddhist world order. It then covers the science’s central aspects, celestial systems, spatial orientation, time reckoning, the making of a calendar, and publication of an almanac. Thereafter, it treats the science’s outgrowth into interrelated forms of Buddhist propaganda manifest as divination, magic, medicine, ritual, scripture, and iconography.

Buddhist Astral Science: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Summer 2013 First 6 Week Session
Tibetan Buddhists view the moment of death as a rare opportunity for transformation. This course examines how Tibetans have used death and dying in the path to enlightment. Readings will address how Tibetan funerary rituals work to assist the dying toward this end, and how. Buddhist practioners prepare for this crucial moment through tantric meditation, imaginative rehearsals, and explorations of the dream state.
Death, Dreams, and Visions in Tibetan Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2014
Tibetan Buddhists view the moment of death as a rare opportunity for transformation. This course examines how Tibetans have used death and dying in the path to enlightenment. Readings will address how Tibetan funerary rituals work to assist the dying toward this end, and how Buddhist practitioners prepare for this crucial moment through tantric meditation, imaginative rehearsals, and explorations of the dream state.
Death, Dreams, and Visions in Tibetan Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course will focus on specific themes, developments, and issues in the study of Buddhism. The course is intended to supplement our regular curricular offerings, and the content will change from semester to semester.
Topics in the Study of Buddhism: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Small group instruction not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Terms offered: Prior to 2007
Independent study in topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Independent Study: Read More [+]