Oliver Freiberger

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism's founder: Who was the "historical Buddha?" What were the factors that led to his enlightenment? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn't he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada (also termed Orthodox or Southern) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

Grading:

Attendance/participation: 20% Three quizzes: 10% ea.Oral presentation: 20%Final exam: 30%

Texts:

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism - the eBook)J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

Asceticism, as a concept and a way of life, exists in many religious traditions. Ascetics commit to bodily restraints that can be manifold and are practiced at various levels of intensity. From specific food restraints (for example, vegetarianism) to fasting to death; from celibacy to self-castration; from wearing simple robes to going naked; from shaving one’s head to severe self-mutilation; from living in a monastic community to locking one-self in a cell to constant wandering. Using case studies from various religions, this course discusses the concepts, practices, and goals associated with this radical way of life. It also introduces students to scholarly approaches to asceticism, which includes theories of the body and of culture more generally. Other topics discussed in class are the social status of the ascetic; asceticism and gender; asceticism and devotion; and asceticism and violence. Historical examples will be taken primarily from India (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism) and Mediterranean late antiquity (Greek/Roman religions, Christianity, Judaism).

Texts:

TBD

Grading:

TBD

This course offers a survey of the major religious traditions of Asia (Hinduism, Buddhism in South and East Asia, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto). It focuses on the historical development of their beliefs, practices, rituals, and customs in social context. The course will combine lectures with class discussions on readings.

This course introduces students to the institutional, social, economic, and doctrinal history of Buddhism in India. Emerging in the 5th century B.C.E., Buddhism spread quickly across South Asia. For more than 1500 years it had a significant impact on Indian culture, philosophy, art, architecture, and politics. The course discusses Buddhist teachings, from their earliest formulations to later developments, the spread of Buddhist institutions, and resulting social, political, and economic issues. Finally, we will take a look at the revival of Buddhism in India in the 20th century and its impact on society.

Readings:
Paul Williams, Buddhist Thought
Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha
Course Packet

Grading
Attendance/participation: 20%
Weekly reading responses: 20%
Oral presentation: 15%
Article for class encyclopedia: 15%
Midterm exam: 15%
Final exam: 15%

This course discusses key scholarly works on and major approaches to religion in Asia. Its main focus is on pre-modern South Asia and contemporary Japan, but other regions will be considered too. By discussing major groundbreaking works the seminar will familiarize students with the current scholarly discourse, its most pressing questions, a selection of commonly studied areas and topics, and major theoretical and methodological challenges of the field.

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism's founder: Who was the "historical Buddha?" What were the factors that led to his enlightenment? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn't he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

Texts

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism - the eBook)
J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

Grading

Attendance/participation: 20% Three quizzes: 10% ea.Oral presentation: 20%Final exam: 30%

This course introduces and discusses major comparative approaches in the study of religion. The act of comparison is as old as religion is. Religious individuals and groups have often compared their beliefs and practices with those of their neighbors, sometimes with a sincere religious interest, sometimes merely to demonstrate the superiority of their own religion. Since the end of the 19th century, scholars of religion sought to develop methods of comparison that were not religiously biased. They asked: What are the differences and the similarities in the religions of the world? Why do religions have the same - or completely different - answers to the same existential questions? Why do they express their beliefs by developing very different - or strikingly similar - practices? This course surveys classical and current approaches to the comparison of religions. The guiding questions are: What are the respective goals of the comparative enterprises? What specific methods are advocated and actually carried out? Should we adopt those goals and methods for our own reflections on religion? The introduction to these issues will be illustrated by numerous examples from the history of religions. Many examples will be taken from Asian religions, but depending on the interests of students in class, we may extend our scope into any direction. In the course of the semester, students will develop individual comparative projects in study groups.

Texts

Course packet

Grading

Attendance/participation: 20%, oral presentation: 20%,  project development: 30%, and a final exam: 30%.

This course introduces students to the institutional, social, economic, and doctrinal history of Buddhism in India. Emerging in the 5^th century B.C.E. Buddhism spread quickly across South Asia. For more than 1500 years it had a significant impact on Indian culture, philosophy, art, architecture, and politics. The course discusses Buddhist teachings, from their earliest formulations to later developments, the spread of Buddhist institutions, and resulting social, political, and economic issues. Finally, we will take a look at the revival of Buddhism in India in the 20^th century and its impact on society.

TEXTS

1. Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London: Routledge, 2000.
2. Sayings of the Buddha: A Selection of Suttas from the Pali Nikāyas. Transl. by Rupert Gethin. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
3. Course packet. 
4. Optional: Śāntideva, The Bodhicāryāvatāra. A New Translation by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

GRADING

Attendance/participation 20%
Reading responses 20%
Oral presentation 15%
Article for class encyclopedia 15%
Midterm exam 15%
Final exam 15%

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism’s founder: Who was the “historical Buddha?” What were the factors that led to his “enlightenment”? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn’t he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada (also termed “Orthodox” or “Southern”) and Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

TEXTS:

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism – the eBook)
J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

GRADING:

Attendance/participation: 20%
Three quizzes: 10% ea.
Oral presentation: 20%
Final exam: 30%