How Buddhism Changed World Civilization

Jiang Wu

Spring 2020

Tuesdays |

1 PM - 3 PM

Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, March 3, 17, 24, 31, and April 7, 2020

Course Format: Hybrid

Location: Main Campus

Tuition: $210

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How did Buddhism change world civilization? This is a puzzling question for many people interested in philosophy, spirituality, and practice. As a major religious tradition, Buddhism deserves our attention because of its increasingly strong presence in the West and its power to shape our culture. This course is designed to introduce you to Buddhist core beliefs, meditative practice, history, major sects, and its encounter with different cultures, including the West. Moving chronologically and geographically, we will survey the various kinds of Buddhism across Asia and the West. From this class you will gain a deeper understanding of what enlightenment and civilization mean historically and spiritually.

Registration Opens Online: Monday, November 25, 2019 at 8AM (AZ Time)

Syllabus

Required Reading

Damien Keown, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).
William Theodore de Bary, The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan (New York: Vintage Books, 1972).
Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo (Routledge, 2006)
Bill Porter, Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China (Counterpoint, 2010)
Daniel Cozort, The Highest Tantra (Snow Lion, 2005)
Donald S. Lopez Jr., A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West. (Beacon Press, 2002)
Michael Downing, Shoes outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center (Counterpoint Press, 2000).

Meet Your Instructor

Jiang Wu

Professor; Director, Center of Buddhist Studies

Department of East Asian Studies

JIANG WU is a Professor in East Asian Studies and Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Arizona. He holds a PhD from Harvard, and his research focuses on 17th-century Chinese Buddhism. Specifically, Professor Wu has focused on Chan/Zen Buddhism, the role of Buddhist canons in the formation of East Asian Buddhist culture, and the historical exchanges between Chinese Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. He is the author of two books, the editor of three, and has written numerous articles.