Spring 2020
In Session
Tuesdays
1 PM - 3 PM
Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, March 3, 17, 24, 31, and April 7, 2020
Location:
Main Campus
Tuition:
$210
Sorry! This course has sold out. Click here to join the course waitlist
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)
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).
