RELG 137 - Introduction to Religion: Buddhism in East Asia

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
This course offers a broad introduction to Buddhist traditions in East Asia, focusing on China, Korea, and Japan in pre-modern periods. The interplay between doctrine and practice that animated the historical development of these traditions will be explored through a wide range of textual and visual genres, including sutras, cave paintings, miracle tales, stones inscriptions, images and icons, and hagiography. Topics covered include the doctrines of no-self and emptiness, the place of women and gender, monasticism and its impact on family structures, varieties of Buddhist awakening, and cosmology from the hells to the pure lands.
This course is cross-listed with EAST 137

This course is appropriate for new students.