EAST 335 - Buddhism, Healing, and the Body in East Asia

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
The links between Buddhism and healing are as old as the religion itself, and proved especially pivotal in the transmission of the religion to East Asia. How have Buddhists historically imagined the body, disease, and healing? How was this therapeutic imagination in turn shaped by morality, monasticism, ritual practice, and demonology? This course brings these questions to an examination of the rich history of Buddhist healing. Throughout, we also emphasize the intersections of Buddhist healing with other traditions known and practiced in China, Korea, and Japan, including Ayurveda, Daoism, and varieties of classical and popular medicine.

This course is cross-listed with RELG-335