April 8

Class 1: Introduction: What Is Religion? & A Brief History of Buddhism

• Introduction to Course: Read the Course Overview & Requirements & Final Project pages on this site
• Class Issue: Many students in our class will come from cultures tied to the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam based on the belief in a single creator God. Asian religion, and Buddhism in particular which does not believe in a creator God, has a very different approach to religion. In particular, the strong Christian emphasis on faith/belief in a transcendental God and the strong Japanese emphasis on ritual/custom connected to an immanental pantheism creates a very different understanding of religion. This first class will help students grasp such differences so that they may have a better foundation for understanding Buddhism as a religion and not just as a philosophy.
• Lecture & Power Point Presentation: What Is Religion and A Brief History of Buddhism (PDF) Click here for the audio lecture attached to the PPT
• Reading: “Karma for Everyone: Social Justice and the Problem of Re-ethicizing Karma in Theravada Buddhist Societies” pp. 13-36 in Rethinking Karma: The Dharma of Social Justice.  Ed. Jonathan S. Watts (Bangkok, Thailand: International Network of Engaged Buddhists, 2014, 2nd edition)

Class 2: Buddhist Sociology: A Community of Liberation, A Culture of Diversity, An Institution of Power

• Class Issue: After looking at Buddhism in the context of other religions, we must also look at Buddhism in the context of cultural and historical settings and NOT as a set of abstract teachings and idealized forms. This class takes a critical look at society at the time of the Buddha and what the Buddha’s teachings meant for that time. It then traces the development of Buddhism as a civilizational force by the dawn of the Common Era, its spread into the rest of Asia, and its institutionalization through economic and political forces.
• Presentation: Buddhist Sociology: A Community of Liberation A Culture of Diversity An Institution of Power (PDF) Click here for the audio lecture that goes with the PPT
• Reading:  “The ‘Positive Disintegration’ of Buddhism” (first half, pp. 91-107) in Rethinking Karma.
• HOMEWORK (due April 15 @ 12:00 noon JST) Submit 1 page reflection on Unit 1: What is Buddhism to you? Reflecting on the readings and the two lectures, you may write a very personal and non-academic one-page, single space paper on what Buddhism means to you (i.e. a philosophy, a way of life, a religion, etc.). There is no right answer! But you will be evaluated for the clarity and depth of your reflection.