AN INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST BELIEF AND P

This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held- and practices performed by Buddhists in Southeast Asia.  By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethical, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Mandalay, Myanmar to Phrae, Thailand, and beyond.  From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among lay communities across Southeast Asia.  This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as “Just-War,” Women’s Rights and Abortion, Material Culture, etc.. While no one semester course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Southeast Asian Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of the tradition by focusing on how they are practiced across the region. While we will focus on the Theravada lineage of Buddhism, we will also look at Mahayana practices in places like Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as Buddhist encounters with Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, and Taoist practices in the region.