Spring

This course explores how religion has shaped the modern East Asian world through an examination of Tibetan Buddhist culture and history. Tibetan Buddhism played a fundamental role in the Chinese transition to modernity and has enjoyed an enduring relevance not only in modern Tibet and China, but also in other parts of Asia and globally. We will explore how religious practice, literature, and art interconnect with political power, ethnicity, nationalism, and scientific development to revisit common perceptions of Tibet as a culturally isolated place of religion and of East Asian modernity as a steady turn to secularization. We will also look at the contemporary traces of this process within American and Asian-American Buddhist communities. This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu/

Description to come.

This seminar explores the influence of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana scriptures, in Japan. We will study how different Japanese Buddhist schools have interpreted this sutra and analyze a wide range of religious practices, art works, and literature associated with this text. All readings will be in English. Prerequisites: Solid foundation in either Buddhist studies or East Asian Studies. You must have taken at least one other course in Buddhist Studies. NOTE: Undergraduates must enroll for 5 units; graduate students can enroll for 3-5 units.

Graduate Independent study in Buddhism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

Required supervised internship for PhDs.