Autumn

Impact of Buddhism on the arts and culture of Japan as seen in the ancient capital of Kyoto. Image production, iconography, representational strategies, as well as the ritual and visual functions of Buddhist sculpture and painting with a focus on selected historical temples and their icons. Also examination of architectural and landscape elements of temple layouts, within which iconographic programs are framed, images are enlivened, and practices centered on these devotional and ritual art.

An overview of major themes and historical developments in 5000 years of Chinese religion. In this course, we will try as much as possible to appreciate Chinese religion from the Chinese perspective, paying particular attention to original texts in translation, artifacts and videos, all in an attempt to discern the logic of Chinese religion and the role it has played in the course of Chinese history. To a greater extent perhaps than any other civilization, Chinese have left behind a continuous body of written documents and other artifacts relating to religion stretching over thousands of years, providing a wealth of material for studying the place of religion in history and society.

How did ancient Buddhist practices like mindfulness come to be promoted today as essential for our mental and physical wellbeing? How have Buddhists responded to the global COVID-19 health crisis? If Buddhist practice can indeed heal and keep us healthy, how does it claim to heal, and from what? This class explores these and other related questions by studying how Buddhism has throughout its history been intertwined with the theory and practice of medicine. No prior knowledge of Buddhism or medicine is required.

In Buddhist practices, devotees have long used their bodies to express religious devotion. This can be seen through asceticism, exorcism, hallucination, mummification, immolation, and even tattoo art. This course examines such themes through textual readings, material culture, and visual imagery. In regards to asceticism, ascetic practices can be used to alter one's physical form, through starvation, fire, practices in the mountains, or other such means. Examples of this include the mountain practitioners who mummified in Japan, immolation practices in China and Tibet, and the "marathon monks" of Mount Hiei. Subthemes of this course include gender and the body, and the body and violence. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.

The goal of this course is to familiarize graduate students with themes, debates and methodologies in Buddhist Studies. Works covered are not all recent (though most are), but rather works that raise issues that scholars continue to address in recent works. Some weeks will focus on topics (e.g. Indian monasticism, defining meditative experience), and others on bodies of evidence (e.g. hagiography, material culture). "Buddhist Studies" encompasses a range of discrete disciplines (philosophy, history, anthropology etc.). This course is an opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with some of the most common approaches to Buddhist studies and the specific challenges they pose.

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

Required supervised internship for PhDs.