The main aim of this course is to cultivate basic literacy in the principal religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. This course explores the origins of these religious traditions in Asia and their transplantation to the United States. The course focuses on three related issues: why religion matters, what the term "religion" means, and how Asian religions - especially Buddhism and Confucianism - wonderfully complicate that term.Lecture 1 The Nature of Religion and How Asian Religions Complicate Things
Lecture 2 Hinduism Before Hinduism: Vedic Religion
Lecture 3 Hinduism as a Way of Wisdom
Lecture 4 Hinduism as a Way of Devotion
Lecture 5 Sikhism: The Way of the Disciples
Lecture 6 Hinduism and Sikhism in America
Lecture 7 Theravada Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
Lecture 8 Mahayana Buddhism: Emptiness and Compassion
Lecture 9 Zen Buddhism: Koans and Zaze
Lecture 10 Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama
Lecture 11 Buddhism in America
Lecture 12 Confucianism: Becoming Human by Becoming Social
Lecture 13 Daoism: Becoming Human by Becoming Natural
Lecture 14 Pop Goes the Buddha: Asian Religions in Popular Culture