Course Info: HACU-0152

CourseHACU-0152 Introduction to Buddhism
Long TitleIntroduction to Buddhism
Term2018S
Note(s) Satisfies Distribution
Textbook information
Meeting InfoFranklin Patterson Hall 106 on W,F from 2:30-3:50
FacultyTashi Tsering
Capacity23
Available5
Waitlist0
Distribution(s) Culture, Humanities, and Languages
Cumulative Skill(s)Multiple Cultural Perspectives
Additional InfoIn this course, students are expected to spend an additional 6-8 hours on work and preparation outside of class time.
Description

As both a religion and a philosophy, Buddhism relies mainly on reason and logic. It emphasizes the cultivation of mental peace and seeks to reduce negative emotions through the application of such methods as calm abiding, analytical meditation, fourfold mindfulness, and introspection. Not only does it seek to reduce negative emotions, but it also upgrades positive emotions through training in loving kindness, compassion, enlightened mind, and the six perfections. Buddhism teaches that any physical, verbal, or mental activity done with good motivation and skillful means is always virtuous and wholesome. In this course, we will also consider Buddhist distinctions between conventional truth (as for example the experience of the gross phenomenon of a vase) and the ultimate truth of emptiness (sunyata) from the standpoint of four distinct Indian and Tibetan philosophical schools. Other topics to be considered include: the wandering of and liberation from cyclical existence, karma, the four noble truths, paths of liberation, the doctrine of dependent origination, and impermanence.