ASIAN PHILOSOPHIES: BUDDHISM & JAINISM
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Buddha statue, 5th c. CE
in the Sarnath Museum, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Mahavira statue, 14th c. CE
in the Seattle Asian Art Museum
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Student Visiting Hours (Winter Quarter 2020): Come See Me!
- Mondays 12-1
- Tuesday/Thursday 3:45-4:45 and 10 minutes before and after class
- In-person appointment/video/phone available many other times: just contact me
DESCRIPTION:
What we call "Jainism" and "Buddhism" today emerged as reforming philosophies in approximately the 5th c. CE in the Ganges plain of India. While both of these non-Vedic views were rooted in the universal importance of daily action (vs. ritual), they offered distinct frameworks of what is real, how to know, and how to act. In this class, we will parse these paths through secondary texts, textual translations, while also considering the living practices of living Buddhist and Jain communities globally and in our southern California neighborhood.
What we call "Jainism" and "Buddhism" today emerged as reforming philosophies in approximately the 5th c. CE in the Ganges plain of India. While both of these non-Vedic views were rooted in the universal importance of daily action (vs. ritual), they offered distinct frameworks of what is real, how to know, and how to act. In this class, we will parse these paths through secondary texts, textual translations, while also considering the living practices of living Buddhist and Jain communities globally and in our southern California neighborhood.