Introduction to Buddhism (course delivered in Oxford)
The OCBS will be delivering this course in Trinity 2018. Completion of the course will bring a certificate from the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies – A Recognised Independent Centre of the University of Oxford.
This course is open to all.
Dates: 22 Apr 2018 – 3 Jun 2018. Sundays: 5pm – 6.30pm
Location: Balliol College
Course Fee: £140
7 Week course: 1.5 hours each week.
1 x end of course seminar followed by an optional end of term formal dinner in an Oxford college.
To apply please contact steven.egan@ocbs.org.
Aim: To offer students a solid foundation in early Buddhist thought and the necessary tools for approaching the later Buddhist traditions.
Objectives:
- To establish a solid understanding of the historical roots of early Buddhism.
- To ensure students have a good grasp of the fundamentals of Buddhist philosophical thought.
- To engage students in the dialogue between Buddhism and society.
This seven-week course consists of eight weekly sessions of one and a half-hour lectures. Each lecture will last around one hour to leave sufficient time for questions and group discussions at the end. It is aimed as a foundation course and covers historical roots of the religion, the philosophical theories, the Buddhist community and its role and interactions within societies of the past and the present. The socio-religious backdrop of the Vedic world within which the Buddha was born and founded Buddhism together with its fundamental philosophical principles such as karma and causation will be dealt with in the first 4 weeks of the course. Other essential features of Buddhism, namely meditation, the Buddhist community (sangha) and King Aśoka are dealt with in the last 3 weeks. This course will provide students with the necessary foundations to explore further the Buddhist world in the form of further academic courses or self-study.
Course Outline
Week 1: The Buddha and Society
Religious and socio-cultural constellations in India at the time of the Buddha
Brahmanical society, Vedic cosmology, philosophy and worldview
The Śramaṇas
The life of the Buddha
The Jātakas
Week 2: The Foundations of the Buddha’s teachings 1
The Four noble truths
The Eight-fold path
– Karma
Week 3: The Foundations of the Buddha’s teachings 2
No self
Rebirth
Week 4: The Foundations of the Buddha’s Teachings 3
– Causation
– Ethics
Week 5: Meditation
The theory of meditation
The different types of meditative methods
The role of meditation
Week 6: The Sangha
The Buddhist councils
The early Sangha
The vināya
Week 7: King Aśoka
– Dharma/Dharmas
The spread of Buddhism in India
The later Buddhist sanghas and society (leading into Mahāyana)
Recommended pre-course reading list:
Gethin, Rupert (1998) Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Lowenstein, Tom (1996) The Vision of the Buddha. Macmillan: London.