ASIAN 3341 - Mahayana Buddhism

(crosslisted) RELST 3341
(ALC-AS) (CA-AG, LA-AG) (EC-SAP)

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

D. Boucher.

This course will explore the origins and early developments of a movement in Indian Buddhism known as the Great Vehicle. We will intensively examine a small slice of this movement’s voluminous literature so as to better understand its call for a new spiritual orientation within Buddhism. Topics of discussion will include the career of the bodhisattva, the lay/monk distinction, attitudes of Mahayanists toward women and other Buddhists, and the development of Buddhist utopias and transcendent buddhas. (RL)