Course Description
This course offers an in-depth exploration of Mahāyāna Buddhism through some of its formative texts, doctrines, and practices. The Mahāyāna (or “Great Vehicle”) was a significant movement within Indian Buddhism that began in approximately the first century BCE, persisted throughout Buddhism’s demise in India in approximately the twelfth century CE, and exerted an enormous influence upon the further development of Buddhism as it spread throughout South/Southeast, Central, and East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam), and across the globe in the modern and contemporary periods. Indicating its importance to the history of religio-literary cultures around the globe, the oldest, dated printed book in the world—the Vajracchedikā (often called “The Diamond Sūtra”)—belongs to the Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism movement. Mahāyāna Buddhism is vast in scope and extremely rich in imagination, offering a fantastic world populated by Buddhas, advanced bodhisattvas, heavenly paradises, supernatural occurrences, profound philosophical discussions, and enigmatic words of wisdom.
This course presumes no prior knowledge of the Buddhist tradition and has no prerequisites. The readings will include both Mahāyāna scriptures (such as the Heart Sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra, the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra, and sūtras from the Heap of Jewels collection) and Mahāyāna philosophical treatises (from the Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and Tathāgatagarbha schools of thought). We will focus both on placing these texts within their proper historical context within the development of Indian Buddhism and engaging them creatively as modern readers.
Course Preview
Course Modules
Module 1 — Straps: The History of the Yogapaṭṭa
Module 2 — Mats: Taking Your Seat, Neither Too High Nor Too Low
Module 3 — Huts: From the Yogamaṭha to the Yogaśālā
Course Structure:
- Each weekly module includes a 90-min pre-recorded lecture, recommended readings (pdfs), and a quiz
- Live Q&A sessions (90 min)
- Fridays @ 10:00-11:30am Pacific Time
- All live sessions will take place via Zoom and will be recorded for later viewing.
Students Will Receive:
- 4 Pre-recorded lectures (90 min each)
- 4 Live Q&A sessions on Zoom (90 min each)
- Recommended PDF readings
- 4 Multiple Choice quizzes
- Yogic Studies Certificate (PDF)
- Access to the private Community Forum
- 4 ACP Credits
- 12 Hours of CE credit with YA
Dr. Ralph H. Craig III
Associate Professor of Religion, Whitman College
Ralph H. Craig III is an interdisciplinary scholar of religion, whose research focuses on South Asian Buddhism and American Buddhism. He received his B.A. in Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University and his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Stanford University. His research interests include memoir, popular culture, yoga/meditation theory, religious experience and authority. He works with textual materials in Sanskrit, Pāli, Buddhist Chinese and Classical Tibetan. His work has appeared in the journals American Religion, Buddhist-Christian Studies, and the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies; in Lion’s Roar and Tricycle magazines; on the American Academy of Religion’s Reading Religion website; and the 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. His first book was Dancing in My Dreams: A Spiritual Biography of Tina Turner (Eerdmans Publishing, 2023) which explores the place of religion in the life and career of Tina Turner and examines her development as a Black Buddhist teacher. Among other forthcoming projects, his next book project is a monograph on preachers in Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras.
🦚 Catch the Early Bird Enrollment!
Save 20% off BS 113, now through Friday, August 29 @ 2pm PT
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This course is eligible for 6 hours of Continued Education (CE) credits with Yoga Alliance
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