Curious about the relationship between Yoga and Buddhist philosophy? How did Hindu and Buddhist yoga and meditation traditions influence one another?
Join Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop, and a global cohort of students, for this unique opportunity to study the parallels between classical Yoga and Buddhism.
Yoga + Buddhism
This online course will introduce students to the interconnections between the classical Yoga of Patañjali and the systems of mind-body practice that are described in Buddhist texts of the same period. In particular, we will consider early Buddhist expressions of Yogācāra (Discipline of Yoga) and some key schools of Buddhist Abhidharma from the early first through fifth centuries CE.
The presence of Buddhist terms, ideas, and practices in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra (the Yogasūtra and its Commentary, the Bhāṣya) has long been noted and discussed by scholars and practitioners of yoga. Over four weeks, we will pull together key strands of scholarship and also dive into close readings of passages in early Hindu (i.e. Brahmanical) and Buddhist texts on meditation and the discipline of yoga. In particular, we will look comparatively at the parallels between the Pātañjalayogaśāstra, Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, and Asaṅga’s Yogācārabhūmiśāstra.
Some familiarity with the Yogasūtra of Patañjali will be useful. No Sanskrit is required; some key glossaries will be provided to students.
Course Modules
Module 1 — Buddhist ideas in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra
In this first module we will take an overview of some key scholarship on the Buddhist elements in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra. We will examine terms, concepts, practices, ideas and arguments in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra that have been identified as Buddhist and identify some relevant Buddhist textual sources for this discussion. We will also evaluate some theories on the authorship of the Yogasūtra and its first commentary (bhāṣya) in relation to the controversial argument that part or all of these texts were composed by Buddhists.
Module 2 — Pātañjala Yoga and Abhidharma
The Pātañjalayogaśāstra also has some connections to a key text from the Buddhist scholastic tradition of Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośabhāṣya presents both orthodox views on Abhidharma and more dissident ideas, which appear to have some echoes in Patañjali’s worldview. We will trace some passages from Vasubandhu’s text that appear with revisions in the Pātañjalayogaśāstra and ask how the shared passages arose.
Module 3 — Key ideas and sources in early Yogācāra
This session will introduce students to the background of early Buddhist Yogācāra – key thinkers, texts, ideas and practices. We will consider debates on what Yogācāra is in the early period in relation to meditation, forest asceticism, bodily discipline, and yoga. We will also differentiate some key features of early Yogācāra from the later, more crystallized Yogācāra school of philosophy. The key focus in this session will be on the relationship between yoga and Yogācāra.
Module 4 — Pātañjala Yoga and the Yogācārabhūmiśāstra
To finish the course, we will think about Asaṅga’s voluminous śāstra on Yogācāra, and what it has to say about Yogācāra, yoga and meditation. Given that this text is dated to approximately the same period as Patañjali’s text, some understanding of its key ideas supports us in decoding Pātañjala yoga and the environment in which it was conceived and practiced. We will review the term ‘classical yoga’ in the light of the material discussed in this course.
All students enrolled in this course will receive:
- 4 pre-recorded video lectures (90 min)
- 4 pre-recorded Zoom Q&A sessions (90 min)
- 4 YS Credits
- 12 Hours of CE credit with YA
- Course Syllabus (PDF)
- Weekly Readings (PDF)
- 4 Multiple Choice Quizzes (for fun)
- 4 Weekly Handouts (PDF)
- Yogic Studies Certificate upon completion (PDF)
- Access to the private Yogic Studies Online Community Forum
Your Instructor
Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop is Lecturer in Asian Religions and Ethics in the Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Roehampton, London, UK. She received her PhD from SOAS University of London, is a specialist in the historical study of meditation and yoga within Asian religious traditions, and analyses early Hindu and Buddhist meditation manuals in Sanskrit.
She has taught on the MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at SOAS University of London, and at the University of Roehampton she has designed a new BA module 'Yoga, Meditation and Health'. Since 2018, she has served on the committee for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, an academic research and teaching centre focused on public engagement. In the American Academy of Religion, Karen is a committee member for the Yoga in Theory and Practice Unit and co-chair of the Indian and Chinese Religions Compared Unit. She has published peer-reviewed articles in Religions of South Asia and Journal of Indian Philosophy and is co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2020), an interdisciplinary volume of 34 chapters from global contributors. Karen is currently working on a book project on rethinking classical yoga in relation to Buddhism.
Enrollment is OPEN for Self-Study
Sign up today and receive immediate access to all modules with one of the following tuition options:
Subscription
$75
PER MONTH
- Access to YS 109
- Access to all YS + BS courses—including live and future courses
- Access to SKT 100a + SKT 100b
This course is eligible for 12 hours of Continued Education (CE) credits with Yoga Alliance
"Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop has delivered an excellent course. I have been a yoga practitioner for over forty years and have been involved with Buddhism (mostly Tibetan) over those years. Generally the divisions between Yoga and Buddhism are emphasised, not the positive comparisons. Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop has had the difficult task of marrying two parallel but (in the modern tradition) often rival traditions (not helped by the fact that both Yoga and Buddhism have each splintered into a million paths). This means she is tilling a no-man's land which has been left fallow for too long - and it has not been an easy task for her to open up this territory - but she has done it."
YS 109 Student
"YS 109 introduces some intriguing connections between Patañjali's Yoga Sutra and what was happening in contemporaneous Buddhist thought. Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop expertly guides the student through the technical details, and provides much food for thought concerning the historical milieu in which Patañjali composed his text. If you've ever wondered about the similarities between the Yoga Sutra and Buddhist doctrine, this course is for you! "
Jeff Berry, PhD
Salt Lake City, UT
"Classical Yoga and Buddhism has been a very useful and informative course showing clearly that the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali have a lot of Buddhist roots. Many of the practices associated with meditation techniques and other useful tools such as pratipaksa bhāvanā and the ideas of avidyā and the kleśas are similar in early Buddhism. One gets much more of an impression that the PYS is a grab bag (a well thought out grab bag) of ideas coming from the Vedas, Epic and Purana sources and also Saṃkhyan, Jain and Buddhist sources. The course is an excellent introduction to Abhidharma and Yogacara. "
