NEH – BUDDHIST ASIA: TRADITIONS, TRANSMISSIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS

Buddhist Asia: Traditions, Transmissions and Transformations will introduce undergraduate educators to Buddhism as a religion that has both shaped and been shaped by cultures and societies throughout Asia for more than twenty-five hundred years. The program will explore how Buddhism spread as a “total care system” that addressed both personal and social needs in ways that were inseparable from the dynamics of cultural interaction, artistic production, trade and politics. Through context-rich engagement with key traditions, practices, and primary texts (in translation), the institute will enable participants to appreciate how Buddhism served as a powerful cultural bridge in Asia, comparable to Christianity in the West, and to develop curricular materials applicable in a wide range of humanities courses, including courses in religion, philosophy, history, art history and literature, but also courses organized around such themes as globalization and cultural pluralism.

For more information, please contact Audrey Minei at MineiA@eastwestcenter.org.