REL-115 Introduction to Buddhist Studies 3 credits
An introduction to the variety of religious experiences and expressions found in the Buddhist tradition, and the methods by which they are studied. Topics may include: the sense of 'religion' in Buddhism; the function of sacred scripture and its interpretation; the relation of ritual, practice and doctrine in comparison to Western religion; the place of the religious community in wider society; the rise of modernist interpretations of Buddhism in contemporary Asia and the West.