Religion 254 - Buddha Imagined:The Literary and Artistic Landscape of Buddhism

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

Asian Studies This course begins by examining the earliest images of the Buddha. How is the absent Buddha represented? Drawing upon literary and artistic sources, the course considers how the biography of the Buddha is writ upon the landscape of his birthplace, and how his projected presence through images, relics, and stupas reinvents Asia in Buddhist terms. It then moves beyond the paradigmatic biography of the Buddha to examine how new myths and images evolve to imagine and explain an expanding religious tradition. From early "aniconic," symbolic stand-ins for the imageof the Buddha to the later highly articulated and vast pantheon of Mahayana holy beings, the course explores the transformation of the central mythic narrative and images as they are received and interpreted by other cultures.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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