SAST 247 - The Awakening of a Prince:Indian Lives of the Buddha

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Staff. Buddhism may well be termed India's most successful export. Arising in India inabout the 4th century B.C.E., this religion of world-transcendence quickly spread both towards the West and the East. From its earliest period, and in all its diverse incarnations, the figure of the founder of the religion, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, has been a central one to all Buddhists. We will be reading a number of the most famous retellings of the Buddha's life, spanning well over a millennium, and considering how they reflect changing concerns and needs both of popular devotion and of learned theories (often competing ones) about the nature of enlightenment. We will look also at images from India, Nepal and Tibet that bring to life the Buddha's biography in stunning art.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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