Elizabeth Morrison

The Buddhist Tradition
Buddhists “take refuge in the three jewels”: the Buddha, his teachings, and the community he founded. After a grounding in the context and content of early Buddhism, we will use texts and images to explore these three categories and what they have meant to Buddhists in different times and places. We will pay special attention to changing views of the Buddha, later developments in Buddhist thought and practice, and the spread of the Buddhist tradition throughout Asia and beyond, which has involved adaptation to a startling array of cultures and societies – as well as modernity. (Seniors by waiver) 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.

The Buddhist Tradition in East Asia
An introduction to the development of Buddhism within the East Asian cultural sphere of China, Korea, and Japan. We will consider continuities of thought, institution, and practice with the Indian Buddhist tradition as well as East Asian innovations, particularly the rise of the Chan/Zen and Pure Land schools. (Follows RELI 0121 but may be taken independently) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Early Daoist Texts
The two great early Daoist (Taoist) texts, the Daodejing (Tao te ching) and the Zhuangzi (Chuang–tzu)/, date from the Warring States period (475 -221 BCE) of China and remain widely read and studied. We will read them closely and slowly, considering questions of authorship, audience, philosophical and religious content, and translation. We will wrestle at length with these wonderful and difficult texts, with attention primarily to their original context and secondarily to their reception and interpretation in later religion, philosophy, and literature in East Asia and beyond. (This is a half credit course.)

Chinese Religions
An introduction to the rich religious history of China, with an emphasis on primary sources. Topics will include: the ideas and practices of ancient China, the teachings of Confucius and early Taoist (Daoist) thinkers, the introduction of Buddhism to China and its adaptation to Chinese culture, the complex interaction of Buddhism with the Confucian and Taoist traditions, the role of the state in religion, the "popular" Chinese religion of local gods and festivals, and the religious scene in modern Taiwan and mainland China. 3 hrs. lect.

Food in East Asian Religions
One might think that food and eating have nothing to do with the lofty concerns of religious traditions. In fact, many religions bring their fundamental principles to bear on the questions of what, how, and with whom to eat; many also revolve around “feeding” gods and other spiritual beings. In this course, we will examine East Asian religions through the lens of eating practices. We will study Confucian feasting and fasting, various Chinese, Korean, and Japanese rituals offering food to ancestors and gods, Buddhist vegetarianism and its critics, unusual Taoist eating regimens, and the ancient cosmological ideas underlying traditional Chinese medical ideas of healthy eating. 3 hrs. lect.

Japanese Religions
Religion in Japan is hybrid from the very start. We will study the earliest stories of the kami, or gods, the only way we can - through texts that include Chinese and Korean elements. We will then consider the importation of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism and examine how they were absorbed and altered. After attention to the rise of a self-aware “Shinto” (way of the kami) tradition, we will also investigate reactions to Christianity in the 16th century, the appearance of new religions starting in the 19th century, and modern challenges and adjustment to traditional religious life. Throughout, we will ask how and why Japanese have both adhered to tradition and been open to novel religious ideas and practices.(Seniors by waiver) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Persecution and Revival of Religion in Modern China
In this course we will study the dramatic recent religious history of China at the end of the imperial era, moving
through late nineteenth-century criticism and reform of religion. We will explore the Republican-era government attempts to reshape
traditional religion, post-Communist Revolution suppression of religion, and the quasi-religious "cult of Mao" during
the Cultural Revolution. We will then turn to the remarkable revival and growth of religious activity since Mao's death
in 1976, investigating various communities and trends as well as the complex cultural and political dynamics
involved in this "return" to religion. Throughout, we will seek to understand both the motives behind different state
policies and the responses (and strategies) of diverse religious groups and individuals. 3 hrs. lect.

Seminar in Buddhist Studies: Buddhists and Others in China
The Buddha encouraged students to spread his teachings, thus giving rise to the world’s first major missionary religion. As the Buddhist tradition took root across Asia, Buddhists interacted with many other religions and cultures. We will explore a series of these encounters in China, ranging from rivalry and opposition to cooperation to synthesis, along with comparative case studies from elsewhere in the Buddhist world. We will also take up the question of religious labels and affiliation, especially in late imperial China, when many did not confine themselves to one tradition, and explicit commitment to the combined “three teachings” of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism became a distinct form of religious practice. In the end, who is Buddhist, and who is other? 3 hr. sem.

Independent Research
(Approval Required)

Senior Project
(Approval Required)

Senior Research for Honors Candidates
Approval required

Early Taoist Texts
The two great early Daoist (Taoist) texts, the Daodejing (Tao te ching) and the Zhuangzi (Chuang–tzu), date from the Warring States period (475 -221 BCE) of China and remain widely read and studied. We will read them closely and slowly, considering questions of authorship, audience, translation and literary strategy as well as unpacking their philosophical, religious, and political messages. We will wrestle at length with these wonderful and difficult texts, with attention primarily to their original context and secondarily to their reception and interpretation in later religion, philosophy, and literature in East Asia and beyond.