REL 272 - Zen Buddhism

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirements HU and DE.
Meets requirement: W
Zen (or Chan, as it is pronounced in China) Buddhism emerged in the 7th century in China, developing a unique meditative program and the richest literary tradition in Chinese Buddhism. This course examines that history, and queries popular and traditional notions of Zen as pure, iconoclastic, and mysterious. We will reevaluate Zen’s presentation of itself in temple histories, sacred biographies, garden design, poetry collections, and landscape paintings, and engage in some self-reflection on America’s fascination with “mindfulness” and “Zen.”