Advanced Readings Buddhist Lit

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

This seminar will read key Indian and Chinese Buddhist literature in translation, particularly those that have been highly influential in the East Asian context. This includes the Lotus Sutra and the Avataṃsaka Sutra from the Indian corpus, as well as Chinese sources such as the Platform Sutra and the Arising of Faith in Mahayana. We will consider secondary scholarship on the question of how to read Buddhist "scripture," in terms of their status as buddhavacana ("the word of the Buddha") and in terms of their function and performativity. Finally, the question of canonicity will be taken up by looking at a work or two (to be collectively chosen) that presses the question of what genres are inside and outside of the canon.