Buddhism and the Senses [aka “Buddhist stuff”]

Harvard FAS

How does Buddhism smell, taste, sound, look, and feel? This course explores how bodies experience religious worlds. We will investigate how Buddhists encounter divine presence, religious rules, sacred spaces, and powerful imaginaries through the senses. Moving beyond texts and doctrines, we will step into the sensory and embodied practices that make Buddhist worlds tangible: from spirit possession and prayer rituals to carving statues, cooking and tasting feasts, and rolling and smelling…