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RMA 103 Intro to Buddhism

RMA 103 Intro to Buddhism

NEW COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT 1. Basics Course Title: RMA 103 Introduction to Basic Course Details: See Table 1 below. Privileges granted to Registered Students who can opt for Credit, and for Guest Students who can hear it as Audit or ‘pravachana’ is given below in Table 2.

FACULTY: Prof. B. N. Hebbar, Department of , George Washington University, Washington DC. 2. Course Catalog Description This course will start with the religious conditions in at the time of the advent of the Buddha in the 6th century BCE, and after covering the life of the Buddha, it will look at the early history and philosophy of Buddhism in from 5th century BCE to 1st century CE. It will then look at the spread of Theravāda Buddhism and its institutions in and continental Southeast Asia. Then, it will look at the emergence of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism and its two schools in the 2nd century CE, and its spread into China, , Vietnam and Japan. It will look at schools of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism in a compare and contrast style and also look into Buddhism’s conflicts with Confucianism in China and Shinto in Japan. Then, it will look at the emergence of Vajrayāna Buddhism in and the Himalayan region in the 7th century CE, and its spread into Mongolia in the 13th century CE. Finally, the course will conclude with the decline and demise of starting in the 5th century CE with the emergence of Renaissance Hinduism, and the coming of Islam in the 11th century CE.

Table 1: Basic Course details. Item Details College Credits 3:0 Term Summer 2021 (May 15- Aug 21, 2021) Duration 15 Weeks Open House Date TBD as necessary Media Internet based – Zoom Synchronous Saturday Time 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM (Pacific) 5:30 AM - 8 AM (IST) Start Date Saturday, May 15th, 2021 End Date Saturday, Aug 21, 2021 Frequency Every week 3. Detailed Course Topics a. The place of Buddhism among world and Asian ethnography b. Religious condition in India at the advent of Buddhism c. Life of the Buddha (563-483 BCE), his principal disciples, (483 BCE) and the formation of the Buddhist Scriptures d. The (386 BCE); the schools of early Indian Buddhism; The life of Emperor Aśoka (304-237 BCE) and the (247 BCE); spread into Sri-Lanka and

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continental Southeast Asia e. Institutions of Theravāda Buddhism and the 4 core Teachings of Buddhism (Three Marks of “Existence”, 12-fold Wheel of , 4 Noble Truths & Noble 8-fold Path) f. Fourth Buddhist Council (100 CE) and the emergence of the schools of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism g. in China and schools of and Buddhism in conflict with Daoism and Confucianism. h. History of Buddhism in Korea and of i. History of and schools of Japanese Buddhism and conflict with Shinto j. History of and the nature of Vietnamese Buddhism k. History of Buddhism in Tibet, , , and Mongolia l. Schools and practices of m. Decline of Buddhism in India and its conflicts with Classical Hinduism

Table 2: Privileges for different Student types. Guest Registered Students Sl. # Item Students (Credit) Application Cost 1 None None Demographic information needed 2 VaYU Email Provided for Course Information Y Y Access to Synchronous Lectures 3 Y Y First week lecture is free for all to sample Minimum $ 50 $ 895 4 Course Cost (in US Dollars) * suggested After discount of 50% Learning Management System Access 5 Y Access to Course Materials 6 Class Recordings Y 7 PowerPoint Slides access Y 8 Student Discussion Forum Y 9 Course Completion Certificate Y Assignments Completion & Grading 10 Y (Homework, Quizzes Tests) Graduate Credits Awarded 11 (Course available for transfer to any US & Canadian 3 Credits University or International Universities) 12 Grade Awarded with Transcript (Marks Card) Y * All payments in Credit Card, PayPal or RTGS /ACH Bank Transfers and paid per invoice. We are not setup to accept checks. 4. Faculty Course Faculty: Prof. B.N. Hebbar https://religion.columbian.gwu.edu/bn-hebbar

Prof. B. N. Hebbar teaches Religions of the East and a variety of specialty courses such as , Zoroastrianism, Shintoism, Doctrine and Debate in World Religions, Minor Religions of

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India, South Asian Buddhism etc. He was a recipient of the Bender Teaching Award in 2006 at George Washington University.

He had his traditional and academic education in India and lived for sometime in Sri-Lanka and studying Buddhism. He received his bachelors and master’s degrees from George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utrecht (Netherlands). He also has a D.Litt. from the University of South Africa. He taught at the University of Maryland Honors Program for a decade.

He has lectured on at the Virginia Theological Seminary, the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program and at the Johns Hopkins Osher Program. He has lectured on Hindu bioethics at seminars in NYU Medical school and Harvard Medical school, and authored many articles on Hindu bioethics. He has advised the Pentagon Board of chaplains in Hindu religious matters during the First US-Iraq War. As an advisor to the International Buddhist group, he has received awards from the Cambodian and Korean Buddhist communities. He is currently the Executive Vice-President of the International Buddhist Association of America (IBAA) - an association of the 13 Buddhist-majority nations of the world.

He has authored articles on South Indian Vaisnavism in Harper-Row Dictionary of Religions and in the Journal of Vaisnava Studies, and, two articles in the Journal of Indian Philosophy & Religion in 2016 and 2017. He has authored three books: The Sri-krsna Temple at Udupi (Nataraj Books, 2005), Visistadvaita and Dvaita (Nataraj Books, 2005), and Who is the Supreme God: Visnu or Siva? (Nataraj Books, 2011). 5. Registration 5.1 Currently Enrolled VaYU Students If you are already a student at VaYU, you should skip the ‘Registration’ process below. You will be sent a separate communique on registration to ‘Summer 2021 Courses.’ 5.2 New VaYU Students (Credit) Student applicants who wish to take the course for Credit should fill up the complete Application form Sections 1-13 following the steps in the Appendix. They will be enrolled as a Regular VaYU Student with the privileges listed in Table 2. 5.3 Guest VaYU Students (Audit) A Non VaYU student who want to be a “Guest Student” should fill the Application to enroll using the steps in the Appendix. They will be enrolled as a Guest VaYU Student with the privileges listed in Table 2.

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Appendix: Steps to complete VaYU Enrollment Application

1. Go to the link www.vayuusa.org 2. Click on My Application on the top Menu.

3. On the following screen as a New Student click the "Apply Now" button next to New Applicant, unless you already have set up your login in the VaYU portal

4. Enter your email and the CAPTCHA filter 'I am not a Robot' 5. You will now see the screen below. Fields that are mandatory are indicated by a '*.'

6. Enter all your demographic information in Section 1 Applicant Demographic Details.

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7. In Section 2 Program Information o In the Academic Program dropdown field, select Humanities & Arts. o In the Degree/Non-Degree ‘Radio button’ field select Non-Degree student. o In Non-Degree Summer Courses ‘Multiple-choice’ field select one or more courses you would like to take during Summer. o Select the Term and the Year in the dropdowns. o Also enter in Section 3, the 'Type of Student' - Credit or Audit

8. Fill all sections from Section 4 Marketing to Section 7 Military Service if you are a "Guest Student." If you are a Regular Student, you will have to fill all the Sections 1-13.

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9. At any point, you can save and exit the application as long as the mandatory fields are filled in. You can return to your application the same way you entered in Step 2. You will use the password provided to you in the email you entered in Step 3. 10. You will be sent an invoice for the course fee. You can pay it using credit card or ACH/RTGS Bank Transfer. Sorry, we are not set up to take checks. DO NOT SEND CHECKS. 11. Once your invoice is paid, you will be enrolled in the course. 12. Question? Send email to [email protected].

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