Lezione 1
Introduction & Buddhism Before Writing
Buddhism wasn’t always a tradition that wrote down its teachings. In fact, for several hundred years after the Buddha's death, the entirety of Buddhism was passed down through oral memorization. We will be looking at this period of Buddhism to begin!
Lezione 2
The Pali Canon
On day two, we will be looking at the Pali Canon from a very wide-angle view. What is the Pali Canon? Why was it eventually written down? What is its place in Buddhism through the millennia?
Lezione 3
The Dhammapada
Starting to hone down to individual texts on day three, we will be going over the Dhammapada, the most common and often first text that people will interact with in Buddhism.
Lezione 4
The Majjhima Nikaya
On day four, we will be approaching the second of the five nikayas, the Majjhima Nikaya, which is the most studied text of the Nikayas outside of the Monastic practice.
Lezione 5
The Sammyutta Nikaya
On day five, we will be studying the Samyutta Nikaya which is the third of the five Nikayas. The Sammyutta nikaya mostly acts as a repository for many small discourses of the Buddha's more esoteric teachings.
Lezione 6
The Digha Nikaya
On day six, we will be looking into the Digha Nikaya which is a collection of thirty-four early teachings covering several aspects of pre-sectarian Buddhist life and thought.
Lezione 7
The Anguttara Nikaya
On day seven, we will be studying the Anguttara Nikaya which is specifically written specialists within the monastic orders of the buddha
Lezione 8
The Khuddaka Nikaya
On day eight, we will be looking into the last of the five Nikayas, the Khuddaka Nikaya. It is somewhat of the “Miscellaneous” teachings of the Buddha and his close disciples.
Lezione 9
The Abhidhamma-Pitaka
On day nine, we will be looking into the Abhidhamma-Pitaka which is the incredibly esoteric teachings and analysis of reality by the early Buddhists and the Buddha. In many ways, it hovers on the edge of the arcane
Lezione 10
The Prajnaparamita Sutras
On day ten, we will begin to move away from early Buddhism and into the Sutras which came after beginning with the Prajnaparamita Sutra which expounds and approaches the ideas of Emptiness.
Lezione 11
The Heart Sutra
On day eleven, we will be looking at the shortest text of the entire course, The Heart Sutra. Which acts as a profound summary of an entire tradition of teaching and expression being able to do so in a single page.
Lezione 12
The Diamond Sutra
On day twelve, we will be looking at the so popular and often misunderstood Diamond Sutra which posits the idea at its core that something is what it is only because of what it is not.
Lezione 13
The Lotus Sutra
On day thirteen, we will be discussing the Lotus Sutra which focuses on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others on the path to awakening.
Lezione 14
The Platform Sutra
On day fourteen, we will be looking at a Sutra taught by a man who could not read or write, the Platform Sutra. It acts as a prime text of the Chan tradition of Buddhism and shows the big differences in the northern and southern schools of Chinese Buddhism.
Lezione 15
The Avatamsaka Sutra
On day fifteen, we will be looking at the Avatamsaka Sutra which is among the longest of the Buddhist sutras acting as a compilation of topics from the path of the Bodhisattvas, jhanas, siddhis, and the interpenetration of the Dharma.
Lezione 16
The Ratnakuta Sutra
On day sixteen, we will be studying the Ratnakuta Sutra, or Heap of Jewels Sutra. It is a collection of forty-nine teachings that are included in both the Mahayana Chinese traditions and the Tibetan Vajrayana traditions.
Lezione 17
The Lankavatara Sutra
On day seventeen, we will be learning about the Lankavatara Sutra which describes the various tiers of consciousness in the individual from the most shallow levels to the deepest Buddha nature consciousness.
Lezione 18
The Pure Land Sutras
On day eighteen, we will actually be discussing two different Sutras: The Amitabha and the Aparimitayur which provide the doctrinal basis of the Pure Land school. They are also sometimes called the Sukhavati Sutras.
Lezione 19
Going Forward & Reflections
On the final day of this course, we will be reflecting back on the past nineteen days. Where do you go from here? What is expected? What can we do to best study these teachings? How can the study of the texts support us in our path through Buddhism? Along with closing thoughts.
