This course deals with historical issues concerning the Buddhist world of East Asia (i.e., the cultural spheres of China, Korea, and Japan). The transmission of Buddhism from India to East Asia is one of the most remarkable examples of cultural transmission in human history. To achieve this, great barriers had to be overcome, i.e. the language barriers due to disparate language families, and that of confrontation between two distinct cultures. The development afterwards involved the prominent transformation of Buddhist ideas, deities, practices, and sacred landscapes. The adoption of Buddhism also brought about profound effects on the local cultures (art, music, poetry, architecture), society (politics, social structures, family life, burial practices, etc.), economics (money-lending, land-holdings, taxation) and so on. A familiarity with East Asian Buddhism will offer students a unique perspective of considerable expanse of human civilization.

The classes will take place online every Saturday from 14. January to 17. July 2023. 

Central European Time (CET): 07.30 a.m. - 09.00 a.m.

Pacific Standard Time (PST): 10.30 p.m. - 12.00 a.m.

India Standard Time (IST): 12.00 p.m. - 01.30 p.m.

All classes will be recorded and available on the platform after the lessons.

Lead by Dr. Zeng Yang (Canada)

Dr. Zeng Yang specializes in East Asian Buddhism and Cultural Exchange.
His current research interest lies in the interplay between the spiritual
understandings of religious practice and the practical worldly concerns of
the society at large in order to approach more balanced understandings of
religious history.