RLB55 Buddhism in the West

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023

The course is not taught in Autumn 2023

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Zdeňka Pitrunová (lecturer)
Mgr. Jana Valtrová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is focused on the adaptation of Buddhism in Europe and the U.S. with respect to historical and cultural context of its particula phases. Besides the history of the Buddhisms´ encouter with Europeans and Americans in the past, the main focus of the course lies in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The aim of the course is to point out key features connected to process of transplantation of Buddhism (M. Baumann) into European context and its development into what is now called 'the global Buddhism'. The aim of the course is also to point out the connection between the spread of Buddhism in the West and the foundation of Buddhist studies as a scholarly discipline.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
  • describe the main milestones in the history of the spread of Buddhism in Europe and America;
  • understand the close connection between newly arising Buddhist studies and acculturation of Buddhism in the West;
  • analyze (self)-presentations of Buddhism for Western audience;
  • know various Buddhist groups in Czech Republic.
    • Syllabus
    • 1. Introductory lecture;
    • 2. Periodization of the development of Buddhism in the West, contacts between Europe and India in antiquity;
    • 3. Knowledge of Buddhism in medieval and early modern Europe;
    • 4. Arrival of Buddhism to the West, textualism;
    • 5. Beginning of Buddhist studies, “Protestant Buddhism”;
    • 6. Buddhism in the UK - western monasticism;
    • 7. Buddhism in the US - Buddhist studies between theology and religious studies;
    • 8. Buddhism in Czechoslovakia before 1989;
    • 9. Buddhism in the Czech Republic today;
    • 10. Asian Buddhists in Europe;
    • 11. From “Buddhism in the West” to “Global Buddhism”?;
    • 12. Final discussion.
    Literature
      required literature
    • LUŽNÝ, Dušan and Luboš BĚLKA. Podoby buddhismu na Západě (Faces of Buddhism in the West). In Lopez, Donald Jr., Příběh buddhismu. Průvodce dějinami buddhismu a jeho učením. 1st ed. Brno: Barrister and Principal, 2003, p. 209-221. Buddhismus. ISBN 80-86598-54-3. info
    • Westward Dharma : Buddhism beyond Asia. Edited by Charles S. Prebish - Martin Baumann. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002, xi, 425 s. ISBN 0-520-22625-9. info
    • FIELDS, Rick. How the swans came to the lake :a narrative history of Buddhism in America. 3rd ed., rev. and updated. Boston: Shambhala, 1992, xvii, 434. ISBN 0-87773-631-6. info
      recommended literature
    • Action dharma : new studies in engaged Buddhism. Edited by Christopher S. Queen - Charles S. Prebish - Damien Keown. 1st publ. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, xix, 365. ISBN 0700715940. info
    • TRÁVNÍČEK, Zdeněk. Leopold Procházka : první český buddhista. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova universita, 2002, 143 s. ISBN 8021029501. info
    • LENOIR, Frédéric. Setkávání buddhismu se západem. Vyd. 1. Praha: Volvox Globator, 2002, 334 s. ISBN 8072074962. info
    Teaching methods
    Lectures, group projects, discussions.
    Assessment methods
    Contents of the semester:
    Lectures, class discussions, student presentations.
    Requirements:
    (a) active participation in seminars and preparation for discussions (bonus points);
    (b) written commentary to given material (text, or a film), (30% of overall evaluation in the course);
    (c) presentation of seminary group project, which is based upon field research, and its written form. Alternatively, the students may submitt an individual essay on selected topic (70% of overall evaluation in the course).
    See Study materials for detailed information.
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Course is no more offered.
    The course is taught: every week.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2014, Spring 2020.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/RLB55