HARVARD OPENS FREE ONLINE COURSE IN BUDDHISM

Educating yourself on something simply because you find it interesting, or because you want to expand your knowledge is FUN and another great reason to do it is because… it’s FREE!

The “Buddhism Through Its Scriptures” course at Harvard is no longer interactive, but all of its lecture and supplemental materials are available after registration. Taught by Professor Charles Hallisey from Harvard’s Divinity School, who is also the Yehan Numata Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures, has designed the course to fit the needs both of a total novice of the religion as well as a more seasoned practitioner. The one month course is designed to be done over 6-1o hours per week of your time.

Professor Hallisey says he wants the course to reach a “diverse backgrounds”of pepole in order to “interact constructively around topics that too often divide us.” Rather than teaching the “right” interpretation of Buddhist scriptures, he hopes the course gives people the tools to practice open-mindedness, which in turn will teach them to accept and understand different perspectives of the many Buddhist faiths.

In his syllabus, Hallisey further explains:

" When we turn to the Buddhist heritages for help in answering some questions that we bring to the study of Buddhist scriptures, we open ourselves to the possibility of not only learning about Buddhism, but also learning from Buddhism. This openness to learning from Buddhists is not in the sense of saying that a Buddhist interpretation is automatically the “right” interpretation. Rather, it is to see that Buddhists themselves have thought about many of the same questions that we bring to Buddhist scriptures, and many of the same questions that we have about ourselves, as persons, and about this world in which we find ourselves."

Get started by registering here: https://www.edx.org/course/buddhism-through-its-scriptures-harvardx-hds3221-3x