RELS 160 How to Live and Die Well in Buddhist Traditions

A large part of the success of Buddhism has been in its ability to travel and adapt to local cultural traditions, providing communities with a rubric for living a meaningful life.  This course will provide an introduction to these traditions by looking specifically at Buddhist concepts and practices within human life and life cycles.  We will ask:  What do ritual and textual traditions about human life in various cultures tell us about Buddhist values and concepts of how to deal with suffering and thereby to life and die well?  Are there differences between classical textual ideas about these topics and Buddhism as it is lived through ritual and community practice?  How do both textual and ritual traditions maintain human life?