Buddhism (Audiobook)

A religion without God? How could that be? And how could it have captured and captivated so many millions of people in so many countries for so many centuries? No doubt you can picture the Buddha—seated serenely, feet crossed in front of him, hands folded in his lap. But who was the real person behind this image? What did he say about the nature and purpose of life? What were the origins of the concepts of reincarnation, nirvana, karma, and Zen, and what is the Buddhist understanding of them? Buddhism is your opportunity to trace the history, principles, and evolution of a theology that is both familiar and foreign. In its 2,500-year history, Buddhism has expanded from a tiny religious community in northern India into a movement that now spans the globe. This course is a historical survey of Buddhism from its origin in India in the 6th century B.C.E. to its present status as a major world religion. It is meant to introduce students to the astonishing vitality and adaptability of a tradition that has transformed the civilizations of India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan and has now become a lively component in the cultures of Europe, Australia, and the Americas. The study of Buddhism offers great challenges to people who have grown up in the Western world. It does not share many of the central beliefs of Western religions, such as the concept of a single, omnipotent God, or that each human being has a permanent self that began at conception and will continue in an afterlife. Buddhism also has been transformed in many ways as it has swept across the cultures of Asia; it often is difficult to decide what Buddhism actually is and how it should be studied. Professor Malcolm David Eckel begins the course by saying, “Buddhists love to tell stories,” and he approaches Buddhism as a series of stories. Throughout his lectures he acts as a storyteller as well as a teacher, recounting tales that have been told throughout centuries to elaborate on and explain the Buddhist view of life. The stories begin with the rich religious culture of India, the culture into which the Buddha was born, the culture that made it possible for him to craft his own distinct solutions to the problems of life and death. The stories then proceed to the life of the Buddha himself, Siddhartha Gautama. Born into a royal family in 566 B.C.E., he eventually renounced his life of privilege and became an Indian ascetic. After years of struggle, the pivotal moment in his life came when he sat under a tree and “woke up” to the meaning of life (“Buddha” means “Awakened One”). This awakening was the realization that “all of life is suffering,” combined with an understanding of the path that led to the cessation of suffering, and to nirvana. The stories then examine the practice of Buddhism after the Buddha’s death. You’ll trace the interpretation of his teaching, or Dharma; the development of the early Buddhist community, and the remarkable evolution of Buddhist philosophy as it emigrated from India to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), China, Japan, Tibet, Southeast Asia and, ultimately, the Western world.

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