RELGST 1558 - BUDDHISM AND PSYCHOLOGY

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
This course is divided into four thematic parts. The first part introduces basic knowledge on Buddhism. It then shows how the encounter between Buddhism and psychology has occurred in the wider context of Buddhist modernism, which has involved attempts by Buddhist reformers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to demythologize Buddhism to show how it can be understood as complementing modern empirical science. Part two offers concrete examples of Buddhist modernism by illustrating how Buddhist contemplative practices and doctrines such as sati have been reinterpreted and reformulated in modern psychology. Part three examines how a Japanese Zen practitioner's presentation of Zen compares with psychotherapeutic perspectives on it. Finally, in part four, a Buddhist-inspired psychotherapy widely used in Japan is examined to show how the reformulation of Buddhism to achieve psychotherapeutic goals has occurred in modern times in East Asia, albeit in a way that is distinctive from Buddhist-inspired psychotherapeutic practices in the west.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: LG/SNC Elective Basis

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