Courses
The University organizes content from across the Web into self-paced, free courses on a variety of topics in Buddhist Studies. We currently offer 15 courses on the fundamentals of Buddhism:
1. Buddhism 101
A general introduction to Buddhism suitable for everyone.
2. The Function of Buddhism
An introduction to the Buddhist practice focusing on ethics and meditation and how they work to improve our lives.
3. The Early Buddhist Texts
An introduction to the Buddhist Canon suitable for everyone based on Bhikkhu Bodhi’s popular anthology, In The Buddha’s Words.
4. The Form(s) of Buddhism
An introduction to the history and religious aspects of Buddhism, including analysis of the Sangha and what it takes to call yourself a Buddhist.
5. An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy
An introduction to Buddhist Philosophy for students starting to feel comfortable reading the suttas. Primarily based on the Theravada school, the class will include some additional material to round out its presentation.
6. Buddhist Ethics
In this course we cover ethics from three angles—theory, practice and mythology—believing that none is intelligible without the rest. A course that, hopefully, will engage your heart as well as your head.
7. The Buddha
A thorough tour of the Pāli texts which report the Buddha’s character, accomplishments, life, and past.
8. Imagery in the Early Buddhist Texts
A rigerous tour of key words and images used in the Early Buddhist Texts, this course unpacks early Buddhist philosophy from the unique perspective of the rhethoric it deployed. This course also serves as an introduction to Pāli for nonspecialists.
9. The Majjhima Nikāya
A rigerous tour of the Majjhima Nikāya led by Bhikkhu Bodhi and supplemented by the excellent comparative scholarship of Bhikkhu Anālayo, this course will give you an excellent grounding in the most readable and important of the Early Buddhist Texts.
10. Tranquility and Insight
A short course on part of the Madhyama Āgama held in 2013, the sutras covered (MA 72-86) revolve around the interdependence of samatha and vipassana meditation and their co-creation of wisdom. Bhikkhu Anālayo makes the difficult subject accessible in his inimitably methodical style.
11. Nibbāna: The Goal of Buddhist Practice
This course weaves together two free monographs and a number of booklets to explore Nirvana from a critical perspective, giving a thorough introduction to the meaning, logic and history behind the Buddhists’ ultimate goal.
12. Nibbāna: The Mind Stilled
An advanced course on the subtle components of the mind and how to understand their inner workings in order to put an end to our raging whirlpool of selfish thinking.
13. The Pāli Language: Level 1
A gentle introduction to the Pāli Language suitable for everyone, based on Lily DeSilva’s excellent Primer and taught by the Most Venerable scholar, Bhikkhu Bodhi.
14. The Pāli Language: Level 2
Begin to read the Pāli Canon in its original language, in this intermediate Pāli course taught from Gair and Karunatillake’s excellent progressive reader and guided step-by-step, as always, by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
15. Chinese Buddhist Writing
A line-by-line, character-by-character introduction to the art of reading ancient, Buddhist Chinese, this expansive course covers everything from the fundamentals to epigraphy and the esoteric texts.
Secular Courses (@MIT)
OBU Courses are loosely modeled on MIT’s Open Courseware, which provide free syllabi and other course materials for a large number of their Undergraduate and Graduate-level courses. For OBU Students, I especially recommend:
- Communicating Across Cultures
- To probe the challenges of intercultural dialogue with theoretical frameworks and practical exercises.
- Sexual and Gender Identities
- To learn the surprising history of gender in America.
- The Challenge of World Poverty
- To understand the drivers, traps, and opportunities for global poverty with Nobel Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.
- The Rise of Modern Science
- To break down the ahistorical mythology of modern science by taking a closer look at its primary sources.
- Gender and Representation of Asian Women
- To recognize how politics shape our perceptions.