Buddhist Poetry

Catalog description

Old pond; frog jumps in; splash! This haiku by Japanese writer Basho is one of the best-known poems in the world. But to understand its full implications, we have to go back two thousand years earlier to the story of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, who proposed a new way of living that would free people from anxiety and suffering. This course introduces the fundamental ideas of Buddhism as it originated in India, then explores how writers from around the world responded to those ideas by means of lively poems. Course activities include online postings, in-class discussion, and a series of medium-length writing assignments that develop students' skills at analysis, interpretation and criticism.