Buddhist Stuff: Material Culture and Worldly Desire (LA)

Subject associations
REL 382 / EAS 382
Term
Spring 2024
Instructors
Bryan D. Lowe
Registrar description

Our world is filled with stuff. Some people have too much. Others want more. Advertisers promise happiness through possessions, while psychologists tell us there's a limit to how much pleasure wealth can bring. Meanwhile trash heaps overflow, creating environmental disasters. How do we live in a material world? Do objects bring us happiness or cause hardship? What is the value of stuff? This class explores how Buddhists have responded to these questions over the last 2,500 years through readings as well as hands-on learning using rare books and precious works of art in the Princeton University Art Museum and Library collections.

Additional description

Area of Study Requirement: Religions of Asia