Study of Buddhist Texts, History & Philosophy

CORE CLASSES
These are offered periodically at all of the Zen Garland Order centers.

• EARLY BUDDHISM IN INDIA 
  The life of Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni Buddha, his teachings and the development of the 16 Schools.
• THE ADVENT OF THE MAHAYANA 
  The Perfection of Wisdom texts, stupa worship and the increasing involvement of the laity, the cosmic pantheon, universal salvation and the Bodhisattva ideal, Nargarjuna and the Madyamika School and the Yogacara (Mind Only) School.
• CHINESE BUDDHISM & THE DEVELOPMENT OF CH’AN 
• JAPANESE BUDDHISM & THE DEVELOPMENT OF ZEN 
• AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE, WORKS AND PRACTICE-ENOIGHTENMENT OF DOGEN ZENJI. 

SEMINARS
These Seminars occur several times a year varying from 8 to 12 sessions. Past sessions have explored The Tang Dynasty Chinese Ch’an Masters, The Hua-yen School, Readings from commentaries by the Hua-yen Masters, Meditation and the Place of Thought in the Teachings of Dogen Zenji, Advanced Studies in Madhyamika and Yogacara, and some of the foundational sutras of Mahayana Buddhism.

LECTURES BY VISITING SCHOLARS and ZEN TEACHERS
We invite Buddhist scholars and scholars of religion and mystical experience to lecture at our communities or on our website stream as often as possible.