Buddhist Traditions in India
Buddhist Traditions in India An introduction to the development of Indian Buddhist thought, practice, and institutions. The course will begin with an examination of the life of the Buddha and the formation of the early tradition. It will then explore developments from early Nikaya Buddhism, through the rise of the Mahayana, and culminating in Tantric Buddhism. Attention will be given throughout to parallel evolutions of doctrine, practice, and the path to Nirvana.
Bill Waldron is a wonderful person and a solid teacher. It’s a lecture-based class with tons of neat history/philosophy, and several of Waldron’s Buddhist analogies I think about in my everyday life. Go to his office hours, too! He’s very enjoyable to talk to and has had some interesting life experience. I usually found classes to be somewhat meditative.
Waldron can def be a little bit of a bore during lecture but it's he's so chill and sweet. He likes when you pay attention during class so make sure to pay attention even if it is a little boring. Theres only 3 assignements (a 2 page, a 4 page, and another 4 page paper) + participation and attendence. This is a good thing if you have high workload but not good as one bad grade could affect your class grade. But waldron is super nice and if you talk to him he will most likely help you find a way to boost your grade. TAKE IT!!!
Waldron can def be a little bit of a bore during lecture but it's he's so chill and sweet. He likes when you pay attention during class so make sure to pay attention even if it is a little boring. Theres only 3 assignements (a 2 page, a 4 page, and another 4 page paper) + participation and attendence. This is a good thing if you have …Read more
I really enjoyed this course. Professor Waldron is a total expert on the subject matter, and does a great job of providing an overview of all the major schools of Buddhist thought. The assignments are easy and he is very accommodating. However, I would say that if you don't have a genuine interest in Buddhism, this class may not be the best fit for you as the content can get quite dense.
I really enjoyed this course. Professor Waldron is a total expert on the subject matter, and does a great job of providing an overview of all the major schools of Buddhist thought. The assignments are easy and he is very accommodating. However, I would say that if you don't have a genuine interest in Buddhism, this class may not be t …Read more
This course was very enjoyable. Bill pretty much lectures the whole class, which can make it a little slow at times, but usually, the lectures are really interesting. There are a lot of readings assigned for each class, but they're not completely necessary to complete all of them. You just need to be familiar with them/know where to look when writing the papers. I really enjoyed this class and would definitely recommend it again!
This course was very enjoyable. Bill pretty much lectures the whole class, which can make it a little slow at times, but usually, the lectures are really interesting. There are a lot of readings assigned for each class, but they're not completely necessary to complete all of them. You just need to be familiar with them/know where to …Read more
William Waldron is a very nice guy. He lectures all classes and discussion are quite straight forward. Content was interesting and he presents it in a tolerable format. Readings are dense but explained well. paper based grading and participation. Recommend this as a chill course
Intro to Buddhism is a great class if needed for a distribution requirement. Although many long and confusing readings are assigned each week, they are not necessary to read to do well in the class. The lectures are pretty boring and confusing if you aren't well informed or interested in Buddhism to begin with. The class assignments are only 3 papers, in addition to a percent of your grade dedicated to participation. I found it often hard to participate because of the confusing material.
Intro to Buddhism is a great class if needed for a distribution requirement. Although many long and confusing readings are assigned each week, they are not necessary to read to do well in the class. The lectures are pretty boring and confusing if you aren't well informed or interested in Buddhism to begin with. The class assignments …Read more
I took this class to fill the distribution requirement, and for an easy class. There are 3 essays throughout the year and readings for each class. The readings are not necessary at all for the essays. I didn't do a single reading all semester and did well on the essays by just looking back at the PowerPoint/videos on canvas. Besides the class being extremely low work and effort, it is extremely boring and very hard to sit through the class. If you are looking for an easy religion class then you should take this one, but be prepared to be bored.
I took this class to fill the distribution requirement, and for an easy class. There are 3 essays throughout the year and readings for each class. The readings are not necessary at all for the essays. I didn't do a single reading all semester and did well on the essays by just looking back at the PowerPoint/videos on canvas. Besides …Read more
If you need an easy course I would take this. I don't feel like I got a lot out of the course but I think you will get out what you put into the class. The class is extremely relaxed, maybe too relaxed
Waldron is really nice and knowledgable and I didn't have trouble with the concepts he taught. My only issue was the way he would not take into account South Asian students in the room if there were any uncomfortable comments made. For example, I am Hindu and they compare the two religions a lot in this course, and many times I would hear from other students comments like "oh well Hinduism was super oppressive that's why people moved on to Buddhism", and he wouldn't really counter those arguments which was not always fun.
Waldron is really nice and knowledgable and I didn't have trouble with the concepts he taught. My only issue was the way he would not take into account South Asian students in the room if there were any uncomfortable comments made. For example, I am Hindu and they compare the two religions a lot in this course, and many times I would …Read more
Every class is a lecture. It's hard to follow most of the time. There are only three papers and not much homework so it is worth sitting through the mundane classes. It gets a religon requirement out of the way.
Every class is a lecture. It's hard to follow most of the time. There are only three papers and not much homework so it is worth sitting through the mundane classes. It gets a religion requirement out of the way.
I took this class to fulfill a distribution requirement. The only homework each week is readings, with three papers dispersed throughout the semester. The readings can be confusing, but you don't necessarily need to do all of them to do well on the papers. The lectures can be somewhat boring and confusing to those who don't have prior knowledge about Buddhism.