Dornsife FLP: Encountering Japanese Religions (REL 332)

*Undergraduate applicants only, graduate students are not eligible*

Syllabus

Program Information

QUICK INFO This 30-day Julymester course is based in Tokyo, Japan and includes excursions around the city as well as to Japan’s most famous Zen monastery (Eiheiji) and the ancient capital of Kyoto. Classes are held at Komazawa University, a major Japanese university and leader in Soto Zen research and education. There will be opportunities to interact with Komazawa students. Accommodations in Tokyo are at the Tokyo Grand Hotel, a 3-star hotel within walking distance of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, and the Roppongi and Ginza shopping districts. Accommodations during trips outside of Tokyo will be in hotels.

COURSE DESCRIPTON This course introduces Japanese Zen Buddhism; its history, practice, and influence on culture, and society—as well one’s sense of self and other. The verb “encounter” in the course title indicates an emphasis on active learning, which first and foremost is realized by residing in Japan for the full four-week course period. Students will be taught to identify the infusion of Zen, and Buddhism in general, within Japanese everyday life, including interpersonal relationships. They will also read classic Buddhist texts and contemporary interpretations of them, visit Zen temples and sites, and listen to guest lectures by Japanese priests and professors, all the while being based at Komazawa University, Japan’s main Soto Zen university.

The course provides organized opportunities to interact with Komazawa students, including an overnight trip where Komazawa and USC students will engage in cultural and religious comparison. The final way in which Zen is encountered in this course is through regular sittings of zazen meditation, including instruction by Zen teachers and an overnight zazen retreat. By combing study, touring, interpersonal interaction, and meditation practice, this course creates a holistic encounter with Japanese Zen that offers not just knowledge about religion as well as foreign people, culture, and places; but also lifelong meditation skills that can help students focus while calming their minds and bodies.

Contact Information

Faculty Director: Lon Kurashige

Email: kurashig@usc.edu