"Hinduism" is the name of the dominant religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent. Its oldest scriptures are the Vedas (c. 1300 b.c.?) and the Upanishads, a group of writings written between 900-600 b.c. We will study a writing called the Bhagavad Gita, the most popular writing in the Hindu tradition, probably written sometime around 200 b.c.
Buddhism arose in Northeast India around 500 b.c., founded by Gotama the Buddha. Buddhism originally arose as a sect within the Hindu tradition, and maintained many ideas found in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. But it rejected some ideas and ethnic customs dear to mainstream culture in India. While Hinduism remained mainly the religion of the Indian subcontinent, Buddhism became an international religion in Southeast and East Asia. (Buddhism died out in India itself around 1100 a.d.)
Buddhism eventually split into two main groups.
One group accepts only the teachings written down in the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving body of Buddhist scriptures (probably written down around 100 b.c.) The only surviving sect within this group calls itself Theravada (literally "elder-path," the path of the Elders.) Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion in Southeast Asia: Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
The other large group of Buddhists accepts many developments in Buddhist doctrine and practice not contained in the Pali Canon. This group calls itself Mahayana (literally, "the great vehicle"), which became the dominant form of Buddhism in East Asia (China, Korea, Japan; Vietnam has both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists.) "Mahayana" is a collective name for a great variety of Buddhist sects with widely divergent views. Zen Buddhism is one sect within the Mahayana tradition.
(Some confusion arises because Mahayana Buddhists use the derogatory term "Hinayana" [the "lesser vehicle"] to refer to Theravada Buddhists, giving rise the common idea in the U.S. that Buddhism is divided into "Mahayana and Hinayana." Theravada Buddhists resent being called "Hinayana.")
Confucianism began in China around 500 b.c.
Taoism began in China around 300 b.c.
Buddhism did not arrive in China (from India) until around 100 a.d.
After the arrival of Buddhism, There was a great deal of borrowing among these three traditions in China. Educated people often studied writings from all three traditions.
In particular, Zen Buddhism (originally called Ch’an Buddhism in China) is commonly thought to be a result of mixing Taoist and Buddhist ideas.
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were greatly influenced by Chinese culture. (In the medieval period, Chinese was the language of learning in these countries, having a status similar to Latin in medieval Europe.) People in these countries learned Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist ideas as part of "classical" Chinese culture.
Hinduism and Buddhism
This course begins with a short introduction to the task of making sense of Buddhism, showing how Buddhist teachings might be relevant to life in the modern world.
Then we will study some excerpts from the the Bhagavad Gita, showing some of the main beliefs of Hinduism as it existed in India around the time that Buddhism arose.
Next we will study some excerpts from the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Then we will study some excerpts from Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.
Then we will read a book by a modern Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher, Shunryu Suzuki, seeing how Suzuki helps to make sense of earlier Buddhist teachings, but likewise how familiarity with these earlier teachings helps us make sense of Suzuki.
Taoism
Our study of Taoism will consist mainly of an in-depth study of the Tao-te-ching, the oldest and most popular book in this tradition.
After studying the Tao-te-ching, we will consider briefly how Taoism influenced Chinese medicine and the practice of physically-oriented meditation practices such as Qigong (Ch'i Kung).
We will study Confucianism only as it relates to ideas in the Tao-te-ching.