Malcolm David Eckel

While this course does present a good foundational knowledge of the history and general precepts of Buddhism: brace yourself. The presenter is patronizing and biased. He finds practicing Buddhists -- particularly those in Southeast Asia -- to be silly and inexplicable. There's no incorrect information per se, but the professor's smugness and obvious sense of superiority is distracting.

Discover why Buddhism is such an astonishingly lively and adaptable religion with this series. In just 12 accessible lectures, you'll learn how Buddhism transformed the civilizations of India and much of Asia, and has now become a vital part of Western culture. Buddhism's core philosophy, as you'll learn, is that nothing is permanent - all is change. With this in mind, you'll plunge into an introductory look at this faith. You'll unpack the Buddhist idea that all of life is "suffering" and show more that there is no permanent self. You'll learn about the life story of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, his teaching (Dharma), and his community of disciples (Samgha). You'll also gain a clear understanding of key Buddhist terms such as nirvana, tantra, mandala, bodhisattva, and Zen; survey the lives of contemporary, well-known Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama; and examine Buddhist responses to some of the fundamental problems of life-responses that share some surprising similarities and differences with those of other faiths such as Christianity or Islam. These lectures are a chance for you to travel around the world and back in time, surveying Buddhism from its origin in India in the 6th or 5th centuries B.C.E. to the present day. It's a 2,500-year history that will give you a fascinating window into how a faith can grow from a tiny religious community into a movement that spans the globe. show less

An excellent overview of the history of Buddhism, from its beginnings in India (with a thorough grounding in earlier Indian religious thought) through its development in other parts of Asia. Pays particular attention to how Buddhism grew and changed in Tibet and Japan (countries whose traditions have had the biggest presence in the U.S.), as well as China and to a lesser extent, Southeast Asia. More than just a history, the lectures include insights into many core concepts of Buddhism, show more including no-self, emptiness, and competing ideas about enlightenment. show less

Really excellent, though I would have liked to have seen a session on Korea and one on southeast Asia (with particular reference to Vietnam, considering the importance of Buddhism during the Vietnam War). Do be aware that there's another Great Courses video on Buddhism with the same instructor but which is only half the length (12 half-hour sessions rather than the 24 of this course that I'm currently reviewing). You definitely want to get this 24-session video rather than the shorter one, show more which omits significant amounts of material. show less