Eric Greene

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Religious Studies; Coordinator, Buddhist Studies Initiative

Council on East Asian Studies , Buddhist Studies Initiative

Research Interests:

Buddhism in East Asia; Zen Buddhism; Ritual in East Asian Buddhism; Mysticism and Meditation in Buddhism and East Asia; Chinese Buddhist Studies; Chinese Buddhist Texts

Eric Greene is Associate Professor in the department of Religious Studies at Yale University, where he has taught since 2015. He received his B.A. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley in 1998, followed by his M.A. (Asian Studies) and Ph.D. (Buddhist Studies) in 2012. He specializes in the history of medieval Chinese Buddhism, particularly the emergence of Chinese forms of Buddhism from the interaction between Indian Buddhism and indigenous Chinese culture. His recent books Chan Before Chan and The Secrets of Buddhist Meditation study the history of the transmission on Indian meditation practices to China, the development of distinctly Chinese forms of Buddhist meditation, Buddhist rituals of repentance, and the uses of meditative visionary experience as evidence of sanctity. He has also published on the early history of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, Buddhist paintings from the Silk Roads, and the influence of modern psychological terminology on the Western interpretation of Buddhism. His current research focuses on practices of translation and commentary during the first era of Chinese Buddhism, ca. 150-350 AD.

Humanities Quadrangle, Room 420

Phone: 203-432-4857

eric.greene@yale.edu

Website

Courses

Chinese Buddhist Texts

RLST 574

Close reading of selected Chinese Buddhist texts in the original.

Instructor permission required.

Seminar

Spring

HTBA

Introduction to Chinese Buddhist Literature

RLST 568, EALL 521

This class is an introduction to Chinese Buddhist literature. Although written in classical Chinese, Buddhist texts in China were written in a particular idiom that was much influenced by the Indian languages and which can be difficult to understand without special training. This class introduces students who already have some reading ability in literary Chinese to this idiom and the tools and background knowledge needed to read and understand Chinese Buddhist literature. We read a series of selections of some of the most influential Chinese Buddhist texts from various genres including canonical scriptures, apocryphal scriptures, monastic law, doctrinal treatises, and hagiography. Secondary readings introduce the basic ideas of Indian and Chinese Buddhist thought to the extent necessary for understanding our readings.

Prerequisite: CHNS 571 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Students of Japanese or Korean literature who can read basic kanbun or gugyeol are also welcome to enroll; no knowledge of modern, spoken Chinese is required. Instructor permission required.

Seminar

Fall 2024

MW 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Introduction to Chinese Buddhist Literature

RLST 486, EALL 221

Prerequisite: CHNS 171 (Literary Chinese II) or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Students of Japanese or Korean literature who can read basic kanbun or gugyeol are also welcome to enroll; no knowledge of modern, spoken Chinese is required. Instructor permission required.

Seminar

Fall 2024

MW 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM