{"id":2694,"date":"2021-04-16T16:48:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T16:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maitripa.org\/registrar\/?p=2694"},"modified":"2026-05-29T19:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:03:14","slug":"phl428-self-selflessness-and-liberation-in-buddhist-auto-biography2021-04-16-at-447-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maitripa.org\/registrar\/phl428-self-selflessness-and-liberation-in-buddhist-auto-biography2021-04-16-at-447-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"PHL428 Self, Selflessness, and Liberation in Buddhist Auto\/Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:104%;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p>(2 credits) This course will explore the genres of biography and autobiography in Buddhist traditions, with particular emphasis on Tibetan figures. Spiritual biographies have long played a crucial role in Buddhist traditions, from the life stories of the Buddha (avad\u0101nas and j\u0101takas) to the liberation stories (rnam thar) of Tibetan saints, such as Milarepa, Padmasambhava, Yesh\u00e9 Tsogyal, and Tsongkhapa, to modern figures. They serve not only as (quasi-)historical accounts of their lives and times, but as sources of inspiration and teaching for Buddhists, illuminating key points of Buddhist doctrine and philosophy. We will consider Buddhist auto\/biography through multiple frameworks, focusing especially on what these \u201cstories\u201d tell us about Buddhist notions of self, karma, identity, reality, and the Buddhist path. We will begin the course with an overview of theoretical studies of biography and narrative before reading and analyzing a variety of examples of Buddhist biographical literature in translation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:104%;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column fusion-flex-align-self-center\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:21px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-bottom:35px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div style=\"text-align:right;\"><a class=\"fusion-button button-3d fusion-button-default-size button-default fusion-button-default button-1 fusion-button-default-span fusion-button-default-type\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/maitripa.org\/registrar\/maitripa-college-catalog\/course-descriptions\/\"><span class=\"fusion-button-text awb-button__text awb-button__text--default\">Go to full course catalog index<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhist-philosophy-courses"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.7 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - 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