"Early Buddhism and the Theravada Tradition: Teachings and Practices," organized by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and the Dharma-Gaia Foundation, was a theoretical-practical course designed to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of early Buddhism. After a description of the life of the Buddha, we studied the fundamental doctrines of early Buddhism, including the principle of co-dependent origination, the three marks of existence, "no-self" (anattā) and the analysis of empirical individuality, the four noble truths, and the concept of nibbāna as the Buddhist soteriological ideal. We go on to narrate the history of early Buddhism and, in particular, the evolution of the Theravada tradition, the sole survivor of the schools that formed early Buddhism. Doctrinal explanations alternated with the reading of suttas, fragments of classical texts such as the Dhammapada, The Questions of King Milinda, and excerpts from famous commentaries such as the Visuddhimagga. The course had a practical and experiential aspect, with Theravada meditation workshops led by experienced guides.
The course was held in Spanish from September 29 to December 20, 2022. It was aimed at students and a general public highly interested in the subject and was extraordinarily well received. It lasted 60 teaching hours, equivalent to 6 ECTS credits.
Academic direction:
Dr. Jaume Vallverdú Vallverdú,
Dr. Daniel Millet Gil
Teaching staff:
Agustí Pàniker Vilaplana
Dr. Aleix Ruiz Falqués
Sandra Ramos Amézquita
Venerable Sayalay Uttarā
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