Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism

FAIN: EH-281229-21

College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA 01610-2395)
Todd T. Lewis (Project Director: March 2021 to present)

A two-week, residential institute for 25 higher education faculty to learn about Hindu and Buddhist ritual practices.

The College of the Holy Cross requests $142,995 from the NEH Institutes for Higher Education Faculty grant program to support a two-week summer institute that will provide an overview of the distinctive rituals and the associated ritual arts of the great world religions found across South and Southeast Asia. To balance the usual college course emphasis on doctrine defining religious traditions, this institute will focus on the distinctive forms of praxis that express and act upon each faith’s central beliefs. Understanding both doctrines and practices is essential in the study of Hinduism and Buddhism and expands traditional pedagogy beyond philosophy or the confines of learning to what the small literate elite did or thought. By highlighting and observing these practices, the institute will provide avenues for participants to convey the full importance of these religions in communities, seeing how Hindu and Buddhist traditions sustain both transcendental and pragmatic human needs.

Associated Products

Resources for the Study of Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism (Web Resource)
Title: Resources for the Study of Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism
Author: Professor Todd Lewis
Abstract: Following the syllabus for the NEH Institute "Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism", the web site contains the cummulative resources (PDF files for readings, bibliography, PowerPoint presentation files, links to museums) pertinent to the Institute's subject matter:
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://hcnehinst.wpengine.com/syllabus-2/
Primary URL Description: Resources (PDF files for readings, bibliography, PowerPoint presentation files, links to museums) pertinent to the Institute's subject matter: "Ritual Arts in Hinduism and Buddhism"

Readings in Hindu and Buddhist Ritual Texts (Book)
Title: Readings in Hindu and Buddhist Ritual Texts
Editor: Todd Lewis
Abstract: Prominent texts utilized across the Hindu and Buddhist worlds to guide ritual practices by Brahmin priests and Buddhist monks. This manuscript also has representative samples of specific rituals used in regional or local settings; additional ritual guidebooks will be added to this work in progress.
Year: 2022
Publisher: Manuscript
Type: Edited Volume
Type: Translation
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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