Teaching Buddhism as a Lived Religion

This paper explores various ways instructors might approach their teaching and their students’ learning about lived Buddhism, so that they can determine which might work for their own students at their specific institutions. Framing my discussion around the seven characteristics of religious practice identified by Nancy Ammerman—embodiment, materiality, emotional, aesthetics, moral judgment, narrative structuring, and spirituality (2020, p. 9)—I show how each dimension lends itself to a particular pedagogical approach. Embodied and sensory-based learning facilitates the study of embodiment, place-based learning directs students’ attention towards materiality; affective learning strengthens their awareness of emotions; arts-based learning encourages their critical reflection about aesthetics; applied learning assists in their moral judgment; storytelling enables them to appreciate narrative structuring, and contemplative and integrative learning supports their study of spirituality.