Discover new perspectives on the moral and spiritual precepts on which much of human civilization is built with Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Award-winning Professor Mark W. Muesse takes you deep inside the life stories and legacies of these four iconic figures. He reveals their core teachings and sheds new light on the history that underlies their phenomenal, enduring impact on how we see and think about the world. These 36 lectures are a rare chance to examine the still-living wisdom of four great, visionary sages.
Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad
An award-winning professor takes you deep into the life stories and legacies of four iconic figures in world religion.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
White boy from
Hot
6 quarters, 120 classes, 2 and half years
SAINT 10
Date published: 2024-08-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Seeking Enrichment from
The Course of a Lifetime
Outstanding teacher with carefully researched course materials.
Date published: 2024-07-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Peter Sibly from
Very good course
Those interested in a balanced comparison of these 4 spiritual teachers should find this a worthwhile course, well taught by Prof. Muesse. With only a few flashes of humour, his facial expression and style of delivery throughout the lectures are usually pensive but informative. For me, the big attraction was his sincerity. Prof. Muesse struck me as one, on his own intellectual, spiritual journey, who is happy to share what he has discovered so far. Recommended.
Date published: 2023-09-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Reza K from
Fascinating course
If I could give 10 stars to this course, I would have. He is so balanced & wise & kind & knowledgeable, almost makes me adore him. :-)
Date published: 2023-05-24
Rated 4 out of
5
by
otrman from
Interesting Course
I had the impression that since a number of viewers might think of this as a discourse on religious leaders. Religion, or belief in any higher power, would have the effect of serving as way of keeping people of doing various harmful things ton their fellow man. But, I did not get that from the lectures.
The portion on Confucius and Buddha seemed to discuss philosophical ideas in the hope that followers would understand how their ideas how their teachings could benefit their followers. Since there is no over arching persona guiding them as in Christianity and Islam. More simply stated it would seem nothing good or evil could be managed merely suggested..
On the other hand Christians and Jews feature a God who is supposed to be in control and has the ability to reward good behavior and to punish bad behavior. There does not seem to be a major element forcing people to believe - they either believe or not.
Buddhism a system of belief that suggests that a person understands what is self centered and good letting people choose to believe and lets them choose their degree of belief.
Mohamed had a strategy to coerce (hopefully, not to strong a word) people not adhering to his teachings to embrace his teachings.
I would like to course that explores these 4 and bring the results into our current times and then exploring how they will shape the future.
Date published: 2023-02-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dobosono from
Relevant and Profound
Mark Muesse does a fantastic job of explaining the histories of these great sages and the essences of their teachings free from the extraneous elements of the religious institutions that formed in their wakes. His presentation is objective and focuses on the sages themselves rather than the religions established by their followers proceeding their deaths which makes it approachable for people of all beliefs and perspectives.
The historical and intellectual exploration of the four figures has given me a deeper appreciation for the two about which I knew (Jesus & Buddha) and a newfound understanding for the two with whom I was unfamiliar (Confucius & Muhammad). Much understanding and wisdom can be attained by sincerely reflecting on their messages of compassion and humility. Personally, I have gained tremendous spiritual insight into the messages of each of the sages and the course has inspired me to pursue the noble life with fresh appreciation and renewed effort.
Thank you Mark and all the best on your spiritual journeys, fellow Truth-seekers.
Date published: 2023-02-01
Rated 4 out of
5
by
jimski from
Premature review, but comments anyway.
This review is really premature since I've only watched a few of the lectures, but TGC asked me for a review so I offer these few comments. Will update when I finish the course. Prof. Muesse's style is thorough and clear. The lectures I've seen on the Buddha and Jesus, and to a lesser extent on Confucius, have been fine, especially the one on the Buddha where Prof. Muesse did an outstanding job describing the essence of Buddhism. Based on this limited preliminary viewing, I feel much of the remaining lectures should be worth watching.
Date published: 2022-09-18
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Scott48 from
Integrates long span of history effectively
Provides interesting and valuable history of four major foundations of modern society. The intersections are an historically important perspective of cultures.
Date published: 2022-08-20
Overview
About
Dr. Mark W. Muesse is W. J. Millard Professor of Religious Studies, Director of the Asian Studies Program, and Director of the Life: Then and Now Program at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in English Literature from Baylor University and a Master of Theological Studies, a Master of Arts, and a Ph.D. in the Study of Religion from Harvard University. Before taking his position at Rhodes, Professor Muesse held positions at Harvard College, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Southern Maine, where he served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of the 2008 Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching, Rhodes College's highest faculty honor. Known for his experiential teaching style, Professor Muesse was honored for his effective use of imaginative and creative pedagogy as well as his ability to motivate his students toward lifelong study. Professor Muesse has written many articles, papers, and reviews in world religions, spirituality, theology, and gender studies and has coedited a collection of essays titled Redeeming Men: Religion and Masculinities. He is currently compiling an anthology of prayers from around the world. Professor Muesse is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion and has been Visiting Professor at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, India. He has traveled extensively throughout Asia and has studied at Wat Mahadhatu, Bangkok, Thailand; the Himalayan Yogic Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal; the Subodhi Institute of Integral Education, Sri Lanka; and Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
Trailer
01: A Quartet of Sages
Begin by establishing guidelines for your journey into the lives and legacies of Confucius, the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Consider the "lenses" of metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, ethics, and spiritual practice for assessing their teaching and contribution, and in establishing a basis for comparing the vision and wisdom of these extraordinary sages....
33 min
02: Confucius's China
Explore the nature of Chinese identity in Confucius's time as cultural rather than political, and the Chinese orientation to the past, based in the conception of an earlier era of moral kingship. Trace social and political upheavals in the Zhou dynasty that sparked intense intellectual debate, setting the stage for Confucius's teaching....
30 min
03: Becoming a Sage
This lecture reviews key sources for reconstructing the life of Confucius, centering on the famous Analects, a compendium of conversations and sayings. Investigate the known facts of his lineage, the unusual circumstances of his birth, his poverty-stricken childhood, and the great love of learning that defined his character....
32 min
04: A Gentleman and a Scholar
Confucius's personal journey reveals the traits and actions that underlay his teaching. Learn about the qualities of humility, empathy, and love of virtue that informed his life as a state official, the hardships of his period of self-imposed exile, and his final years of teaching and introspection....
32 min
05: Heaven and Earth
Confucian metaphysics stood on the foundation of the ancient Chinese view of ultimate reality. Examine Zhou dynasty cosmology, its conception of Tian (Heaven) and Di (Earth), and the hierarchy of divine beings. Contrast this with Confucius's nontheocentric view of Heaven as a dynamic, moral force in creative collaboration with human beings....
31 min
06: Doing unto Others
Confucius envisioned human fulfillment as rooted in the attainment of moral excellence. Investigate the core precepts of his teaching, including ren, or uncommon humaneness, reciprocity, and filial piety as the root of human love. Consider also his conception of the junzi or "superior man"-a person of compassion, wisdom, and equanimity....
30 min
07: How to Rule a Kingdom
This lecture explores legalism and Daoism in Chinese political thought, to introduce core Confucian principles of humane, ethical leadership. Delve into Confucius's conception of virtue as a force with the power to transform others, and the value of ceremony and ritual in refining humaneness and creating social harmony....
32 min
08: What a Sage Does
Confucian spiritual practice was grounded in his view of all life as a grand or sacred ritual. Learn the details of his discipline of self-awareness and introspection, and his teachings on the shaping of character through appropriate behavior, the spiritual significance of life's daily routines, and the moral value of art....
31 min
09: Confucius and Confucianism
The legacy of Confucian teaching is seen in its enduring influence in China over 2,000 years. Contrast the divergent perspectives of Confucian philosophers Mencius and Xunzi on the moral nature of humanity, examine their views on Confucian practice, and trace the spread and history of Confucianism in Chinese and Asian society....
30 min
10: India at the Time of the Buddha
This lecture probes profound shifts in Indian religious thought in the era preceding the Buddha's birth. Examine the developing conceptions of rebirth, karma, and the religious movements aimed at freedom from the cycle of rebirth. Also investigate the notions of atman (soul) and Brahman (ultimate reality), and the critical relationship between them....
33 min
11: Siddhattha Gotama
Texts preserving the early oral tradition of Buddhist teaching allow us to reconstruct the life of the Buddha. Here, compare the mythic versions of the Buddha's birth and youth with the available historical information, and consider how the legends surrounding his early life serve as literary expressions of his teachings....
31 min
12: The First and Second Great Awakenings
In this lecture, explore the circumstances under which the Buddha renounced his life of privilege in order to seek the "supreme state of sublime peace." Then follow his itinerant life of spiritual practice, including his period of extreme asceticism, leading to the transformative realization that formed the wellspring of his teaching....
32 min
13: Knowing the World
The Buddha insisted that all knowledge claims be based in direct, empirical experience. Study his views on the nature of reality, including his distinction between nibbana (the unconditioned absolute) and samsara (conditioned, worldly experience). Conclude with an in-depth look at his notion of impermanence as one of three fundamental features of existence....
33 min
14: Can't Get No Satisfaction
Completing the Buddha's "three marks of existence," grasp the notion of insubstantiality or "no-self," challenging the illusory perception of the self as a separate entity standing apart from the environment that gives it existence. Grapple also with insatiability, the resulting impulse to satisfy the self through endless possessions and experiences....
31 min
15: Getting to the Farther Shore
The Buddha's teaching comprised numerous practices designed to free the practitioner from attachments and to dispel the illusion of the "individual" self. Study his approach to perfecting wisdom and compassion through his Five Precepts of wholesome action and core practices of dana, or generosity, and meditation....
33 min
16: How the Buddha Taught
The Buddha's life as a teacher reveals his insight in action. First, learn about the foundation of his teaching, the Four Noble Truths, and his open embrace of people of all backgrounds as students. Then, see vivid examples of how he shaped his communication of the dhamma to the needs of different listeners....
33 min
17: The Buddha and Buddhism
The Buddha's preparations for his own death served as another expression of his principles. Study the final events of his life, the aftermath of his death, and the eventual spread of his teaching. Mark the distinct traditions of Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism; their geographic reach; and Buddhism's appearance in the West....
33 min
18: The Jewish and Roman Worlds of Jesus
Setting the stage for the appearance of Jesus, this lecture discusses the turbulent times into which he was born. Learn about the complex history of ancient Judaism, the multiple political displacements and divisions within the faith, and the trials of Jewish life in Palestine under Roman rule....
32 min
19: The Son of Mary
The available sources on the life of Jesus present markedly differing interpretations. Compare the accounts of his lineage and birth in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, noting the contrasting emphasis and portrayal of events, and consider what these differences may reveal about Jesus and about the intended audience of the Gospels....
33 min
20: The First 30 Years
In assessing the scant information about Jesus's early life, trace theological and popular conjecture about his childhood, the origins of his teaching, and the possibility of his marriage. Finally, contemplate the enigmatic connection between Jesus and John the Baptist, and their parallel declarations of the coming of God's kingdom....
28 min
21: The Kingdom of God
Jesus proclaimed the nature of God's kingdom through his teaching and deeds. First, investigate the indications that Jesus viewed God's kingdom as an earthly reality. Then, witness his teaching through his parables and healings, as they disrupt the apparent order of the world, dissolving oppressive divisions of rich/poor, powerful/weak, and pure/impure....
32 min
22: Back to the Future
Digging deeper into Jesus's practices and teachings, see the ways in which his conception of God's kingdom as present reality indicates deep, direct spiritual experience. Learn about his practice of contemplative prayer, the spiritual meaning he attached to communal meals, and his ethical principles of nonretaliation, generosity, and the discipline of forgiveness....
33 min
23: Jesus's Christology
This lecture further illuminates Jesus's life by exploring his conception of his own role in God's kingdom. Examine two parallel biblical identities of Jesus-as a prophet foretelling a divine age and as a spiritual teacher. Also investigate his historical characterizations as Messiah, Son of God, and Son of Man....
31 min
24: The Last Days in Jerusalem
The final events of Jesus's life enact the central thrust of his teaching. Follow the dramatic unfolding of Jesus's public actions leading to his arrest, and the details of his crucifixion and resurrection as they embody his message of God's kingdom and his vision of a new world order....
31 min
25: How Jesus Became Christ
Examine the diverse accounts of the resurrection, their meaning to Jesus's contemporaries, and the critical contrast between Paul's view of Jesus and Jesus's self-conception. Then consider a "theory" of Jesus, exploring the role or "task" of his death, the question of his divinity, and his followers' ultimate proclamation of him as Messiah....
33 min
26: Arabia in the Days of Ignorance
Introducing the life of Muhammad, Professor Muesse outlines pre-Islamic Arabian culture and religion. Learn about the society of warring Arab tribes, their customs, and the social ills Islam later sought to correct. Then chart the tribal pantheon of divine beings, tribal religious practices, and the culture's assimilation of Jews and Christians....
32 min
27: The Trustworthy One
Muhammad's early life reveals patterns that later defined his prophetic calling. Probe the circumstances of his birth and difficult childhood, including experiences that sensitized him to the downtrodden. Follow his developing character and reputation for integrity, his long marriage and family life, and the contemplative practice that led to his dramatic revelation....
32 min
28: I Am Only a Messenger
Witness the compelling events of Muhammad's revelation on the Mountain of Light, his struggle to accept his calling as prophet, and the embodying of his message as the Qur'an. Then follow his emergence as a teacher and the birth of Islam, as Muhammad faces severe opposition and pressure to remain silent....
32 min
29: Madinah
The city of Madinah played a vital symbolic role in the prophet's journey. Investigate the ways in which Muhammad's teaching threatened traditional Arabian life, and his efforts to secure his community in Makkah. Then follow the difficult challenges of its migration to Madinah and Muhammad's eventual embrace of military leadership and "just" war....
34 min
30: There Is No God but al-Lah
Study the doctrine of tawhid, the oneness and inscrutability of al-Lah, and the distinction between divine essence and the divine attributes through which humans can approach the absolute. Also grasp the Islamic conceptions of the sin of shirk (idolatry), of Jesus as prophet, and the end-time Day of Requital....
31 min
31: The Ethics of Islam
Trace the Islamic view of the human being to the Qur'anic story of Adam and Eve and the core conceptions of human fallibility and equality. Then study the Islamic precepts of submission to God and ethical action, and the ways Muhammad's principles improved the marital and legal status of women....
31 min
32: The Greater Jihad
The internal or "greater" jihad comprises the spiritual disciplines of Islam. Grasp the essential practices, beginning with ritual prayer, embodying choreographed physical gesture and movement, and fasting as it awakens self-awareness and compassion. Conclude with the deep spiritual significance and complex rituals of the hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah....
33 min
33: The Conquest of Makkah
The last years of Muhammad's life saw the rise of Islam as a dominant force in Arabia. Follow the prophet's tumultuous military campaigns leading to his conquest of Makkah and political unifying of Arabia. Also study the critical events of Muhammad's death, its aftermath, and the subsequent Shi'a/Sunni split within Islam....
30 min
34: Their Lives Compared
Professor Muesse compares the life stories of the four sages, beginning an assessment of their significance for our contemporary lives. See how each sage redefined nobility as a matter of character and demonstrated a fearless commitment to truth, living simply, and the practice of quieting the mind....
31 min
35: Their Teachings Compared
In their conceptions of heaven, nibbana , and God, were the four sages talking about the same thing? Compare their teachings on the structure of reality, the fundamental human predicament, and the ethical dimension of life, noting their common view of self-centeredness as the source of misery and their contrasting methodologies for liberation....
33 min
36: Their Enduring Significance
In this final lecture, reflect on the qualities of noble living that the sages exemplified, seen in their commitment to truthful understanding, humility, contemplation, sensitivity to the suffering of others, and the transcendence of self-involvement. Conclude with Professor Muesse's personal view of the essential teaching of each sage....
29 min
