The course introduces students to common themes found in selections from the sacred and canonized literature of three major Eastern world religions. In the course of study students compare the sacred works according to themes such as: creation, facing great challenge, the fall of man, God’s punishment, sibling rivalry, the rewards of virtue, and the power of love. The sacred works from the East also include views on astrology and acceptance of a relationship between the cosmos and life on earth in excerpts from:

• The Rig Veda and Upanishads (excerpts), Hinduism;        
• The Bhagavad-Gita and The Ramayana (excerpts), Hinduism;
• The Wheel of Life (story of Siddhartha), Buddhism;
• The Dhammapada (excerpts), Buddhism;
• The Analects and The I-Ching (excerpts), Confuscianism
• The Tao te-Ching (excerpts), Taoism, off-shoot of Confuscianism