This lecture introduces the huge library of Buddhist scriptures. Study the origins and contents of the three major Buddhist canons - the Pali canon, the Chinese canon, and the Tibetan canon. Learn about the devoted efforts through Buddhist history to preserve these texts, and the nature of their significance to Buddhists.

The Islamic Hadith recounts the actions and sayings of Muhammad. Study the sources and composition of this revered body of texts, and observe how they provide guidance on essential matters of Muslim life. Also encounter the superlative poetry of Sufism, Islam's mystical tradition, which employs refined spiritual practices to reach direct union with God.

Alongside the four canonical Gospels, competing accounts of Jesus's life emerged, which we now call "apocryphal." Here, discover the Gospel of Peter, which directly portrays the Resurrection, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which recounts events of Jesus's childhood. Finally, encounter Gnostic Christianity in the Gospel of Thomas, containing mystical sayings of Jesus.

In a second look at Confucianism, investigate the renowned Yijing and how its system of divination has actual practical applications. Then delve into Neo-Confucianism, its principles of self-cultivation and harmony with humanity and the cosmos, and its embodiment in the texts of the Analects, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Constant Mean.

The New Testament Gospels present four distinct accounts of the life of Jesus of equal authority. Compare the discrepancies between the four Gospels, taking note of key hypotheses regarding the sources and theological motivations underlying them. Continue with the Acts of the Apostles as it outlines Christian practices that serve to define the faith.

The Mormon religion offers its own unique scriptures, used in conjunction with the Christian Bible. Learn about the Book of Mormon, an epic religious-historical narrative, as well as its other sacred texts, including Mormonism's oral temple ceremony, and grasp how they are used as expressions of the faith.

The Upanishads constitute the philosophical or wisdom texts of the Hindu Vedas. Study the composition of the Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, containing spiritual arguments and dialogues revealing the underlying unity of brahman (ultimate reality) and atman (the self or soul). Trace the Upanishads' influence on Westerners.

Here, confront the intriguing question of whether Confucianism is a religion or a philosophy. Learn about the Confucian canon and how it became the foundation of Chinese state ideology. Sample texts encompassing poetry, history, ritual, rules for living, and explorations of morality, and consider why we refer to them as "classics" rather than "scripture."

The full canon of Daoism comprises roughly 1500 texts. Study seminal scriptures such as the Neiye, the Huainanzi, the Scripture on Great Peace, and the Declarations of the Perfected. Grasp how the Daozang, or complete canon, is organized into three "Caverns" or divisions, reflecting the major schools of Daoism.

Here, uncover thought-provoking parallels between religious texts and certain secular ones. With reference to the key ways in which scriptures are received and employed within religious faiths, delineate how the founding documents of the United States have come to function as many sacred texts do in other cultures.