Buddhism and Happiness

July 26-30, 2027 Rose Hill

Non-Credit Course

“Buddhism and Happiness” will introduce students to Buddhist strategies for living confidently and intentionally by considering Buddhist techniques for managing fear and anxiety in the face of change and instability. How do Buddhists transform frustration and confusion about ourselves into curiosity and self-awareness? How do Buddhists in New York apply these challenging strategies to their daily lives? The one-week intensive will include classroom discussion, group exercises, an in-class workshop with a local Buddhist meditation teacher, and a class trip to visit a thriving Manhattan Buddhist center.

Skills and Learning Outcomes

Students will get to:

  • Develop confidence to enthusiastically learn about new ideas without being intimidated by novelty or complexity 
  • Gain facility with basic meditation and learn why contemporary Buddhist New Yorkers devote so much energy to meditation practice
  • Generate curiosity about how New Yorkers with different cultural backgrounds and life experiences think about happiness and compassion
  • Learn to use new vocabulary to talk with their peers about their own hopes, fears and ambitions
  • Unearth their own assumptions about happiness and consider alternative ways of thinking about everyday challenges

Overall Takeaways

“Buddhism and Happiness” addresses one of the great, perennial human questions: “is happiness possible”? Through fun-spirited exercises, discussions, and interactions with Buddhist New Yorkers, students will learn how real people strive to live happy and compassionate lives. Students will not only benefit from learning challenging Buddhist ideas, but also from practicing speaking honestly with their peers about them. Most importantly, the class will teach them to use Buddhist vocabulary to consider alternative ways of approaching the many anxieties and decisions that they face as aspiring young adults.

Course Schedule

Day 1: Buddhist Explanations of Suffering and Karma

  • Ideas to discuss: three sufferings, four truths, karmic cause and effect

Day 2: No-Self and Dependence

  • Ideas to discuss: the significance of change, instability and dependence

Day 3: Chanting and Buddha Nature

  • Field Trip to New York Soka Gakkai Center (in Union Square) to meet with Kwan Choi
  • Ideas to discuss: the role of chanting in Buddhist practice; the meaning of the “highest life condition” for Soka Gakkai Buddhists

Day 4: Meditation

  • In-class workshop with guest visitor (likely either Zen instructor Malik Walker, Zen instructor Howard Thoresen of the Village Zendo, or Rev. Doyeon Park of Won Buddhism Manhattan).
  • Ideas to discuss: zazen and just sitting meditation; attachment to goals and judgments

Day 5: Compassion and the Nature of Your Mind

  • Ideas to discuss: the meaning of compassion, loving-kindness, and equanimity; the connection between compassion and happiness

Instructor's Bio

Dr. Joshua Schapiro, Senior Lecturer, Fordham Theology Department

Prof. Schapiro studied comparative religion as an undergraduate at Columbia University before pursuing a degree in Buddhist Studies at Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in 2012. Schapiro teaches a range of courses on Asian Religions at Fordham, including classes on Buddhism, Buddhist Meditation, Hinduism, Tibetan Religion, Chinese Religion, and Japanese Religion. His classes incorporate semester-long reflections on a variety of themes, including Moral Responsibility, Religious Seeing, Religious Imagination, Religious Aesthetics, Meditative Knowledge, Literary Rhetoric, and American Identity.

 

       

Course Details

Buddhism and Happiness

July 26-30, 2027, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Rose Hill Campus
Instructor: Dr. Joshua Schapiro

Course Number: SULA 0122 RN3
CRN: TBD

This non-credit course is open to high school students only.

Tuition

Residential: $2,086.00 (2026 rate; 2027 prices will be available in December)
Tuition for the residential program includes the course, course materials, housing, meals, and excursions in and outside of class. Move-in is Sunday afternoon, the day before classes begin. Please click here for a more detailed calendar of important dates.

Commuter: $1,418.00 (2026 rate; 2027 prices will be available in December)
Tuition for commuters includes the course, course materials, lunches, and excursions in and outside of class. Additional meals are available on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Students may wish to bring funds for incidentals, shopping at the Fordham Bookstore, souvenirs, and any personal items they wish to purchase.

 

Apply

Application deadlines:

Course and housing: The deadlines for 2027 will be posted by December 2026. Please note that admission decisions are rolling until the class is full, and course caps are around 20 students. The deadline to be considered for a limited number of need-based discounts is April 1. 

Application Requirements: this non-credit course is open to high school students who have completed their first year. The course is recommended for those with a 3.0 or better. No prior experience with the subject matter is required.

To apply, you will need a copy of your high school transcript and your fall report card if the grades are not reflected on your transcript.

Please make note of the course details above because you will select your course as part of your application.

There is a $75 fee to apply and a $300 deposit to secure your seat. Housing requires a $50 deposit. All payments will be treated as deposits toward your final bill.

2027 applications will open in late November. Please sign up to stay informed about the Fordham Summer Leaders Academy, or email us with questions!

Immersion 3 Resident Move-In/Move-Out

Date  Resident Information
June 26 All medical forms and consents due
Sunday, July 25 Move-in between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 30 Move-out between 6 and 9 p.m.

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