Yaroslav Komarovski will be busy dispelling false expectations in his new Buddhism class.
Komarovski, a classics and religious studies assistant professor, is teaching the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's first course focused on Buddhism this semester.
One such false expectation was raised in class on Friday when a student asked him about Nirvana, the desired state of Buddhism. "So entering Nirvana, you don't go anywhere, like in heaven?"
Nirvana, which is the destruction of affliction and suffering, is more like a peaceful state of being as opposed to a divine afterlife, Komarovski explained to his class of about 30 students.
"You can think of Nirvana as extinction," Komarovski said. "You don't go anywhere."
Reincarnation and Karma were other topics of discussion in the class.
People and their souls aren't reincarnated according to Buddhism, because Buddhists don't believe in souls. Neither do they believe in cells or the body existing in reality, so instead, a person's consciousness moves (or is reincarnated) from life to life, Komarovski said.
Karma deals with the lifestyle Buddhists live while trying to reach Nirvana, although there are no punishments if a Buddhist fails to live up to their teachings.
"You do bad things, you pay for them," Komarovski said.
Komarovski doesn't like to call Buddhism a religion but instead considers it a philosophy defined by two levels of reality.
The first level of reality, the conventional level, is the earthy reality of people, places and things. On the other hand, the second, the ultimate level, can only be reached through analyses into the nature of things, thus leading to enlightenment and Nirvana, he said.
Caitlin Ehlers, a junior dietetics major raised with a Christian background, said she took the class because she wanted to study a different culture.
"I want to be able to relate to other cultures," Ehlers said. "This makes other cultures seem more approachable."
With an introduction to Buddhism class available this year, UNL's department of classics and religious studies has met its goal of offering courses in five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism, said Sidnie Crawford, chairperson of the department.
A native of Russia, Komarovski said a fascination with Asian culture, such as kung fu movies and a knack for asking philosophical questions at an early age, led him to Buddhism.
Komarovski, who lived in Tibetan monasteries in India and Nepal for nine years, said he'd like to teach more specific Buddhism classes in the future relating to Buddhist ethics and death and dying.
He said he hopes the class exposes his students to something new.
"I want them to broaden their view of culture and the world," he said. "I want them to challenge certain prejudices about life."
KevinZelaya@dailynebraskan.com
BOB on Buddhism
-No one God or creator but multiple gods.
-Only Nirvana (peaceful state) is everlasting.
-No single books like the Bible, and different Buddhists have different canons.
-Spirits and magic are rife.
-Six beings in Buddhism: Gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings.
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