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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
Religion 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence
“A history of the human body would be virtually coextensive with a history of human beings.”
—William R. LaFleur, “Body,” in Critical Terms for Religious Studies, ed. Mark C. Taylor (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1998), 37.
“Cultural conceptualizations of the body, being so merged with the reality of bodily perception and experience, seem uniquely
natural and basic. While the body is eminently ‘natural,’ it is just this perception of naturalness that allows culturally variable
concepts of the body to be so fundamentally ingrained in the collective psyche. In fact, images of the body everywhere embody
social and cultural form.”
—Bruce M. Knauft, “Bodily Images in Melanesia: Cultural Substances and Natural Metaphors,” in Fragments for a History
of the Human Body, Part Three, ed. Michel Feher, Ramona Naddaff, and Nadia Tazi, Zone 5 (New York: Zone, 1989), 201.
“My body is a cage
that keeps me from dancing with the one I love
but my mind holds the key”
—The Arcade Fire, “My Body is a Cage,” Neon Bible, 2007, Merge Records.
This is a course about the body, and the various ways that Buddhists have constructed, disciplined, despised, and
venerated the human body. We will explore the Buddhist body in its various incarnations: the disciplined monastic
body of monks and nuns, the hyper-masculine body of the Buddha, the sacred corpses of saints, the body given away in
sacrifice, the body as marker of virtue, and vice, the sexual body, the body transfigured in ritual, and the body analyzed
and scrutinized in medical traditions.
This course has no prerequisites. No previous study of Buddhism is necessary to succeed here. In fact, my hope is that
this course can provide a very different kind of introduction to the Buddhist traditions. Rather than proceeding
chronologically or geographically, we will instead proceed conceptually, leaping through space and time as we explore
Buddhist ideas and practices.
The goal of the course is to shatter the illusion identified by Knauft in the brief quotation above: the magical link
between our immediate sensory perceptions of the body and what we think is “given” or “natural” about the body. To
do this will require intellectual tools. In academia we call these tools “theory.”
Theory is not limited, however, to the arcane writings of Frenchmen like Derrida or Foucault. In this course I want to
take Buddhist theories about the body seriously as theory—as usable tools which might help us become better readers
of human culture, to ask deeper questions about the texts we are reading not just for this course, but for any other
intellectual endeavor. So you might also think of this not just as a survey of Buddhist thinking about the body, but also
as an introduction to Buddhist thinking, full stop. We will along the way learn to become better readers of texts, of
images, and of ourselves.
In short, in this course I don’t just want us to think of Buddhist bodies as objects which we study and probe with our
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
sharp intellectual scalpels; I want us to think of Buddhist bodies as addressing us and challenging us to expand our
own ideas of what it means to be human, and what it means to inhabit a human body.
Responsibilities
• Participation in the course is essential. Participation does not mean simply attending class and handing in written
assignments. Participation means active involvement in discussion. One need not know all the answers to speak up; the
classroom is a space where questions are especially valued. Come to every class prepared with your insights and your
questions. It will be assumed that all students will have completed the session’s reading BEFORE arriving to class.
• THREE 3-5 page critical reflection papers. This is a writing-intensive course, and we will practice the discipline of
revising or rewriting each of these reflection papers.
• A 1-3 page proposal for the final paper. The proposal should contain a brief summary of the paper’s topic along with a
bibliography of sources you have consulted and plan to consult.
• A final substantive paper, 10–15 pages in length, exploring some aspect of Buddhism and the body. The paper should
be much more than a book report; it should be a creative synthesis of your research and reflect your own thinking on a
particular issue of Buddhism and embodiment. To encourage our discipline of revising and rewriting, I am happy to
accept up to three pre-drafts of the final paper, and will endeavor to offer you incisive feedback on each of your drafts.
Grades
Attendance and participation: 30%
Critical reflection papers: 30%
Final paper proposal: 10%
Final paper: 30%
Course Policies
Course website and syllabus updates: The Lotus Sūtra teaches us about upāyakauśalya, “skillfulness in expedient
pedagogical techniques.” In the Buddhist tradition, good pedgagogy is adaptive, adjusting to the proclivities and needs
of particular students. As the semester progresses, I may make changes to the syllabus to ensure that our collective
efforts are fruitful. If I do make changes to the syllabus, you will be notified via email, via the course website, and in an
announcement in class. This will be particularly true of our “communal reading” primary source assignments. Pay close
attention to the course website for updates and announcements!
Decorum: Texting, cell phone conversations, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tinder, Yik-Yak, &c. &c. are
simply not welcome in the classroom. If you feel compelled to surrender your privacy to rapacious Silicon Valley
marketeers, please do so outside our sacred halls of learning. With that said, you are free to use laptops or tablets, and I
will not monitor, parent, or police you in any way. I assume you are mature and responsible enough to come to the
classroom prepared and focused.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified
students with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from its programs and
services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and provide documentation of the disability. Since
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact Disability
Resources as soon as possible. If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Dean Patey
in Disability Resources located in North College, room 021, or call 860-685-5581 for an appointment to discuss your
needs and the process for requesting accommodations.
Extracurriculars & Scheduling Conflicts: This syllabus contains the relevant deadlines for major assignments. You
must notify me by the second week of the term about any known or potential extracurricular conflicts (such as religious
observances or team activities). If you have a conflict on the due date of an assignment, I am happy to accept an
assignment turned in ahead of time. I will not accept assignments which are late due to extracurricular scheduling
conflicts. It is your responsibility to turn in the assignment on or before the due date.
Academic Honesty and Honorable Conduct: As a member of the Wesleyan community, you are expected to follow the
Wesleyan Student Honor Code. I take very seriously my commitment to teaching you the scholarly values of proper
citation and attribution. Accordingly, I will report all incidents of suspected academic dishonesty—without exception
—to the Honor Board. If you have any questions about the proper citation practices, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Late Assignments: This is a writing-intensive course. Falling behind will have cascading effects that will, frankly
speaking, make you miserable for the rest of the semester. Accordingly, my late assignment policy is cantankerous and
strict. Late papers will be deducted a letter grade per day late, rounding up by the day. This means a paper turned in
three hours late will be deducted one letter grade; a paper turned in 25 hours late will be deducted two letter grades.
Required books
John Powers 2009. Bull of a man: images of masculinity, sex, and the body in Indian Buddhism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press. ISBN: 978-0674064034.
This book is available online at Wesleyan’s library. Click here.
Liz Wilson 1996. Charming cadavers: horrific figuration of the feminine in Indian Buddhist hagiographic literature.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 978-0226900544.
This book is also available on 2-hour reserve at Olin Library.
Course Outline
I. Being Buddhist and Being Human
M 5 September: Introductions and dependent originations
Communal reading: Setting in motion the wheel of the dhamma (Dhammacakkappavattanasutta; from Saṃyuttanikāya
56.11, trans. Bodhi 2000, pp. 1843–1847); Theragāthā 10.5: Kappa;
Charles Hallisey 2004, “The surprise of scripture’s advice,” in Judith Frishman, Willemien Otten, and Gerard Rouwhorst,
eds. Religious identity and the problem of historical foundation: the foundational character of authoritative sources in the
history of Christianity and Judaism, Leiden: Brill, pp. 28–44
Charming cadavers, Introduction, pp. 1–14
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
W 7 September: The manly Buddha
Communal reading: Canto 5 “The Departure” in Patrick Olivelle, trans. 2008. Life of the Buddha. Clay Sanskrit Library
New York: New York University Press. pp. 123–157
Bull of a man, Chapter 2, “A manly monk” pp. 24–66.
II. Desire and disgust
M 12 September: Celibacy and erotic temptation
Communal reading: Māra’s daughters (Māradīthusutta; Saṃyutta Nikāya 4.25, trans. Bodhi 2000, pp. 217–220); The
story of Sudinna (Vinayapiṭaka, Pārājika I, trans. Horner 1938, pp. 21–38)
Charming cadavers, chapter 1, “Celibacy and the social world,” pp. 15–40
W 14 September: The oozing body
Communal reading: All the taints (Sabbāsavasutta; Majjhima Nikāya 2, trans. Bodhi & Ñāṇamoli 1995, pp. 91–96);
Atthasālinī, trans. Maung Tin 1920, pp. 63–64 on the definition of āsava (“Intoxicants”)
Charming cadavers, chapter 2 “Like a boil with nine openings,” pp. 41–76
Bull of a man, chapter 4 “The problem with bodies,” pp. 112–140
M 19 September: The repulsive female body
Communal reading: Theragāthā 7.1: Sundara Samudda; Therīgāthā: Sundarīnandā (trans. Charles Hallisey 2015, p. 55);
Ambapālī (Hallisey 2015, pp. 129–141)
Charming cadavers, chapter 3 “False advertising exposed,” pp. 77–110
Karen Lang 1986. “Lord Death’s snare: gender-related imagery in the Theragāthā and Therīgāthā.” Journal of Feminist
Studies in Religion 2.2: 63–79
III. Corpses
W 21 September: Meditating on corpses I
Critical reflection #1 draft due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Theragāthā 5.1: Rājadatta; Dīgha Nikāya 22: Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta (trans. Maurice Walshe 1995,
pp. 335–350)
Steven Collins 1997. “The body in Theravāda Buddhist monasticism.” In Sarah Coakley, ed. Religion and the body.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 185–204
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
M 26 September: Meditating on corpses II
Communal reading: Selections from Visuddhimagga chapter 6: Asubhakammaṭṭhānaniddesa, pp. 169–185
Alan Klima 2001. “The telegraphic abject: Buddhist meditation and the redemption of mechanical reproduction.”
Comparative studies in society and history 43.3: 552–582
IV. Monastic bodies
W 28 September: Sex
Communal reading: Selections from Vinayapiṭaka, Pārājika I, pp. 38–63
Bull of a man, chapter 3, “Sex and the single monk,” pp. 67–111
Janet Gyatso 2005. “Sex.” In Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed. Critical terms for the study of Buddhism. Buddhism and modernity
series. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. pp. 271–290
M 3 October: The bodies of nuns
Critical reflection #1 rewrite due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Rules for nuns from Vinayapiṭaka, Cullavagga 10, vol. 5, pp. 352–392; Therīgāthā: Subhā (Hallisey
2015, pp. 183–195)
Charming cadavers, chapter 5, “Seeing through the gendered ‘I’,” pp. 141–180
Jonathan S. Walters 1994. “A voice from the silence: the Buddha’s mother’s story.” History of Religions 33.4: 358–379
W 5 October: The third sex, the shapeshifting serpent, and other unordainable bodies
Communal reading: Section on unordainable bodies, Vinayapiṭaka, vol. 4, pp. 107–116
Janet Gyatso 2003. “One plus one makes three: Buddhist gender, monasticism, and the law of the non-excluded
middle.” History of religions 43.2: 89–115
V. Buddha bodies
M 10 October: The Buddha’s auspicious body
Communal reading: Dīgha Nikāya 30: Lakkhaṇasutta (trans. Maurice Walshe 1995, pp. 441–460)
Donald S. Lopez, Jr. 2005. “Buddha.” In Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed. Critical terms for the study of Buddhism. Buddhism and
modernity series. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. pp. 13–36
Bull of a man, Chapter 1, “The Ultimate Man,” pp. 1–23
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
W 12 October: The aniconic Buddha
Vidya Dehejia 1991. “Aniconism and the multivalence of emblems.” Ars Orientalis 21: 45–66
Susan L. Huntington 1990. “Early Buddhist art and the theory of aniconism.” Art Journal 49.4: 401–408
Rob Linrothe 1993. “Inquiries into the origin of the Buddha image: a review.” East and West 43.1/4: 241–256
M 17 October: The iconic Buddha
Critical reflection #2 draft due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Robert H. Sharf 1996. “The scripture on the production of Buddha images.” In Donald S. Lopez, Jr.,
ed. Religions of China in practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 261–267
Ju-Hyung Rhi 1994. “From Bodhisattva to Buddha: the beginning of iconic representation in Buddhist art.” Artibus Asiae
54.3/4: 207–225
W 19 October: The indestructible Buddha
Communal reading: Mark L. Blum, trans. 2013. The Nirvana Sutra. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Berkeley, CA: Bukkyō
Dendō Kyōkai. Selections from 3.2, “The Adamantine Body,” pp. 91–93; 9.4 “The Nature of the Tathāgata”, pp. 271–303
Chapter 8, “On the bodies of the Buddha” in Paul Williams 2009. Mahāyāna Buddhism: the doctrinal foundations, 2nd
edition. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 172–186
Michael Radich 2012. “Immortal Buddhas and their indestructible embodiments.” Journal of the International
Association of Buddhist Studies 34.1–2: 227–290
M 24 October: Fall Break — No class!
VI. Reliquary bodies
W 26 October: The reliquary Buddha
Communal reading: Dīgha Nikāya 16: Mahāparinibbānasutta (trans. Maurice Walshe 1995, pp. 231–277)
Gregory Schopen 1998. “Relic.” In Mark Taylor, ed. Critical terms for religious studies. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press. pp. 256–268
Chapter 4–5 of John Strong 2004. Relics of the Buddha. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 98–149
M 31 October: The reliquary dharma
Critical reflection #2 rewrite due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Paul Harrison, trans. 2006. “Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā: A new English translation of the
Sanskrit text based on two manuscripts from Greater Gandhāra.” In Jens Braarvig, ed. Buddhist manuscripts. vol. 3 of
Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection. Oslo: Hermes Publishing. Focus on the translation, pp. 142–159.
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
Gregory Schopen 1975. “The Phrase ‘sa pṛthivīpradeśaś caityabhūto bhavet’ in the Vajracchedikā: notes on the cult of the
book in Mahāyāna.” Indo-Iranian Journal 17.3/4: 147–181
Yael Bentor 1995. “On the Indian origins of the Tibetan practice of depositing relics and dhâraṇîs in stûpas and images.”
Journal of the American Oriental Society 115.2: 248–261
W 2 November: The reliquary saṅgha
Communal viewing: Cremation scene from To the Land of Bliss
Michele Matteini 2009. “On the ‘true body’ of Huineng: the matter of the miracle.” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics
55/56: 42–60
Chapter 4, “Art and objects” of Justin McDaniel 2011. The lovelorn ghost and the magical monk: practicing Buddhism in
modern Thailand. pp. 161–188
Robert H. Sharf 1999. “On the allure of Buddhist relics.” Representations 66: 75–99
VII. Sacrificed bodies
M 7 November: The gift of the body in Buddhist literature
Final paper proposal due by beginning of class
Communal reading: Vessantara Jātaka
Introduction and Chapter 7 of Reiko Ohnuma 2007. Head, eyes, flesh, and blood: giving away the body in Indian
Buddhist literature. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 1–25, 242–265
W 9 November: The gift of the body in Buddhist practice
Chapter 1 of James Benn 2007. Burning for Buddha: self-immolation in Chinese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of
Hawai‘i Press. pp. 19–53
Katia Buffetrille 2012. “Self-immolation in Tibet: some reflections on an unfolding history.” Revue d’Études Tibetains 25:
1–17
Robert Barnett 2012. “Political self-immolation in Tibet: causes and influences.” Revue d’Études Tibétaines 25: 41–64
Cameron David Warner 2014. “A memorial of heroes past: portraying Tibetan self-immolation on Facebook.” In Dorthe
Refslund Christensen and Kjetil Sandvik, eds. Mediating and remediating death. Volume 2, Death, Materiality, and the
Origin of Time. Ashgate. pp. 175–196
VIII. Transfigured bodies
M 14 November: The body as marker of virtue and vice
Communal reading: Bodhicaryāvatāra chapter 5, “The guarding of awareness,” trans. Crosby and Skilton 1995, pp. 30–
44
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
Chapter 4, “Virtuous bodies: a physiomoral discourse on bodies” from Susanne Mrozik 2007. Virtuous bodies: the
physical dimensions of morality in Buddhist ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 61–81
Chapter 4, “Leprosy, Buddhist karmic illness, and Song medicine” from Andrew Edmund Goble 2011. Confluences of
medicine in medieval Japan: Buddhist healing, Chinese knowledge, Islamic formulas, and wounds of war. Honolulu:
University of Hawai‘i Press. pp. 67–88
W 16 November: Mahāyāna bodies
Communal reading: Ugraparipṛcchā (trans. Nattier 2003), pp. 246–257; Lotus Sūtra (trans. Hurvitz 1976), pp. 195–201
Bull of a man, chapter 6, “The greater men of the Great Vehicle,” pp. 164–202
Diana Paul 1981. “Buddhist attitudes toward women’s bodies.” Buddhist Christian Studies 1: 63–71
M 21 November: No class—RRO at the American Academy of Religion conference
W 23 November: No class—Thanksgiving Recess
M 28 November: Tantric bodies
Critical reflection #3 draft due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Excerpts from Christopher S. George, trans. 1974. The Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa Tantra, chapters I–VIII.
New Haven: American Oriental Society. pp. 44–85
Bull of a man, chapter 7, “Adepts and sorcerers,” pp. 203–225
W 30 November: Rainbow bodies
Communal reading: Explanation of varieties of bodies, and selected hagiographies of Tibetan masters who attained
the rainbow body, from Bdud ’joms ’Jigs bral ye śes rdo rje 1991. The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism: its
fundamentals and history. Trans. Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications. pp. 18–23; 538–574; 918–926
Paul Williams 1997. “Some Mahāyāna Buddhist perspectives on the body.” In Sarah Coakley, ed. Religion and the body.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 205–230
Daniel Scheidegger 2007. “Different sets of light-channels in the instruction series of Rdzogs chen.” Revue d’Études
Tibétaines 12: 24–38
IX. Empirical bodies
M 5 December: The scrutinized body
Communal reading: Section on the channels from the Four Tantras, a Tibetan medical treatise. Trans. Janet Gyatso
2015, Being human in a Buddhist world, pp. 200–204
William R. LaFleur 1989. “Hungry ghosts and hungry people: somaticity and rationality in medieval Japan.” In Michel
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RELI 214—Buddhism and the Body: Desire, Disgust, and Transcendence (Fall 2015)
Dr. Ryan Richard Overbey
MW 13:20–14:40
[email protected]
Religion Seminar Room
Office hours: T 9:00–11:00 @ 171 Church Street, Room 206
Fehler, Ramona Naddaff, and Nadia Tazi, eds. Fragments for a history of the human body: part one. Zone 3. New York:
Zone. pp. 270–303
Janet Gyatso 2004. “The authority of empiricism and the empiricism of authority: medicine and Buddhism in Tibet on
the eve of modernity.” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 24.2: 83–96
W 7 December: The meditating body
Critical reflection #3 rewrite due at beginning of class
Communal reading: Excerpts from Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, chapter 2 “Mindfulness and
clear comprehension”, pp. 32–62
Antoine Lutz, John Dunne, and Richard J. Davidson 2007. “Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness: an
introduction.” In Phillip David Zelazo, Morris Moscovitch, and M. Evan Thompson, eds. The Cambridge handbook of
consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 499–554
Robert H. Sharf 2015. “Is mindfulness Buddhist? (And why it matters).” Transcultural Psychiatry 52.4: 470–484
Final paper due via email Friday, 16 December, 12:00
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