Download phl 208: introduction to buddhist traditions

PHL 208: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
PHL 208 –Foundations of Buddhism (4 credits) Professor: Dr. Jim Blumenthal
Spring, 2007
Hovland Hall 102
[email protected]
Office Hours: T/Th 2-3pm
(Office) 737-8597
or by appointment
Class Meeting: T/Th 10:00-11:40
Pre-Requisites: None
Course Description and Instructional Objectives:
This course presents a broad-based survey of the history of Buddhism, Buddhist
ideas, forms of Buddhist practice and the social structures of the cultures and
under which Buddhism operates. We will begin by examining the societal
structure and religious context out of which Buddhism emerged and to which it
responded in India. We will then proceed to look at the life of the historical
Buddha, Shakyamuni, and discuss the Four Nobel Truths, the fundamental
centerpiece of the Buddha’s earliest teachings. From there we will proceed to look
at the formation of Buddhism as an Indian religious tradition which was distinct
from “Hinduism” by investigating the early history of the tradition: the Councils
which formalized the canon of sacred literature, the formation of the Sangha, the
spiritual community of monks and nuns, the early systematization of Buddhist
philosophy, and the development of distinct Buddhist schools.
With some grounding in early Buddhism, we will then begin to examine the
spread of Buddhism in Asia and the West. We will start with the Theravada
Buddhist traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, its history, social structure,
rituals, and forms of practice. Following this we will look at the development of
Mahayana Buddhism. We will begin by investigating the new philosophical
systems that began to develop in India including the Madhyamaka and Yogacara
schools. Then we will look at the shape Mahayana Buddhism has taken in
countries like Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan as Vajrayana Buddhism, and in China,
Korea, Taiwan and Japan as Ch’an/Zen Buddhism. Finally we will conclude the
course with a look at two modern Buddhist developments: the politically active
Engaged Buddhist movement, and the recent development of American Buddhism
and consider some of the unique features of Buddhism as it has spread outside of
Asia and the impact of this new contact on the tradition, particularly in terms of
the impact on the roles of women and institutional hierarchies.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will gain a broad-based knowledge and comprehension of the variety of
Buddhist traditions in their historical and cultural contexts. This knowledge and
comprehension will include an understanding of the fundamentals of Buddhist
philosophical thought, Buddhist history, the forms of practice Buddhists engage in
to express and enhance their experience of the tradition and its goals, the social
structures of Buddhism and the cultures in which they operate. This sort of
comprehension and the ability to analyze and synthesize this knowledge will be
demonstrated in several ways: through class discussions that focus on defining,
interpreting and analyzing ideas and concepts, examinations that measure the
students ability to summarize, explain and dissect ideas, and through writing
assignments which encourage the student to interpret, draw connections between
ideas and sources, compare, and infer new knowledge. Beyond accruing
knowledge about Buddhism itself, it is a goal of this class to learn how to
approach traditions that may be very different from our own with respect. An
effective approach to learning and an important aspect of respecting a tradition
other than our own, is to do our best to understand the tradition on its own terms
and from its own perspective. Students will benefit from attempting to see the
tradition from an insider’s perspective in order to gain perspective on how this
tradition finds meaning for its millions of adherents. Successful ability to
integrate such a phenomenological approach will be evaluated in all assignments.
Reading Materials:
Required Texts:
Gyatso, Tenzin (Dalai Lama XIV). The Path To Enlightenment. Ithaca: Snow Lion
Publications: 1982.
Harvey, Peter. An Introduction To Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Makenzie, Vickie. Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo’s Quest for Enlightenment.
New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1998.
Powers, John. Introduction To Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications,
1995.
Sivaraksa, Sulak. Seeds of Peace: A Buddhist Vision For Renewing Society.
Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992.
Additional Issues:
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Accommodations are collaborative efforts
between students, faculty and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).
Students with accommodations approved through SSD are responsible for
contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first
week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are
eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD
should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098.
PLAGARISM: Plagiarism or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will
be dealt with in strict accordance with OSU regulations.
PERSONAL ISSUES: If you have any personal issues arise during the quarter
which affect your ability to successfully complete the course requirements, please
notify me as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made
whenever possible.
STUDENT CONDUCT WEBSITE:
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/index.htm
Course Requirements:
All written assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the date for
which they are due. They all must be TYPED and STAPLED!
1. Regular preparation, attendance and participation:
I expect you to come to every class. If you miss class, you are responsible for any
changes made to the syllabus or assignments. You can contact me by phone or email to see if you missed important changes to the syllabus.
You are expected to come to class having read the assigned materials for that day
and be prepared to discuss them. The readings and my lectures are meant to be
complimentary to one another. While they will sometimes overlap, often I will
not specifically lecture on the reading materials, though you will be responsible
for them on exams. If you have questions on the readings you should ask either
during class or come see me during my office hours.
On five random class days throughout the term I will begin by asking you to take
out a piece of paper and write for five minutes on the assigned readings for that
day. This can be observations of interesting points in the reading or questions that
you have about the reading. These will make up 10% of your final grade (2 points
each). If you are not in class on the day it is done, you will lose the 2 points. It
cannot be made up unless you have informed me in advance that you will not be in
class that day.
2. Book Review Essays
Each student will do two book review essays: one on Cave in the Snow, and one
on Seeds of Peace. Book review essays should be 5-7 pages each and should
consist of two parts:
a summary of the main ideas and themes of the book, and your own personal
response. These two parts can either be interwoven or you can do the summary
first and the personal response second. The personal response will consist of your
own thoughts and analysis of the ideas discussed in the books. Did you agree or
disagree? Were you inspired or put off? Do not merely respond that you liked or
disliked certain ideas, but explain why. Establish your thinking with solid
reasoning and strong evidence to support your ideas. Book review essays will
each be worth 15% of your final grade.
BOOK REVIEW ESSAYS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE. YOU CAN
TURN THEM IN AT ANY POINT DURING THE TERM BEFORE AND UP
UNTIL THE IN CLASS DUE DATE
3. Examinations:
There will be two examinations, a mid-term and a final exam. Each will count for
30% of your final grade. They will cover the lectures and films shown in class as
well as the assigned readings. Many of the ideas and concepts in this course will
be new to you and I strongly urge you to study together in groups to discuss the
material though this is not a requirement. Students who have done this in past
years have routinely done better on exams. I will hand out a mid-term study guide
a week before the mid-term exam and a final exam study guide a week before the
final.
Grading:
Mid-Term Exam
Final Exam
Review essays
In-class writing
Total
30 %
30 %
(15% each) 30 %
10 %
100%
Course Outline:
Week 1:
4/3 Introduction to the course and the academic study of religions. Slides
Readings:
4/5 The Vedic Religion- The Socio-Religious Context of the historic Buddha
Readings: Harvey 1-31 The life of the historic Buddha
Week 2:
4/10 The Life of the Buddha (cont.), The Four Nobel Truths and the
Fundamentals of the Buddha’s early teachings
Readings: Harvey 32-46, Powers 23-47, 54-69.
4/12 Fundamentals of the Buddha’s early teachings (cont.)
Readings: Harvey 47-72
Buddhism and Society in Ancient India
Readings: Harvey 73-94
Week 3:
4/17 Theravada Buddhism: Film:The Footprints of the Buddha
Readings: Harvey 139-144
Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
Readings: Handout “Buddhism In Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia”
4/19 Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Readings: Harvey 244-256
Week 4:
4/24 The Rise of Mahayana Buddhism in India, The Madhyamaka (Middle
Way) School
Readings: Harvey 89-104, Powers 86-103, Handout “Madhyamaka” from
Mahayana Buddhism by Paul Williams.
4/26 Yogacara (Yogic Practice) School, Tathagatagarbha (Buddha Nature)
School
Readings: Harvey 104-124
Week 5:
5/1 Guest Speaker: Winston McCullough on Nirvana, Shunyata, Karma, and
Samsara
Readings: handout from Paul Williams’ Buddhist Thought “Yogåcåra”
and “The Buddha-nature (tathågatagarbha) in India”
5/3
MID-TERM EXAM in class
Week 6:
5/8
Buddhism In Tibet- Vajrayana Buddhism- Introduction, Tibetan Buddhist
Religious History
Readings: Powers 119-139, 219-251
5/10
Film: The Heart of Tibet: An Intimate Portrait of the 14th Dalai Lama
Readings: Dalai Lama 13-50,
Suggested Reading: Powers 319-400
Week 7:
5/15 Tibetan Buddhism: Kadam School and Geluk School
Readings: Powers 402-430
“Lam Rim (Stages of the Path to Enlightenment)”
Readings: Dalai Lama 50-135
5/17 “Lam Rim (Stages of the Path to Enlightenment)” (cont.)
Readings: Dalai Lama 136-186, Handout “Foundation of Good Qualities”
by Tsong-Khapa
Week 8:
5/22 Buddhism in China: The Development of Ch’an/Zen
Readings: Harvey 144-161, Makenzie pp. 8-40
5/24 Ch’an Buddhism: The Northern and Southern Schools
Readings: Handout, Makenzie pp. 40-95
Chinese Buddhism (Cont.) Pure Land Buddhism, T’ien T’ai
Week 9
5/29 Cave in the Snow Review Paper DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
Buddhism in the West, Women in Buddhism, Cave In The Snow
(Discussion of Cave in the Snow pp. 1-95)
Readings: Cave in the Snow pp. 96-138
5/31 Cave in the Snow
Readings: Cave in the Snow pp. 96-208
Week 10:
6/5 Seeds of Peace Review Paper DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
Engaged Buddhism
Readings: Sivaraksa 1-9, 57-72
6/7
Engaged Buddhism
Readings: Sivaraska 73-116
FINAL EXAM
Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 9:30am in our regular room.