RS 213: Buddhism

Prof. Jason Clower
jclower@csuchico.edu                            Trinity 249  (898-5860)                          Office hours: MW 1-3

Fall 2008         TR 2:00-3:15   Tehama 121
                    TR 3:30-4:45   PAC 210

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What will you get out of this course?

  1. Cross-cultural literacy. We’ll familiarize you with Buddhism and (to some extent) the cultures it lives in. Why is that good?
    1. Happiness:  Buddhists have talked a lot about how to be happy, or at least free of suffering, and many people find some of what they say useful.
    2. Employability: When you’re more knowledgeable about the world, you also grow more witty and urbane and strike others as more interesting. Soon you get invited to cocktail parties and are offered jobs that were closed to you before. Congratulations!
  2. Ability to teach yourself. Will you become an expert? No, not yet. But after this you’ll be able to teach yourself most anything you still want to learn about Buddhism.
  3. A better nose for BS. There’s a lot of bad info and half-truth about Buddhism out there. After this course, you’ll have better critical savvy about what people and information to trust and when.

Your Responsibilities

  1. Come to class, on time and prepared. Please bring the day’s texts.
  2. Be vocal in class.
  3. Be ready for quizzes. We have them very often. (No make-ups, except by prior arrangement.) Work together to prepare. You’ll enjoy yourself more and do better on the quizzes.
  4. Don’t eat in class, please. Drinks are fine, but not food.

Administrative Stuff

Office Hours:  Use them! I am available to you to discuss course material, your progress, and general issues of Buddhism and religion. Talking with students is one of the best things about my job, so don’t hesitate to use these opportunities. 

Coming late: A few minutes into the class, we’ll close the door. If you’re running late and you find the door closed already, please leave it closed.Just head home and re-read the day’s assignments. This isn’t punitive; it’s just too disruptive to have people trickling in. Yes, it’s possible that you’ll miss some in-class exercise and lose out on a few points, but missing a few points won’t ruin you. Opening the door will cause you to be reborn as a chihuahua.
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Late assignments: In fairness to the group, I will mark down late assignments at the rate of 1/3 letter grade per business day.  For instance, a B+ paper that is two days late receives a B-.
Cheating:  I hardly expect this will happen within our elite ranks, plagiarism and cheating are grave violations of the academic integrity policy of the California State University, Chico (posted at http://www.csuchico.edu/prs/EMs/EM04/em04_36.htm). In the Department of Religious Studies, anyone found to have blatantly cheated or plagiarized on an assignment automatically fails the course and is referred to student judicial affairs for disciplinary action.

 

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability pertinent to your class work, let me know and I will help you to arrange the necessary accommodation. All disclosures are confidential but may require medical documentation.

Required Texts: Available in the BMU.

 

Grades
24%     Quizzes, given frequently and without prior announcement.

24%     Class participation, including in-class exercises.

15%     Three short papers, of one to two pages each. Details to follow.
                       
20%     With a classmate, you will give a 20-minute tutorialor a 15-minute presentation. Details to follow. (You will earn half your points as a team and half as individuals.)

11%     Final exam, on Dec. 18.

6%       You will take part in four cultural events related to the course. We will do one together in class. I will give you the second as an assignment to complete whenever you like (2%), and you will choose the remaining two for yourself (2% each). You have a lot of latitude here. It can be a religious service, a meditation or yoga class, a performance, a meal, or anything else that you can make a good case for. For these latter two events, please post 100 words about the event to the course website.

The grade scale looks like this:
A         over 92%                                 C+       74-77%
A-        89-92%                                    C         70-73%
B+       85-88%                                    C-        67-69%
B         81-84%                                    D+       62-66%
B-        78-80%                                    D         55-61%
                                                            F          below 55%

 

Tentative Schedule
Like life itself, this will change. You are responsible for watching Vista for updates.

Aug. 28           The Universe                                                                         57 pages
                        SB 1-9, 19-36; BS 3-18, 34-6
                        Packet: Blofeld (1-5); Keown (6-11)  [ß Please read each day’s reading before class.]

Sept. 2             The Buddha: Marks of a “great man” – Mara – the Four Truths  37 pages
                        SP 37-54
                        Packet: Corless (12-23)

Sept. 4             Last days of the Buddha – Bodies of the Buddha – Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna                                                                                 24 pages
                        SB 54-72
                        Packet: Keown (24-6)

Sept. 9             Bodhisattvas – Other Buddhas and Other Worlds – Buddha Images 
36 pages
                        SB 74-97; BS 159-71

Sept. 11           Dharma, the Buddha’s Word:  Buddhist councils – the canon – Mahāyāna sutras                                                                        14 pages
                        SB 103-17
                        Turn in first response paper.

Sept. 16           How Many Vehicles? – The Power of the Word – Decline of the Dharma 
30 pages
                        SB 117-28; BS 252-61
                        Packet: Corless (27-9)

Sept. 18           Monastic Life: Begging and Property – Regulations – Nuns   23 pages
                        SB 130-44, 157-66

Sept. 23           Ordination – Bodhisattva Vows                                             60 pages
                        SB 145-57      
                        Packet: Welch (30-2), Strong (33-6), Buswell (37-48)

Sept. 25           Life in a Buddhist Monastery                                                 43 pages
                        BS 230-51
                        Packet: Welch (49-67)

Sept. 30           More Daily Life - Death and Funerals – Role of the Book    72 pages
                        SB 167-79, 188-99; BS 416-21
                        Packet: Welch (68-88)

Oct. 2              Lay Practice: The Sangha and the State       38 pages
                        SB 179-88; BS 37-45
                        Packet: Victoria (89-98)
                       
Oct. 7              Pilgrimage                                                       15 pages plus novel
SB 200-4, BS 84-5 (italicized part) and 88-9
                        Packet: Strong (99-101)
                        Start reading Bangkok 8

Oct. 9              Meditation                                                      44 pages plus novel
                        SB 206-13; BS 343-9, 361-9
                        Packet: Prebish & Keown (102-21)
                        Keep reading Bangkok 8

Oct. 14            Thai cops and Snakes                                      rest of novel
                        Turn in paper on Bangkok 8

Oct. 16            Enlightenment:  Buddhism in Tibet – Tantra            38 pages
                        SB 213-30
                        Packet: Powers (122-33)

Oct. 21            Death and Dying                                            35 pages
                        Packet: Powers (134-47), Welch (148-50), Strong (151-8)

Oct. 23            Pure Land Buddhism                                      32 pages
                        SB 230-42; BS, 60-78

Oct. 28            Japan’s “TruePure Land” Buddhism             40 pages
                        BS, 60-78, 522-30, 531-9 (skim this last one)
                        Packet: Dobbins (159-71)

Oct. 30            Chan/Zen                                                        83 pages
                        SB 242-52
Packet: Corless (172-4), Welch (175-96)
E-reserve: Buswell

Nov. 4             Nichiren Buddhism and Sōka Gakkai                        15 pages
                        BS 513-21
                        Packet: Strong (197-200)
                        Begin working on biography

Nov. 6             Buddhism Outside Asia                                 12 pages
                        Packet: Nattier (201-7)
                        Additional article TBA

Nov. 11           off

Nov. 13           Tutorials

Nov. 18           Presentations

Nov. 20           Tutorials

Dec. 9              Presentations

Dec. 11            Review Session
                        **Paper due on biography project.
                       
Dec. 16            Ice Cream á la Buddha

Dec. 18            FINAL EXAM