Buddhist Philosophy

Buddhism began in a remote corner of the Indian subcontinent some 2500 years ago, and has over the course of its history spread to nearly every corner of the world. Not only has Buddhism shaped the thought, culture, and consciousness of Asia, however, it has also influenced the West in significant ways. This course is an exploration into the rich history, the doctrines and practices, and the various manifestations of the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism has always been culturally and historically embedded, and therefore we shall approach Buddhism from several different angles - historical, cultural, ritual, philosophical, and artistic - in an attempt to comprehend the religion in all of its diversity. We will begin with an investigation into the social and religious context of 5 ^th century BCE India out of which the Buddha emerged, and then progress to an exploration of Buddhism’s philosophical basis in the early teachings of the Buddha in India, and the various important interpreters of these teachings. We will then turn to an investigation of the early social and religious structure of the Buddhist community, and trace the changes in this community - and the changes in the Buddha’s original formulation of his teachings - as Buddhism spread out from India, to Nepal and Tibet, to Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand, to China and Japan, and eventually to Europe and America.

Course Goals :

1. to acquaint you with the basic history, beliefs and practices of the Buddhist tradition
2. to familiarize you with key Buddhist concepts
3. to help you think critically about the differences between various Buddhist sub-traditions and schools
4. to expose you to some of the key debates and disputes within historical and contemporary Buddhism

Course Objectives :

1. You will gain an understanding of Buddhist history, philosophy, and practices.
2. You will learn about the commonalities and differences between different Buddhist traditions.
3. You will learn about the position of women in different Buddhist traditions.
4. You will be introduced to Buddhist art, be able to identify its key characteristics, and understand how these function within different Buddhist contexts.

Course Requirements :

All assignments must be completed on time.  Turning in anything late will lower your grade on that assignment by 1/3 of a letter grade, and an additional 1/3 for each additional late date. In order to receive a passing grade in this course, you must complete all assignments. Students will be expected to complete all readings before class, and all written assignments must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course.

Grades will be based on: 1. Two 1000-1500 word essays - each of which will count for 35% of the final grade. The first of these is due on 16 October , the second on 21 November ; and 2. Active participation in class discussions and other aspects of the course, which will count 3 0% of the final grade

About Plagiarism : Plagiarism is the use of another person’s distinctive ideas or words without acknowledgment. The incorporation of another person’s work into one’s own requires appropriate identification and acknowledgment, regardless of the means of appropriation. The following are considered to be forms of plagiarism when the source is not noted:

- word-for-word copying of another person’s ideas or word

- the mosaic (the interspersing of one’s own words here and there while, in essence, copying               another’s work

-the paraphrase (the rewriting of another’s work, yet still using their fundamental idea or theory)

- fabrication (inventing or counterfeiting sources

- submission of another’s work as one’s own

- neglecting quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged

I take plagiarism very seriously. If you plagiarize, you will receive a zero on that assignment. You should know that all essays will be checked; software is widely available, including on Canvas, that will allow you to check your own work to be sure you have not unwittingly plagiarized. Please use these tools.

Required Readings :

Jacob N. Kinnard, The Emergence of Buddhism (Fortress)

Thomas Kasulis, Zen Person, Zen Action (Hawaii)

There is also a collection of required readings that are linked to the assignments.

Week One, 12-18 September: Introduction to the Course

Reading :

Week Two, 19-25 September: The Life of the Buddha and the Doctrinal Foundations of the Tradition

Reading : Kinnard, The Emergence of Buddhism , pp. 13-70.

Week Three, 26 September-2 October: Doctrinal Complications and the Life of the Sangha and the Laity

Reading : Kinnard, The Emergence of Buddhism , pp. 71-86; Peter Harvey, “Early Developments in Buddhism,” pp. 73-94.

Week Four, 3-9 October: The Spread of Buddhism

Reading : Kinnard, The Emergence of Buddhism , pp. 87-132; Peter Harvey, “The Later History and Spread of Buddhism,” pp. 139-69.

First Essay Questions Distributed

Week Five, 10-16 (Gathering Days): The Continuing Presence of the Buddha and the Rise of the Mahāyāna

Reading : Kinnard, “The Field of the Buddha’s Presence,” pp. 117-144 ; Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism , pp. 167-83 .

First Essay Due 16 October

Note: Class meets Thursday, 1:00–5:00 p.m., and Friday 8:00 a.m.–Noon

Week Six, 17-23 October: Mahāyāna Doctrine

Reading : Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism , pp. 37-76 , 185-214 , 215-274 .

Week Seven, 24-30 October: Zen 101

Reading : Thomas Kasulis , Zen Action/Zen Person , pp. 3-86.

Video Clip: Zen Mind .

Week Eight, 31 October-6 November: Tantra 101

Reading : John Strong, The Experience of Buddhism , 176-209 ; The Life of Milarepa .

Week Nine, 7-13 November: Buddhism in the Modern World

Reading : Richard Seager, Buddhism in America, 3-50, 201-215, 232-248 .

Second Essay Due 21 November

Discussion Guidelines

Throughout the quarter, we will have several discussions which will compose a large part of our engagement with each other in this online learning space. For these discussions to be meaningful conversation spaces, we all need to take responsibility for consistent and substantial participation. Instead of grading discussions based on number of words posted or on frequency, we will assess discussions based on the degree to which you substantially engage in the conversation each week. Over the course of a conversation, substantial engagement means:

• Extend the conversation - creatively and critically push the conversation forward; do not just regurgitate what has already been said. If 1 or 2 other students have already responded directly to instructor-provided prompts for the week, do not simply write another response to the prompts unless it adds something new to the conversation. You need to extend the conversation by adding an additional or different insight from the course materials, by asking a new question that stems from one of the posts already offered, by offering a related and contextualized example of the issue being discussed from your own experience, or by creatively integrating your own perspective with what has already been posted.
• Ask contextualized questions - situate your questions within the discussion by referencing the course materials and other parts of the conversation thread that inform your inquiry. Give us a little background as to why this question matters to you and how it relates to the course.
• Engage others in the course - thoughtful engagement with other students in the course and with the instructional team.
• Engage the course materials - thoughtful engagement with readings, lectures, student discussions, and any other materials related to the course. Referencing and citing course materials in your posts where appropriate is encouraged.

Each post need not do all of these things, but your overall participation in each conversation should demonstrate all of these components. You might have several short posts and a handful of longer posts in a week or you might have only a few strategic substantial posts. Either way, your overall participation in each conversation will be evaluated for substantial engagement. The goal of this discussion design is to encourage and reward interchange, so post often and engage each other with meaningful questions that open to other questions.

Structure of Discussions

There will be three questions each week; please choose one to be your primary discussion topic. The instructional team will provide hashtags (e.g. #art, #women, #whymatter) for each of these areas of inquiry in the discussions. You will indicate your focus each week by tagging your posts with the provided hashtags somewhere in your post. If you get overwhelmed by the large volume of posting in a week's discussion, you can filter the discussion posts using the discussion search feature with a given hashtag to see only the posts related to that topic or text, read those and add your own posts with the same hashtag to extend the conversation.These hashtagged areas of inquiry offer students a way to self select into smaller pockets of conversation amidst the larger course discussion. So, if you choose to focus on one hashtag in a given discussion, we expect you to follow the conversation stream on that tag and to incorporate these posts into your contributions to the conversation. Please feel free to read and engage beyond the area of inquiry you choose as a focus for a given discussion.

On the first due date each week - Wednesday - post your substantial response.

On the second due date each week - Saturday - post a response to some other discussion thread (on a different question).

You are expected to respond to any responses to your initial post.

Remember that the point of all of this is to create a lively, productive co nversation.