Religion 315 Ethics and Action in the Buddhist Cosmos

Transcription

1 Religion 315 Ethics and Action in the Buddhist Cosmos There where the pretas, by the power of the retribution of their actions, see a river full of pus, the animals fish, and the like see a drink, a home, and they settle down in it. People see delicious, pure and clear water; they use it to wash, to quench their thirst and to bathe in it. As for the gods in the sphere of the infinity of space, they see only space there, for they have no physical sensations. Asvabhāva s commentary to the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, quoted in Sonam Kachru, Minds and Worlds: A Philosophical Commentary on the Twenty Verses of Vasubandhu I can only answer the question What am I to do? if I can answer the prior question Of what story or stories do I find myself a part? Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory This is a course about how Buddhists past and present have addressed the question What am I to do? The answers to the question may surprise you. We often think of the Buddhist tradition as fundamentally oriented around the institution of the saṅgha: a community of celibate monastics and their lay devotees. Monks and nuns cultivate themselves with the aim of attaining awakening (bodhi), and in their final body passing into final cessation (parinirvāṇa) and exiting altogether from the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra). This path is marked by celibacy; moderation in diet and other forms of consumption; and ascetic, scholastic, or meditative practices. But the popular vision of the secluded, meditating monk obscures a much richer variety of experiences and lifeworlds in the Buddhist traditions. The answer to the question What am I to do? depends, in fact, on what kind of creature I am, what kind of world I inhabit, and what sorts of other creatures inhabit that world with me. And Buddhists contemplated a far greater range of desirable outcomes than simply nirvāṇa. The result of my good deeds may land me in a wealthier family, a healthier and higher-status body, or perhaps in a heaven (devaloka), where I may enjoy refined sensory pleasures for thousands of years. To answer the question What am I to do? requires not just a commitment to certain axioms (Are you a Kantian? A utilitarian? A virtue ethicist?) First we must inhabit a body. And our bodies exist in a shared lifeworld, shaped by environment, by language, by culture, and by the presences around us animals, tree spirits, magical serpents, hungry ghosts, gods and demons. In short, we cannot understand Buddhist visions of the good without first understanding the connection between cosmology and moral anthropology. There is a vast range of felicities made possible by the many lifeworlds of the Buddhist traditions. Let s explore them together in this seminar! Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 1 of 7

2 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. These will be thoughtful reflections on the reading. These are NOT simply book reports or descriptive rehashes of the readings. Your reflections should have a key insight or argument that brings your analytical skills to bear on the material. 1 2 short oral presentations on the course readings. You will give a brief summary of the reading to kick off a day in class, and you will orient our discussion with 3-5 key questions for our communal reflection. The number of oral presentations you give will depend, ultimately, on course enrollment, but will not exceed two per person. A 1-3 page proposal for the final paper. The proposal should contain a brief summary of the paper s topic along with an annotated bibliography of sources you have consulted and plan to consult. While the proposal may include sources we covered in class, it must also demonstrate considerable outside research using the resources of Wesleyan s library. A rough draft of the final paper, pages in length, exploring some aspect of the course material. 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. A final substantive paper, pages in length, incorporating feedback given on the rough draft. Grades Attendance and participation: 30% Final paper proposal: 5% Critical reflection papers: 25% Final paper draft: 10% Oral presentations: 5% Final paper: 25% 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 , via the course website, and in an announcement in class. Pay close attention to the course website for updates and announcements! Decorum: Texting, cell phone conversations, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tinder, &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 Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 2 of 7

3 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 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: Falling behind in writing assignments 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 Brown, Sid. The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even against the Wind. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, Collins, Steven. Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Crosby, Kate, and Andrew Skilton, trans. The Bodhicaryāvatāra. The World s Classics. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, Gómez, Luis O. Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras. Studies in the Buddhist Traditions. Honolulu, Hawai i: University of Hawai i Press, McDaniel, Justin Thomas. The Lovelorn Ghost and the Magical Monk: Practicing Buddhism in Modern Thailand. New York: Columbia University Press, Course Outline I. Our situation M 30 January: Introductions Setting in motion the wheel of the dhamma (Dhammacakkappavattanasutta). In The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, Boston: Wisdom Publications, Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 3 of 7

4 Hallisey, Charles. The Surprise of Scripture s Advice. In Religious Identity and the Problem of Historical Foundation: The Foundational Character of Authoritative Sources in the History of Christianity and Judaism, edited by Judith Frishman, Willemien Otten, and Gerard Rouwhorst, Jewish and Christian Perspectives Series 8. Leiden / Boston: Brill, W 1 February: Foundations Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Read ch. 1: The shared foundations of Buddhist ethics, pp M 6 February: A cosmogonic exercise Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Read chapter 5, The Buddhist Cosmos: The Thrice-Thousandfold World, pp La Vallée Poussin, Louis de. Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam. Translated by Leo M. Pruden. 4 vols. Berkeley, California: Asian Humanities Press, Collectively, we will read many interesting passages from ch. 3, The World (2: ). Individually, you will be responsible for a small portion of this chapter. W 8 February: NO CLASS! [RRO out of town to give an invited lecture] Please watch the video series A Buddhist Cosmology in Food, by Rita Langer. II. Much ado about nirvāṇa M 13 February: Collins Nirvāṇa I Read Collins, Introduction & chs. 1 2, pp W 15 February: Collins Nirvāṇa II Read Collins, ch. 3, pp M 20 February: Collins Nirvāṇa III Read Collins, ch. 4, pp W 22 February: Collins Nirvāṇa IV Read Collins, ch. 5 & Conclusion, pp Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 4 of 7

5 III. Narrative explorations I: Merchants, ghosts, and monks M 27 February: Divyāvadāna Critical reflection #1 due at beginning of class Rotman, Andy. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna. Classics in Indian Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, Read The Story of Koṭikarṇa, pp IV. Becoming a Buddhist superhero: the path of the bodhisattva W 1 March: Śāntideva s Bodhicaryāvatāra I Read Crosby & Skilton, chs. 1 5, pp M 6 March: Śāntideva s Bodhicaryāvatāra II Read Crosby & Skilton, chs. 6 8, pp W 8 March: Śāntideva s Bodhicaryāvatāra III Final paper proposal due at beginning of class Read Crosby & Skilton, chs. 9 10, pp V. Narrative explorations II: Death, ghosts, and family in Chinese Buddhism M 27 March: Feeding the hungry ghosts Teiser, Stephen Frederick. The Ghost Festival in Medieval China. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Read ch. 1, Introduction, pp. 3 25; ch. 6, The Cosmology of the Ghost Festival, pp W 29 March: The tale of Mulian Mair, Victor Henry. Tun-Huang Popular Narratives. Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature, and Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Read ch. 2, Transformation Text on Mahāmaudgalyāyana Rescuing His Mother from the Underworld, pp VI. Journeys to the Land of Bliss M 3 April: The Land of Bliss I Read Gómez, The Land of Bliss, pp Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 5 of 7

6 W 5 April: The Land of Bliss II Read Gómez, The Land of Bliss, pp M 10 April: Film: To the Land of Bliss Bowring, Richard John. The Religious Traditions of Japan, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Read ch. 9, The rise of devotionalism, pp ; ch. 11.1, Hōnen, pp ; ch. 11.3, Shinran, pp W 12 April: Tannishō Critical reflection #2 due at beginning of class Bandō Shōjun 坂東性純, and Harold Stewart, trans. Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith. BDK English Tripiṭaka. Berkeley, California: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Read Tannishō, pp VII. Buddhism in Thailand I: Ghosts, magic, and material culture M 17 April: McDaniel s Lovelorn ghost I Read McDaniel Introduction & ch. 1, pp W 19 April: McDaniel s Lovelorn ghost II Read McDaniel ch. 2, pp M 24 April: McDaniel s Lovelorn ghost III Read McDaniel ch. 3, pp W 26 April: McDaniel s Lovelorn ghost IV Read McDaniel ch. 4 & Conclusion, pp VIII. Buddhism in Thailand II: A Buddhist life M 1 May: Brown s Journey of One Buddhist Nun I Final paper rough draft due at beginning of class Read Brown, Introduction & chs. 1 4, pp M 3 May: Brown s Journey of One Buddhist Nun II Read Brown, chs. 5 10, pp Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 6 of 7

7 M 8 May: Brown s Journey of One Buddhist Nun III Read Brown, chs , pp IX. The worlds we make W 10 May: Concluding thoughts Critical reflection #3 due at beginning of class Come prepared to discuss your final paper project! Final paper due via by 5 PM on Friday, 19 May Version 1.1 (25 January 2017) Page 7 of 7