KING S COLLEGE LONDON DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

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1 KING S COLLEGE LONDON DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES 1. Basic Information Module Level: 4 Credit Value: Lecturer: ACADEMIC YEAR MODULE SYLLABUS 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism updated January credits Prof. Kate Crosby, Henrietta.Crosby@kcl.ac.uk Lectures also from: Dr Andrew Skilton, Andrew.Skilton@kcl.ac.uk Dr Pyi Phyo Kyaw, Pyi.Kyaw@kcl.ac.uk For the trip Ven. Upananda Thera Upananda.Dedunupitiye@kcl.ac.uk and Ven Kuan Guang will also accompany you. Office hours: Term 2 Thurs and Fri Please note I am not available on 18 and 19 Feb due to a conference. Office: VWB3.03 Semester: 2 Days, Times and Rooms: Please note: the lecturer is also available immediately after the lecture outside the lecture room for brief enquiries every week. Lecture: 9am Thursdays Strand K-1.14 : Group 1: K2.41 Group 2: K2.41 Group 3: S-3.29 You ll notice a different time given for 31 March on your timetable, but that s the day of our temple trip in the morning, so it doesn t apply. Please let me know if there is any problem for you with attending the trip (see below) Dates: Teaching begins: 21 January 2016 (first class) 28 January 4 February 11 February 18 February Reading Week: End of term: week?!) 25 February (no class) 3 March 10 March 17 March 24 March 31 March (final class trip. Easter 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 1

2 Revision class 9am 5 May same room Note: No lecture or office hours in Reading Week. Coursework essay due BEFORE 4pm Thur 18 Feb AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 2

3 2. Outline of Module Educational Aims, Learning Outcomes and Content (a) Educational aims of the module To give undergraduates the opportunity to understand and examine the fundamental principles of Buddhism in terms of religious doctrines and practices. To give candidates an overview of historical and geographical dimensions of Buddhist tradition. To introduce the normative life styles and choices negotiated by Buddhists in Buddhist cultures. To introduce students to a selection of Buddhist literature, as an important access point to historical and contemporary Buddhist culture. Upon completing this module successfully, students are expected to have gained an overview of Buddhist religion in history and in the contemporary world, and to have acquired tools to help them understand Buddhist communities that they might meet. (b) Learning outcomes of the module Generic skills To engage competently with primary and secondary sources. To present ideas in both written and oral form to deadlines. To appreciate non-western cultures and worldviews. Course specific skills To develop an overview of various strands of Buddhist tradition in historical context and contemporary representation. To recognise the main principles and characteristics of Buddhist religion and appreciate how these shed light on assumptions about religion derived from the Abrahamic tradition. To gain an orientation in relation to the variety of Buddhist religious forms, and perceive commonalities across this diversity. (c) Content: description and teaching plan This module is an introduction to Buddhism. It focuses on the exploration of the 3 Jewels of Buddhism, i.e. the Buddha (its founder and inspirational icon), the Dharma (his teachings, including doctrinal developments in subsequent centuries and systems of practice) and the Sangha (the communities of those who identify themselves in different ways as Buddhists ). It will look at how Buddhists perceived the world and deities in the pre-modern period, and how they analysed human experience as a background to religious practice. It will examine core religious practices and look at the major historical developments of institutional Buddhism in India, and at how Buddhism has spread across Asia, producing distinctive expressions in different countries, and to the West in the 20 th century. Teaching sessions will be divided between a weekly lecture and one seminar or period of discussion, the latter based either on very short student contributions, or designated reading(s). Students must each expect to make two-three short presentations (around 4 minutes each, 8 minutes in relation to museum object) in the seminars over the semester. Preparation will not be onerous. 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 3

4 You are asked to prepare for lectures by reading at least one of the designated readings for the lecture (readings will be indicated on KEATS). For seminars you will be expected to read any designated materials supplied on KEATS and then participate in the discussion. (d) Module Plan: Lecture and Topics Jan Lecture Introduction: the early Buddhist context and doctrines Jataka/news: students to prepare brief summary of jataka/news items/a closer look at rebirth/ reincarnation The Life of the Buddha, pilgrimage, the nature of the 28 Jan Lecture Buddha, his perfections Other figures Jataka/news: students to prepare brief summary of jataka/news items/a closer look at tulku and the Dalai Lama 4 Feb Lecture A survey of Buddhist literature, especially the tipitaka or canon British Museum art: students to prepare to present on artefact Meet in room 33A in the British Museum, near the Burmese Buddha at the entrance to that room. 11 Feb Lecture Ethics, Karma, Rebirth and the self 4 British Museum art: students to prepare to present on artefact Meet in room 33A in the British Museum, near the Burmese Buddha at the entrance to that room Feb Lecture Meditation Essay is due before 4pm today Meditation PPK PPK 6 7 Reading Week 3 March The Sangha: monks in Buddhism 10 March Lecture Children joining the Sangha students to prepare to present on life-stories of novices Attitudes to women and the feminine in Buddhism Nuns in Buddhism 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 4

5 17 March Lecture Philosophical developments in India AS 8 Buddhism and authority: pramāṇas measures of knowledge AS March Lecture 31 March Trip This is Easter Week Vehicles and Tantra AS Validity and 'transformative knowledge the Chariot AS and levels of understanding Temple Trip with talks with Upananda Thera (All Thursday morning lectures and seminars combined) Ven. Upananda will talk about the temple Kate Crosby will talk on: Cosmology and Gods and Different Kinds of Atheism Get to Turnham Green Tube station on District Line by 9.15 to arrive at the temple by 9.30am. st+vihara/@ , ,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s 0x48760e6dafda372b:0x9e47ca235685f60b!2m2!1d !2d /DU Trip Temple Trip with talks (see previous) /DU Note on Readings: For readings and additional sources, see Section 6. You will find recommended and additional readings for each week on KEATS. 3. Summative Assessment (Study Abroad Students should see Section 4 below) (a) Nature of assessment There are two compulsory elements of summative assessment: 1 x 2500-word coursework essay, the title to be chosen from the list provided at the end of this module syllabus (worth 40% of the overall module mark). Do not formulate your own essay title. 1 x 2-hour unseen written examination, in which two questions must be answered from a choice of eight (worth 60% of the overall module mark). (b) Essay deadline, revision class and examination period 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 5

6 The deadline for the submission of the coursework essay is before 4pm Thursday 18 th February Feedback will be available on KEATS no later than Thursday 17 March Feedback tutorials will be offered in Semester 2 in order to provide guidance on improving your work. Revision class: A one-hour revision class will be held on Thursday 5 th May :00-10:00 in Strand G.01 Norfolk Building. The examination will take place in Period 2 (May June 2016). (c) Scope of assessment Coursework essay questions generally relate to some of the topics covered in the first half of the module. Exam questions normally deal with most of the remaining topics, but great care is taken to ensure that no overlap exists between the two sets of questions. Some exam questions may be formulated in such a way as to encourage analysis, in the same answer, of topics that were investigated over different weeks. (d) For what are the examiners looking? In both assessed coursework essay and examination answers, successful students will need to demonstrate both an understanding of the material and a capacity to develop a well-reasoned argument that is convincingly supported by reference to suitable evidence and is presented in a structured manner using clear English. Make sure that you consult the Undergraduate Marking Criteria. Poor English (e.g. grammar, punctuation and spelling) will lead to loss of marks. Inadequate scholarly presentation of the assessed coursework essay (e.g. over the styles of footnotes/endnotes and bibliography) will similarly be penalized. Discussion of the best approaches to meeting these requirements forms part of the teaching programme in the module. (e) Essential information: How do I submit my essay? The Faculty of Arts & Humanities cover-sheet needs to be the first page of the submitted essays; please follow this link: The candidate number (e.g. W01234) on the cover-sheet needs to be accurate and of the present academic year. Your work cannot be attributed to you on the College systems, if this information is incomplete or wrong. The word limit includes all footnotes/endnotes, but excludes the bibliography, which you should provide. There is a 5% tolerance: no penalty will be incurred for essays that are up to 5% over the word limit. Beyond that tolerance band, two marks will be deducted for every 5% of excess words until 50% is reached. After 50%, three marks 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 6

7 will normally be deducted for each further 5% of excess words. The MHRA/Harvard reference style has been adopted for this module. Please find the Quick Guide to Reference Styles in TRS in the TRS Handbook online. The presentation of your work, including the insertion of page numbers, quality of referencing and bibliographical information and the standard of English, has a strong bearing on the mark given for it. Submission BEFORE 4pm: Your work must be submitted via the assessment submission section of the KEATS area for the module, by the published deadline, i.e. before 4pm on the relevant day. Work with a TurnitIn time stamp of 4.00pm counts as a late submission (see next point). Late submissions will be treated as follows: Unless an extension has been granted by the Chair of the UG Programme Board of Examiners on the basis of a Mitigating Circumstances Form (MCF), supplied with supporting evidence, or comes to be granted retrospectively: - Work submitted within 24 hours after the original deadline will be marked, but the mark for this element will be capped at the pass mark of 40%. - Work submitted more than 24 hours after the original deadline will not be marked, and the submission will receive a mark of zero. Mitigating Circumstances Forms: MCFs can be downloaded from the Policy Zone of the College website. Extensions retrospectively: An extension may be granted retrospectively, providing the MCF with supporting documentation is submitted no later than 7 days after the missed assessment and supporting documentation has been received no later than 21 days after the missed assessment. Please note that extensions are granted by the TRS Assessment Board Chair and NOT by individual module tutors. Plagiarism: Please make sure that you understand the College rules on plagiarism. Information is available at: and you should also have been enrolled on a KEATS plagiarism module. Oral presentations and plagiarism: The College s rules on plagiarism apply to oral presentations, handouts and Powerpoint presentations just as they do to written work submitted for assessment. You must acknowledge any and all sources used in presentations and accompanying material, and must present all material in your own words except for explicitly acknowledged quotations from others. Collusion also counts as misconduct. Think twice before circulating your work to other students. Marking: Your essays for this module will be assessed according to Model 3: Essays: First and second markers will apply the Faculty s Undergraduate Marking Criteria: 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 7

8 Classroom presentation and participation are assessed in line with these Marking Criteria: 4. Summative Assessment (Study Abroad Students Only) If you plan to be at King s College London for the whole academic year, then you follow the same assessment regime as ordinary undergraduates: see Section 3 above. This means that you must make yourself available for an examination that may be timetabled as late as the first week in June; bear that in mind when booking your return flight. NB: Revision class: A one-hour revision class will be held on Thursday 5 th May :00-10:00 in Strand G.01 Norfolk Building. 6. Coursework essay questions Choose ONE question from the following. 1. Discuss the function of jataka narratives, illustrating your discussion with reference to specific jatakas or specific forms of performance. You are expected to include discussion of Buddhist doctrine, jataka content, and Jataka use including art and performance. We will begin this discussion in the seminars, but you will then need to read (and possibly watch) more on the use of jatakas. 2. Analyse a Buddhist artefact from the British Museum (or other public collection in Britain). Agree the artefact with the lecturer so that you can make sure you have enough access to reading for your essay to be possible. This would normally be based on the artefact you present on in seminar time, but you may chose a different one. You are expected to briefly describe the object (please do include a picture if you can), then analyse it in terms of its traditional function, the Buddhism of its origins, its iconography if appropriate, its acquisition circumstances if appropriate. Please note: museum items have unique acquisition numbers. You can follow up the object history on the British Museum website and in the British Museum study room. The amount of information available for any given item is variable. 3. Explore the significance of the life story of the Buddha. You are expected to explore how the Buddha s life story represents key doctrines and beliefs, how it informed art and pilgrimage, how changes in it reflect developments in Buddhism. Show historical awareness: what sources do we use for the Buddha s lifetime? Is there a full biography from the time he lived? WARNING: Do not simply provide an account of the Buddha s life. This will be too descriptive so your marks would be at the lower end of the spectrum. 4. Analyse recent comments of the Dalai Lama concerning his reincarnation plans reported in the news this past year. 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 8

9 You are expected to contextualise these news stories primarily with Buddhist understandings of saṃsāra and rebirth both generally and within the Tibetan tradition and secondarily in the context of the current situation of Tibet in relation to China. A bibliography will be provided on Keats, and the subject will be discussed in one of the seminars. 7. Bibliography Recommended course books: Boisselier, Jean (1994), The Wisdom of the Buddha, Thames and Hudson, London. **Gethin, Rupert The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press **Harvey, Peter (1990), An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (Second edition 2012) *Keown, Damien (1996), A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. *Skilton, Andrew A Concise History of Buddhism. Glasgow: Windhorse Publications ** indicates that these books are regularly cited for reading on most lecture topics and are the most useful for you to buy. * indicates that these books are occasionally cited for reading and may also be useful to buy. (All these books are easily available from Amazon.) Reference books: Buswell, Robert E. Jr., ed., Encyclopedia of Buddhism, New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003 Jones, Lindsay, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion, Detroit, Mich,; London : Macmillan Reference USA, 2005 General introductory books: Bechert, Heinz & Richard Gombrich, eds. (1984). The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture, Thames & Hudson, London. Boisselier, Jean (1994). The Wisdom of the Buddha, Thames and Hudson, London. Gethin, Rupert (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Harvey, Peter (1990). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Keown, Damien (1996). A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Lopez, Donald S. ed. Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, Lopez, Donald S. (ed.), Buddhist Scriptures, Penguin Classics, Penguin Books, London 2004 Skilton, Andrew A Concise History of Buddhism. Glasgow: Windhorse Publications Paul Williams with Anthony Tribe, Buddhist Thought A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, Routledge General Bibliography. Carrithers, Michael (1983), The Buddha, Oxford University Press, Oxford. An easy to read introduction. 4AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 9

10 Coleman, Simon & John Elsner (1995), Pilgrimage Past and Present sacred travel and sacred space in the world religions, British Museum Press, London, Ch.7. Conze, Edward (1964), Buddhist Texts Through the Ages, New York. Recently reprinted by Oneworld, Oxford. Corless, Roger J. (1989), The Vision of Buddhism, Paragon House, St. Paul. Cowell, E.B. et al. The Jātaka or Stories of the Buddha s Former Births, 3 vols, London. N.B. This is one of two books to use for the jātaka tellings. You can access it online see Keats week 1 Gombrich, Richard (1988), Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Benares to Modern Colombo, Routledge, London. Chs.1-4 form an easy to read introduction. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), A History of Buddhist Philosophy, Continuities and Discontinuities, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. Lewis, Todd (2000), Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and Rituals of Newar Buddhism, SUNY, Albany. Lopez, Donald S (2001). Buddhism: An Introduction and Guide, Penguin Books, London. Pannapadipo, Phra Peter (2001). Little Angels. The real-life stories of twelve Thai novice monks. Bangkok: Post Books. Powers, John (2000). A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Oneworld, Oxford. Rahula, Walpola (1959). What the Buddha Taught, reprint Oneworld, Oxford An easy to read introduction. Reat, Noble Ross (1995). Buddhism A History, Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley. Reynolds, Frank E. and Jason A.Carbine (2000). The Life of Buddhism, University of California Press, Berkeley. Saddhatissa, Hammalawa (1987), Buddhist Ethics, The Path to Nirvana, Wisdom Publications, London. Sasson, Vanessa R. (2012). Little Buddhas: Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and Traditions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Shaw, Sarah. (2006). The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta. New Delhi and New York: Penguin. This is one of two books to use for the jātaka tellings. Strong, John S. (1994), The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations, Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont. Strong, John S. (2001). The Buddha: A Short Biography. Oneworld Publications, Oxford. Film Verkerk, Mark (2006). Buddha s Lost Children. EMS Films. Kawanami, Hiroko. (director). (1996). Keepers of the Faith: Nuns of the Sagaing Hills. London: Royal Anthropological Institute. Order No. RAI AAT1901 Introduction to Buddhism 10