Theravāda Buddhism: Spring 2011 RELIGIOUS STUDIES 312 Professor Todd T. Lewis Religious Studies Department, Smith 425 Office Hours: Thursdays, 4-5:30 PM Office Extension: 793-3436 E-mail: tlewis@holycross.edu Course Description A course that examines the prominent texts, doctrines and practices of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. We will survey the historical development of the tradition in India with attention to major schools of interpretation and practice. Theravāda social philosophy and ethics are examined, as are the distinctive forms of meditation, popular narratives, and the patterns of accommodation with non-buddhist religions. Village Buddhism and new forms of Theravāda tradition in urban contexts will be studied. The final and largest phase of the course in 2011 will focus upon traditions and modernity in Sri Lanka. Course Design I. Four short papers, four pages maximum, to be written on assigned themes. Each will have separate guidelines. 1. Analysis of Milindapañha Dialogues 2. Belief and Practice 3. Analysis of two jâtaka stories 4. Final Paper: Modernity or Open Topic (25% of the evaluation will be based upon the oral summary during the last class; topic to be agreed upon with instructor) II. Final Exam III. Participation Course Grading Four papers [10/10/15/20]..50 Final Exam.. 35 Informed Class Participation.. 15 100 pts
Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 2 Required Textbooks Walpola Rahula. What the Buddha Taught, NY: Publisher Resource, 1978. Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. In the Buddha s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Boston: Wisdom, 2005. Nyanaponika Thera, Great Disciples of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom, 2003. Todd Lewis and Subarna Tuladhar, trans. Sugata Saurabha. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Nyanaponika Thera. The Heart of Buddhist Meditation NY: Weiser, 1984. Richard Gombrich, Theravāda Buddhism: a Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo, 2 nd. Ed. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 2006. Caroline Rhys-Davids, Stories of the Buddha: Being Selections from the Jataka NY: Dover, 1989 Nicola Tannenbaum. Who Can Compete Against the World? Power Protection and Buddhism in Shan World-View. (Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, 1996) Readings on ERE-s [Password: buddha] Recommended Reading Joseph Goldstein, The Path of Insight. Boston: Shambhala Pocket, 1995 TOPIC ONE: INTRODUCTION 1. 1/26: Introduction to the Course: Orientalism and the Study of "the East" Theravāda Buddhism, 1-31 Edward Said, Orientalism. [EREs] 2. 1/31: Film: "Footprint of the Buddha" Theravāda Buddhism, 32-59 Walpola Rahula What the Buddha Taught, xv-xvi TOPIC TWO: LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 3. 2/2: The Life of the Shākyamuni, the Buddha I Sugata Saurabha, Chapters 1-7 In the Buddha s Words, 41-78 2
Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 3 4. 2/7: The Life of the Shākyamuni, the Buddha II Sugata Saurabha Chapters 8-13 Theravāda Buddhism, 60-78 5. 2/9: The Life of the Shākyamuni, the Buddha III Sugata Saurabha, Chapters 14-19 6. 2/14: Early Dhamma I: Analysis What the Buddha Taught, Chapter 4,5,6 In the Buddha s Words, 17-40; 79-104 TOPIC THREE: BASIC DOCTRINES 7. 2/16: Early Dhamma II: Prescriptions for Householders In the Buddha s Words, 105-180 Theravāda Buddhism, 78-86 "Buddhist Texts from a Feminist Perspective" [ERE-s] 8. 2/21: Tripitaka Readings: Path to Liberation In the Buddha s Words, 181-370. 9. 2/23: Monk-King Debate in Gandhara: Student-led Discussion: Issues in the Milindapañha Questions of King Milinda, Books I and II, pgs. 1-100. Case Studies as needed for Paper #1 2/24: Paper #1 Due 3
TOPIC FOUR: THE SANGHA and MONASTICISM Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 4 10. 2/28: Monastic Community: The Early History of the Sangha Theravāda Buddhism, 87-117 Vinaya Passages on Fixed Dwelling, Vassa retreat, Mendicant Ideal [ERE-s] 11. 3/2: Sangha as Refuge: Reading the Vinaya Sanghadisesa and Pakittiya Dhamma Passages [ERE-s] Patimokkha Ceremony in text and in Sri Lanka [ERE-s] Ordination in Sri Lanka 1872 [ERE-s] Spring Break 12. 3/14: The Lives of Early Buddhist Monks Nyanaponika Thera, Great Disciples of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom, 2003. vxxxxi; 1-105 + Assigned Individual Case TOPIC FIVE: ASHOKA and the EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM 13. 3/16: Asoka and the Edicts Nikam and McKeon trans The Edicts of Ashoka [ERE-s] Theravāda Buddhism, 81-86; 118-136 14. 3/21: Asoka as Paradigm: Theravāda Buddhist Statecraft Frank Reynolds, "The Two Wheels of Dhamma" [ERE-s] TOPIC SIX: POPULAR NARRATIVES 4
15. 3/23: Dharma Stories: Jatakas and Avadanas Caroline Rhys-Davids, Stories of the Buddha, 1-30; 159-240 Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 5 16. 3/28: Student-led discussion: Stories and the Popularization of Buddhism Caroline Rhys-Davids, Stories of the Buddha, assigned cases Theravāda Buddhism, 72-81 TOPIC SEVEN: TRADITIONS OF MEDITATION 17. 3/30: Vipassanā Meditation (I): Theory Nyanaponika Thera, The Heart of Buddhist Meditation 7-84; 117-191 In the Buddha s Words, 280-296; 353-391 Noon: Paper II Due 18. 4/4: or EVENING TBA: Vipassanā Meditation (II): Practice The Heart of Buddhist Meditation, 85-116 What the Buddha Taught, Chapter 7 Recommended Reading Joseph Goldstein, The Path of Insight 19. 4/6: NO CLASS TOPIC EIGHT: THERAVADA TRADITIONS in the MODERN ERA 20. 4/11: Buddhism in Sri Lanka: History and Central Practices Theravāda Buddhism, 137-171 and What the Buddha Taught, Chapter 8 Martin Southwold, The Concept of Nirvana in Village Buddhism [ERE-s] 21. 4/13: Modernity in Sri Lanka/Burma: Protestant Buddhism, Buddhist Nationalism, Buddhist-Socialism 5
Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 6 Theravāda Buddhism, 172-197 H.L. Seneviratne, Dharmapala and the Definition of the Monk s Mission [ERES] E. Sarkisyanz, Buddhist Backgrounds Of Burmese Socialism [ERES] 22. 4/18: Sri Lankan Theravāda Practices: Bodhi Pūjā I Theravāda Buddhism, 198-210 Gombrich and Obeyesekere, The Bodhi Puja [ERE-s] 23. 4/20: Sri Lankan Theravāda Practices: Relics and Bodhi Pūjā II Kevin Trainor, When is a Theft Not a Theft? Relic Theft and the Cult of the Buddha s Relics in Sri Lanka, Numen XXXIX, 1992, 1-26. [ERE-s] John Strong, Relics of the Buddha [ERE-s] 24. 4/27: Buddhism & the Spirit World: Sri Lankan Deities, Demons & Healing Theravāda Buddhism, 67-132; 133-162; 163-199 G. Obeyesekere "The Ritual Drama of the Sanni Demons" [ERE-s] Daniel Kent, Onward Buddhist Soldiers: Preaching to the Sri Lankan Army [ERE-s] 25. 5/2: Burma: History of Buddhism; Stupa Studies; Buddhism and the Spirits I Nicola Tannenbaum. Who Can Compete Against the World? Power Protection and Buddhism in Shan World-View. 1-104 26. 5/4: Burma: Buddhism and the Spirits II Nicola Tannenbaum. Who Can Compete Against the World? Power Protection and Buddhism in Shan World-View. 104-224 CASE STUDIES of THERAVĀDA TRADITION 27. 5/9: Students Present Term Papers 6
EXAM PERIOD: Take-Home Final Examination Theravāda Seminar Syllabus, pg. 7 7