Mahāyāna Buddhism Fall 2007 Religious Studies 305 Professor Todd T. Lewis Religious Studies Department, Smith 425 Office Hours: Tu/Thurs 11-12:15 and by appointment Course Description: An advanced course examining prominent movements within the modern "Northern School" of Buddhism, with particular attention to early Indic, east Asian, and later Tibetan and Nepalese traditions. Topics include the cosmic Buddha and Bodhisattva doctrines; the Madhyamaka, Cittamātra, and Hua-yen philosophies; the populist Pure Land lineages; and the early esoteric tradition in theory and practice. The course will focus upon influential texts (Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, Lotus Sūtra, Vimālakirtinirdesa Sūtra) and draw upon new translations from recent scholarship. Course Design: This course is designed to be rigorous yet exploratory, conducted in a manner integrating lecture segments with regular discussions in seminar style. The course assignments are designed to provide maximum freedom for each individual to pursue topics of greatest interest. All students are expected to participate actively in the coursework, ask questions, help develop the class' clarity, and make use of office hours. Class topics will supplement the required readings, not replace them. Reading assignments should be completed before the designated class and analyzed carefully. The Journal and term paper must be handed in on time to receive full credit. The latter should be concise, clear, and carefully edited. Separate guidelines for these will be distributed. Please bring the week's appropriate text(s) and class handouts to class. Grading: 1. Journal (35) 2. Research Paper (25) 3. Oral Final Exam (30) 4. Participation (10) 100 points
Mahayana Buddhism Syllabus, page 2 Textbooks: Paul Williams Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. NY: Routledge, 1989. Patrul Rimpoche, Words of My Perfect Teacher. 2 nd ed. Altamira Press, 1998. Joseph Walser, Nāgārjuna In Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture. NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 2005 Arthur F. Wright Buddhism in Chinese History. Palo Alto: Stanford Univ. Press, 1974. Buddhist Texts: Jan Nattier, A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path According to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugrapariprcchā). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa. NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004 Burton Watson, The Vimālakirti Sūtra. NY: Columbia University Press, 2000. Burton Watson, The Lotus Sūtra. NY: Columbia University Press, 1993. Red Pine, The Diamond Sūtra. Counterpoint Press, 2002 Eighteen additional readings posted on ERE-s [Password = rels305] TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS I. Foundations: The Buddha and Buddhism in Antiquity 1. 8/30: Overview of the Course What do we mean by "Religious Tradition?"; Exercising the Anthropological Imagination and Exorcising Ethnocentrisms; Orientalism and the Study of Buddhism Jan Nattier, A Few Good Men. 1-9 Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, xi-xii 2. 9/4: The Life of the Buddha in Context: the Narrative of the Buddha's Life "The Buddha, His Teachings, His Sangha" [ERES] Patrul Rimpoche, Words of My Perfect Teacher, 3-100 Lalitavistara, excerpt [ERES] 3. 9/6: Basic Buddhism; Pre-Schism Doctrine and Practices Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 1-33; 228-231 Patrul Rimpoche, Words of My Perfect Teacher, 101-194 2
Mahayana Buddhism Syllabus, page 3 II. Earliest Philosophical Statements: Prajñāpāramitā Texts and the Madhyamaka School 4. 9/11: Prajñā: Conceptualization and Beyond Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 37-44 Edward Conze, trans. The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Verses, 1 st four chapters [ERES] 5. 9/13: Cutting Through Delusion: the Vajracchedikā Red Pine, trans. The Diamond Sūtra Counterpoint Press, 2002 6. 9/18: Cutting Through Delusion: Open Discussion of the Vajracchedikā Required Assignment: Journal commentary on the Diamond Sūtra 7. 9/20: Formation of the Madhyamaka: the Writings of Nāgārjuna Nagarjuna, Mulamadhymamakakārika Shastra, excerpts [ERES] Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 55-76 8. 9/25: Contextualizing Early Mahāyāna: Nāgārjuna Guest Lecturer: Prof. Joseph Walser, Tufts University Joseph Walser, Nāgārjuna In Context: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Early Indian Culture. NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 2005 III. Historical Interlude: The Tradition s Diaspora to the Himalayas and East Asia 9. 9/27: Triumph of Mahāyāna in Northern Asia : China, Korea. Japan Arthur F. Wright Buddhism in Chinese History. Stanford Univ. Press, 1974. 3
Mahayana Buddhism Syllabus, page 4 10. 10/2: Mahāyāna in Sri Lanka and SE Asia John Holt, Mahāyāna Buddhism in the Anuradhapura Period [ERE-s] Robert Brown, Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, and Buddhist Art in Southeast Asia, [ERE-s] 11. 10/4: Historical Nepal and Tibet Todd Lewis, Nepal [ERE-s] and Ronald Davidson, Tibet [ERE-s] Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 185-203 IV. The Lotus Sūtra: Cosmic Buddha and Celestial Bodhisattva Theory 12. 10/11: Reading the Text; Celestial Bodhisattvas Burton Watson, The Lotus Sūtra. NY: Columbia University Press, 1993. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 215-220; 228-242 13. 10/16: Interpreting the Text: Open Discussion Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 141-166 Required Assignment: Journal commentary on the Lotus Sūtra. V. Further Developments in Mahāyāna Philosophy: Cittamātra and Tathāgatagarbha Doctrines 14. 10/18: Consciousness Only: Theory Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 77-95; 175-179 Treatise in Twenty Stanzas of Representation-Only [ERE-s] Thirty Verses on the Mind-Only Doctrine [ERE-s] 4
Mahayana Buddhism Syllabus, page 5 15. 10/23: Tathāgatagarbha theory and the Hua-Yen School: Teaching of the Universal Immanence of the Buddha-Nature Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 96-138 Golden Lion Sermon [ERES] VI. Developments in Bodhisattva Doctrine: Theories and Practices 16. 10/25: The Inquiry of Ugra Jan Nattier, A Few Good Men... Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005, 207-321. 17. 10/30: Vimalakīrti Burton Watson, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, NY: Columbia University Press, 2000 18. 11/1: Open Discussion of the Vimalakīrti Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 204-141-166 Required Assignment: Journal commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra VII. Mahāyāna for the Masses? Pure Land Buddhism 19. 11/6: Early Texts and Doctrines Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 215-227; 243-264 "The Larger Sukhāvati-vyuha Sūtra" and "The Amitābha Dhyāna Sūtra" [EREs] 20. 11/8: Later East Asian Developments: Hōnen and Shinran Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 264-276 5
VIII. Applications and Extensions: Early Vajrayāna Buddhism 21. 11/13: Development of Mantra and Meditation Practice Todd Lewis, The Refuge of Mantra Recitation [ERE-s] R.O. Meisezahl, trans. The Amoghapashahridaya-dharani [ERE-s] Avalokiteshvara Visualization Meditation [ERE-s] Mahayana Buddhism Syllabus, page 6 22. 11/15: Siddha Tradition and Guru Yoga Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 185-204; 236-238; 247-2 W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004 Patrul Rimpoche, Words of My Perfect Teacher, 309-350 23. 11/20: Avalokiteshvara in Nepal Film: On the Road with the Red God 24. 11/27: Rituals of Mahayana Buddhism: The Case of Nepal William Stablein, A Descriptive Analysis of the Content of Nepalese Buddhist Pūjās... [ERE-s] Todd Lewis, "The Nepāl Jana Jîvan Kriyā Paddhati, a Modern Newar Guide for Vajrayāna Life-Cycle Rites," [ERES] 25. 11/29: Individual Consultations on the Term Papers 26: LAST CLASS is a Plenary Session, 12/4 or TBA. Students present term papers Exam Period: ORAL FINAL EXAMINATION & Final Journal Due 6