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Buddhism--revised syllabus
(Above: The wheel of Dharma)
Instructor: Michael E. Zimmerman, 303-492-1931, [email protected]: Macky 201
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1-2:30 or by appointmentWebsite: http://www.colorado.edu/ArtsSciences/CHA/profiles/zimmerman.html
Course Objectives: In this course, students will acquire an understanding of major conceptual features of two major phases of Buddhism: early Buddhism (sometimes called Hinayana) and Mahayana.
Course Requirements: Students are required to attend all and to be on time for all class sessions, including meditation sessions. More than three unexcused absences will lead to a lower grade and possibly to removal from the course with a failing grade. Regular attendance is part of the practice involved in studying the topic of the class. Students are also required to read assignments prior to the class meeting during which they are to be discussed, to take part in class discussion, to take a mid-term and a final exam, and to write a 3000-word, experience based term paper. Perimeters of the term paper are described at the end of this syllabus. Other written assignments are possible.
University Policies:1) If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and http://www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices
2) Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to reasonably and fairly deal with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, students will meet with the instructor to determine when any missed work is to be made up. See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
3) Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See polices at: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.htmlhttp://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code
4) The University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships apply to all students, staff and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127, or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh
(5) All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council ([email protected]; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html, and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
Texts:Paul Williams, Buddhist Thought (Abbreviation = BT)Peter Della Santini, The Tree of Enlightenment (TE)
Web: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~dsantina/tree/PDF: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/tree-enlightenment.pdf
Mark Epstein, Thoughts Without a Thinker (TWT)Jay Garfield, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (FWMW_Dhammapada (DP)http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.htmlVarious files in PDF format, available through Norlin Library at:
http://libraries.colorado.edu/search/p?SEARCH=ZIMMERMAN&ReserveType=http%3A
On-line resources for Buddhism:
BuddhaNet, the most comprehensive website on Buddhism. Includes extensive eBook collection. http://www.buddhanet.net/
Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library Another remarkable source for texts, articles, discussions, links. http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Buddhism.html
BuddhaSasana, by Binh Anson, http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebidx.htmAn incredible treasure trove of texts on Buddhism
Religious Studies Web Guides, by Saundra Lipton, http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~lipton/texts.htmlIncludes references to major on-line collections of Buddhist texts
Resources for the Study of Buddhism, by Ron Epsteinhttp://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Buddhism.htmThe Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas∫, Major Mahayana Sutras with commentaries, http://cttbusa.org/sutraswithcommentaries.asp
Buddha Dhamma--The Philosophy of Buddhism http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/buddhist_philosophy.aspBuddhism, Philosophy and Ideashttp://www.geocities.com/lesliebarclay/philbuddha.html
The Dhamma Encyclopedia, outstanding resourcehttp://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
Syllabus:Introduction
August 25: Discussion of objectives, ground rules, awareness/focusing practice.
Approaching Buddhism
August 27:“Is [Buddhism] a Religion?” From Buddhism in a Nutshell, by Narada Thera
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http://www.buddhanet.net/nutshell03.htmBT, 1-21TL, chapters one and two“Buddhist Philosophy” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy
Links to sites on mindfulness/insight meditation:Center for Contemplative Mind in Societyhttp://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/subnav/meditation.htmInsight Meditation On Linehttp://www.buddhanet.net/insight.htmU Pandita mindfulness instructions:http://www.lotusinthedesert.org/meditation_instructions.html
September 1: Life of BuddhaBT, 21-40TE, chapter threeGuatama Buddha, Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha“A sketch of the Buddha’s Life,” Texts from the Pali Canon, first six entrieshttp://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/buddha.html
Basic Doctrines of Buddhism
September 3: Four Noble TruthsBT, 41-95TE, chapter four
September 8: Morality, Mental Development, Wisdom, and KarmaBT, 41-95TE, chapters five, six, seven, eightEdward Conze, “The Cultivation of the Social Emotions” (pdf)
September 10: No-Self, Five Aggregates, Three Universal MarksBT, 41-95TE, chapters eleven and twelve“Annata” (anatman, no-self) down to “Anatta in the Tathagatagarbha Sutras”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatta
September 15: Dependent Origination, Rebirth, NirvanaBT, 41-95TE, chapters nine and ten“pratityasamutpada” (dependent origination): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratītyasamutpāda“Nirvana,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana
Check out this vast set of lists of conceptual and practical Buddhist categories:http://dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Category:Buddha%27s_Lists
Buddhism and Psychotherapy
September 17: Wheel of Life, First Noble TruthTWT, 1-56For images of the Wheel of Life, type in “Buddhist wheel of life” at GoogleBackground reading on Freud’s psychoanalysis and metapsychology:Definition of Freud’s idea of “Metapsychology”http://www.answers.com/topic/metapsychology Sigmund Freud
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_FreudTimothy R. Quigley’s brief overview of psychoanalytic theoryhttp://homepage.newschool.edu/~quigleyt/vcs/psychoanalysis-intro.pdf
September 22: Second, Third, and Fourth Noble TruthTWT, 59-102
September 24: MeditationTWT, 105-161
September 29: TherapyTWT, 163-222
October 1: Therapy
Buddhism and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind
October 6:
Marcia Barinaga, “Studying the Well-Trained Mind”http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5642/44Brendan D. Kelly, “Buddhist Psychology, Psychotherapy, and the Brain: A Critical Introduction”http://tps.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/45/1/5
Recommended (not required) reading: Christine A. Skarda, “The Perceptual Form of Life”http://www.heumanwrites.com/christineskarda/pdf/The_Perceptual_Form_of_Life%20JCS.pdf
October 8:Owen Flanagan, “The Bodhisattva’s Brain” (PDF available through library link)Daniel J. Goleman, “Destructive Emotions” (PDF available through library link)
October 13: EXAM
Mahayana Buddhism
October 15: Origins and Character of Mahayana Buddhism; How it Differs from Earlier BuddhismBT, 96-130TE, chapter fourteen
I. Madhyamaka (“Middle Way” School of Buddhism)
October 20: Issues in MadhyamakaBT, 131-152TE, chapters fifteen, sixteen, and eighteen
October 22: FWMW, 87-102FWMW, 103-123, “Examination of Conditions” Garfield, “Dependent Arising and the Emptiness of Emptiness” (PDF file)
October 27: FWMW, 124-158, “Examination of Motion, the Senses, the Aggregates, the Elements, Desire and the Desirous”
October 29: No class. Instructor attending professional meeting.
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November 3:
FWMW, 159-182, “Examination of the Conditioned, the Agent and Action”FWMW, 293-334, “Examination of the Four Noble Truths, Nirvanan”
November 5:Philosophical reflections on no-self doctrinePerrett, “Personal Identity, Minimalism, and Madhyamaka” (pdf)David Loy, “Trying to Become Real” http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/loy9.htm
II. Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism
November 10: Basic Issues in YogacaraBT, 152-166Three Turnings of the Wheel of DharmaTE, chapter nineteen
November 12:“Yogacara,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YogacaraLankavatara Sutra, 1-23TE, chapter seventeen Garfield, “Vasubandhu’s Treatise on the Three Natures” (pdf)
November 17: Store consciousness (alaya-vijnana), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Store_consciousnessWalpola Rahula on alaya-vijnana, http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha195.htmRichard King, “Early Yogacara and its Relationship with the Madhyamaka School,” Philosophy East and West, October 1994, Vol. 44, Issue 4.
FullText version: http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/king.htmPhilosophy East and West version:Go to http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/research/ejournalfinder.htmType in Philosophy East and West in search box. This will take you to a list of possible sources for the
journal. Choose MasterFILE Elite, and look up the article by volume and number.
November 19:Tathatagatagarba and alaya-vijnana“Buddha-nature,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha-natureTathagartagarbhahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tathagatagarbha_doctrineSelections from Lankavatara sutra (Word file at my website)
Fall/Thanksgiving VacationNovember 24 and 26
December 1:Tathatagatagarba and alaya-vijnana in comparison with Hegel’s thoughtConcluding chapter of Brown, The Buddha Nagture: A Study of the Tathagatagarbha and Alayavijnana (pdf)
December 3:
Buddha, Bodies of the Buddha, and BodhisattvasBT, 167-191Three Bodies (trikaya)
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Dharmakayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmakaya
` Trikayahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trikaya
TERM PAPERS DUE, DECEMBER 8
December 8: Summary and review
December 10: Summary and review
FINAL EXAM
December 16 1:30-4:00 pm
Experiential Term Paper
Base your essays on your own experience, as informed by our readings and class discussions. Essays due on Thursday, December 8, by 4 pm.
Choose one of the following two topics. Paper should be about 3000 words long.
I. On Suffering and Its Alleviationa. For one week (seven days), meditate every day for 20 minutes. Each day, make a journal entry with your
reflections about each session. The journal entries are to be a separate document, although you may wish to introduce topics from it into your essay.
b. Identify two different types of dukkha (suffering) that you experience in your own life. One type should be a major form of suffering, the other a relatively minor source of suffering. c. In your essay, explain how you explained the source of these instances of suffering, and how you dealt with them, before encountering Buddhism. How does Buddhism explain the source of these instances of suffering, and how does Buddhism recommend that you deal with them? Apply these recommendations as well as you can during the week. Did following these recommendations help to alleviate your suffering? Why? Or why not? Did your meditation practice have any effect on either kind of suffering?
II. On Morality a. For one week (seven days), meditate every day for 20 minutes. Each day, make a journal entry noting your
reflections about each session. The journal entries are to be a separate document, although you may wish to introduce topics from it into your essay.
b. For one week, make a vow to stick to the five Buddhist precepts:i) no lyingii) no stealingiii) no violenceiv) no use of intoxicants or mind-altering substancesv) no sexual activity that hurts or exploits yourself or others
c. In your essay, explain your understanding of what Buddhism means by these precepts. Include, but go beyond the obvious meanings. Then describe what you experienced during your efforts to adhere to the precepts for one week. What did you learn in the process, e.g., about the relation between following the precepts and reducing suffering, or about how craving, aversion, and delusion lead to suffering? Finally, draw your own conclusions about the value of following these or similar precepts.
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