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THEO 342 WORLD RELIGIONS

INTERSESSION 2009
(May 11-22, 2009)
Mon-Fri 1:00-4:45 p.m. (Alter 313)

http://www.jonathantan.org/342/

ANNOUNCEMENT: Please note that this class will now meet in Alter 313.

PDF THEO 342 Syllabus

pdf Hinduism Study Guide pdf Buddhism Study Guide pdf Confucianism & Daoism Study Guide

web Professor Tan's Religion Resources
web Professor Tan's Blog: Academic Research Resources
web Professor Tan's Twitter
web Professor Tan's Amazon Store


SHORTCUTS TO:

Map of World Religions
Map of the World's Major Religions
(click to download)



(I) HINDUISM
Hinduism Resources
New York Times articles on Hinduism

11 May: Introducing Hinduism. The Vedas and Sacrifice. The Caste System and the Stages of Life

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 72-77, 99-101
(2) "Hymn of the Man" (Purusa Sukta). Click here for the Sanskrit text.

ROADMAP: From the Vedas to the Upanisads to the Bhagavad-Gita: An Outline

Class Outline #1 & #2

Table 1: Sruti & Smrti
Table 2: Structure of the Vedas

We will be watching the video documentary, 330 Million Gods (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search") in class today.

Discussion Questions ("Hinduism: 330 Million Gods")

YAJNA (FIRE SACRIFICE):


FULLTEXTS OF THE VEDAS:
Rig Veda: English #1 or English #2 or Sanskrit text
Sama Veda: English #1 or English #2
Yajur Veda: English #1 or English #2
Atharva Veda: English #1 or English #2

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
The Caste System and the Stages of Life in Hinduism
The Vedas
The Vedic Pantheon
A Vedic Reader for Students
"Knowing" Words in Indo-European Languages

12 May: The Interiorization of the Sacrifice. The Upanisads. The Bhagavad-Gita

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 77-79, 83-85, 85-86, 94-95, 97-99
(2) Chandogya Upanisad (Read the entire Sixth Prapathaka: Dialogue between Uddalaka and his son Svetaketu only)
(3) Bhagavad Gita (Please read chapters 2, 4, 9 and 18).
(4) Karma Capitalism (BusinessWeek, 30 October 2006). Has the Bhagavad Gita replaced The Art of War as the hip new ancient Eastern management text?
(5) Dueling Playbooks (BusinessWeek, 30 October 2006). The opposing best-practice ideas of Sun Tzu and Krishna.

Class Outline #3
Class Outline #4
Class Outline #5

Table 3: Comparison between Yajna and the Interiorized Sacrifice
Table 4: Comparison between Yajna and Puja

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: Yajna and Puja

PUJA TO LORD GANESH:


FULLTEXTS OF THE BRAHMANAS:
Satapatha Brahmana

FULLTEXTS OF THE UPANISADS:
Max Muller's Classic English Translation: Site #1 or Site #2

FULLTEXTS OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA:
Bhagavad Gita: Arnold (1885) or International Gita Society Translation

FULLTEXTS OF THE HINDU EPICS (ITIHASAS)
Mahabharata: English translation or Sanskrit text
Ramayana: English translation or Sanskrit text

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
The Thirteen Principal Upanisads
Karma
Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita

13 May: Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism. Hinduism in the United States

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 86-96, 105-108
(2) Being Hindu is Much Different in the U.S. than in India (International Herald Tribune, 4 September 2006).
(3) Family Ties and the Entanglements of Caste (New York Times, 24 October 2004).
(4) In a Suburb of Atlanta, a Temple Stops Traffic (New York Times, 14 July 2007).
(5) Camp Joins Summer Fun With Teaching Hindu Faith (New York Times, 21 July 2007).
(6) A Daily Round of Rituals For Boys Becoming Priests (Washington Post, 18 October 2007), p. A16.
(7) Homes With a Bit of the Homeland (Washington Post, 19 December 2007), p. A01.

Class Outline #6

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: Deities of Bhakti (Devotional) Hinduism

LORD GANESH'S MILK MIRACLE:


ADDITIONAL VIDEO: BBC Video Archive of the Milk Miracle

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HINDU DEITIES:
Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism
Trimurti
Brahma
Visnu
Siva
Shakti (Goddess)
Saraswati
Lakshmi
Parvati
Skanda
Ganesha
Hanuman
Avatar
Devotionalistic Gods in Hinduism

FULLTEXTS OF PURANIC/DEVOTIONAL TEXTS:
Visnu Purana (H.H. Wilson's Classic English Translation [1840])
Garuda Purana (Translated by Ernest Wood and S.V. Subrahmanyam)
Prem Sagur of Lallul Lal. English translation of a popular Hindi retelling of the Krishna cycle, based on the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana (Prem Sagar).

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
In India, Gods Rule The 'Toon' Universe (Washington Post, 9 January 2008), p. A11



(II) BUDDHISM
Buddhism Resources
New York Times Articles About Buddhism


Map of Buddhism in Asia (Click to download)

14 May: Examination #1 (Hinduism). Introducing Buddhism. The Life of Buddha Sakyamuni.

REQUIRED READING: Living Religions, pp. 134-140, 140-142

ROADMAP: Summary of Principal Points in Buddhism

We will be watching the video documentary, Footprint of the Buddha (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search") in class today.

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: The Life of Buddha Sakyamuni

FULLTEXTS OF ASVAGOSA'S BUDDHACARITA ("ACTS OF THE BUDDHA") [2nd century CE]:
English translation of the original Sanskrit version (cantos 1-13)
English translation of Dharmaraksa's Chinese translation (420 CE): Site #1 or Site #2

FULLTEXTS OF THE JATAKA TALES:
Jataka Vol. 1 of 6 (English translation of traditional version)
Jataka Vol. 2 of 6 (English translation of traditional version)
Retelling of selected popular stories from the Jataka in simple English


Diamond Sutra (868 C.E.) (World's oldest printed work) (Mahayana Buddhism)

15 May: The Four Ennobling Truths. The Three Characteristics (Impermanence, Dissatisfactoriness, No-Self). Karma and Rebirth. Theravada Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism. Emptiness, Compassion and the Bodhisattva Ideal.

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 142-143, 143-147, 147-154, 154-158
(2) pdf The Suffering of Self (by Professor David Loy)
(3) pdf The Problem with Karma (by Professor David Loy)

Class Outline: Suffering & its Causes
Class Outline: Path to Liberation
Class Outline: Karma, No-Self, Rebirth
Class Outline: Mahayana Buddhism
Class Outline: Sunyata (Emptiness)

Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Five Skandhas
Three Types of Practitioners in Mahayana Thought
Sevenfold Meditation On Compassion (Tibetan Buddhist Tradition)

DR. JILL BOLTE TAYLOR'S POWERFUL STROKE OF INSIGHT:


Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's Official Website

FULLTEXT OF EARLY BUDDHIST SUTRAS:
Fulltext of the Four Noble Truths/Noble Eightfold Path
Questions of King Milinda

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
The Three Poisons, Institutionalized (by Professor David Loy)
pdf King Milinda and his Chariot [NB: Click here to read the passage in its original scriptural context (first part of Book II, Chapter 1, 25-28)]

18 May: Pure Land Buddhism. Zen Buddhism. Buddhism in the United States.

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 158-164, 169-178
(2) Buddhism in the West: Self Realization or Self Indulgence? (Maria Reis Habito)
(3) ZEN and the art of lawyering: Legal eagles find meditation a stress solution (San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July 2007).
(4) A Very Old Zen Master and His Art of Tough Love (New York Times, 9 December 2007).
(5) Excerpts From Interview With Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi (New York Times, 9 December 2007).
(6) Lotus Therapy (New York Times, 27 May 2008)
(7) In Buddha's Path on the Streets of San Francisco (New York Times, 10 October 2008)

Class Outline: Pure Land Buddhism
Explanation of the Pure Land Mandala

Class Outline: Chan (Zen) Buddhism
Beginning Zen Meditation (courtesy of Maria Kannon Zen Center)
Zazen: Zen Sitting Meditation & Posture (courtesy of Bodhizendo)

We will be watching the video documentary, The Land of the Disappearing Buddha (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search") in class today.

ICONS & CHANTING THE NAME OF THE BUDDHA AMITABHA:


SHAOLIN TEMPLE (CHAN BUDDHISM) WARRIOR MONKS:


ZEN IN JAPAN:


ZAZEN (SITTING MEDITATION):


SUTRA FULLTEXTS: PURE LAND BUDDHISM
Smaller Pure Land Sutra (English translation only)
Larger Pure Land Sutra (Bilingual: Chinese/English)

SUTRA FULLTEXTS: ZEN BUDDHISM
Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (translated by Philip Yampolsky [1967])

ADDITIONAL READINGS: PURE LAND BUDDHISM
Research Resources on Pure Land Buddhism
Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism

ADDITIONAL READINGS: ZEN BUDDHISM
Zensite: Research Resources on Zen (Chan) Buddhism



(IV) CONFUCIANISM & DAOISM
Chinese Religions Resources

19 May: Examination #2 (Buddhism). Introducing Chinese Civilization, Culture & Religion.

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 182-185
(2) Chinese Religions (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(3) Chinese Philosophy (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(4) Yin & Yang

Confucianism & Taoism: Historical Timeline

Class Outline: Ancient Chinese Religions
Class Outline: Prehistoric Chinese Religion
Class Outline: Religious Thought in the Zhou Dynasty

POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW: All Under Heaven: Introducing The Chinese Civilization

We will be watching the video documentary, A Question of Balance (from the acclaimed BBC Classics series, "The Long Search") in class today.

DAOIST SPIRIT MEDIUM IN SINGAPORE:


DAOIST SPIRIT WRITING IN TAIWAN:


RESOURCES ON CHINESE LANGUAGE:
Chinese Script and Language

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Biology of Dyslexia Varies With Culture, Study Finds (New York Times, 7 September 2004)
Patents; One way to type Chinese using a cellphone keyboard (New York Times, 3 March 2003)
Correspondence/Sino-Sayings; Not-so-Ancient Chinese Proverb: Glib Truisms Gloss Over Reality (New York Times, 14 November 1999)
LETTER FROM ASIA; Japan and China: National Character Writ Large (New York Times, 14 March 2004)
As China booms, so does Mandarin in U.S. schools (USA Today, 20 November 2007), pp. 1A-2A.


Ancestor veneration at Lunar New Year Eucharist
(Chinese Catholic Community, San Jose, CA)

20 May: Confucius & his Ethical Vision. Mencius. Xunzi. Contemporary Confucianism

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 199-211
(2) Confucianism (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(3) Confucius (Kongzi) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(4) Selections from the Book of Mencius

Class Outline: Confucius and his teachings
Class Outline: The Analects (Lunyu)
Class Outline: Mencius
Class Outline: Xunzi

FULLTEXTS OF THE ANALECTS:
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge (Recommended)
Trilingual (Chinese-English-French) fulltext with commentary in French (Recommended)
Multilingual Fulltext translations of the Analects
James Legge's classic English translation (classic but dated translation). Click here for another mirror site of Legge's translation of the Analects.
Latin translation by P. Angelo Zottoli, S.J. (1879) (for the Latinphiles)
Analects (Contemporary Translation)

FULLTEXTS OF THE BOOK OF MENCIUS:
Bilingual Chinese-English Fulltext, with a contemporary English translation by Charles Muller (recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge (recommended)
James Legge's classic English translation (classic but dated translation). Click here for another mirror site of Legge's classic translation.

FULLTEXT OF THE BOOK OF XUNZI:
Xunzi (Chinese fulltext)

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Confucius and his Teachings
Mencius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Xunzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

21 May: Laozi & the Daodejing. Zhuangzi. Contemporary Daoism.

REQUIRED READINGS:
(1) Living Religions, pp. 186-190, 195-199.
(2) Daoism (Taoism) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(3) Laozi (Lao-tzu) (from the New Catholic Encyclopedia)
(4) The Tao of Star Wars, Or, Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. By Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. Studies in Popular Culture vol. 23 no. 1 (2000)
(5) The Tao of Star Wars (BeliefNet)
(6) Star Wars: The Force, the Tao and the Butterfly (by Paul McDonald)

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK OF ZHUANGZI FOR CLASS DISCUSSION:
(1) From Chapter 2 of Zhuangzi: "Three in the Morning/Keeper and Monkeys" (2:6), "Beauty of Mao Qiang and Li Ji" (2:11),and "Zhuangzi's Dream (Butterfly)" (2:14)
(2) From Chapter 3 of Zhuangzi: "Cook Ding and Duke Wenhui" (3:2)
(3) From Chapter 13 of Zhuangzi: Duke Huan and Wheelwright Bian (13:9b)
(4) From Chapter 17 of Zhuangzi: Sacred or Living Tortoise? (17:11)
(5) From Chapter 18 of Zhuangzi: "Zhuangzi's Wife" (18:2)

Class Outline: Laozi and the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching)
Class Outline: Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu)
Selections from the Book of Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu)

FULLTEXTS OF DAODEJING
Daodejing (Mawangdui Texts A & B) [in Chinese only]
Daodejing (Guodian text) [in Chinese only]
Daodejing Wangbi text (in Chinese): Site 1 or Site 2 [NB: this is canonical text of the Daodejing]
Trilingual (Chinese/Wangbi-English-German) Fulltext (Recommended)
English Translation by Charles Muller (Recommended)
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge

FULLTEXTS OF THE BOOK OF ZHUANGZI
Bilingual (Chinese-English) fulltext, with the classic English translation by James Legge [recommended]
Burton Watson's translation of the Book of Chuang-tzu (1968) [recommended]
Selections from the Book of Zhuangzi (translated by Patricia Ebrey) [recommended]
Herbert A. Giles (1889)
James Legge (1891)

ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Laozi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Daoism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Philosophical Daoism (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Wu-Wei: Nondual Action, by David Loy (originally published in Philosophy East and West 35 (1985): 73-87)
Zhuangzi (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

22 May: Examination #3 (Confucianism & Daoism).

REVIEW AND STUDENT FEEDBACK:
Humorous student evaluations at a foreign (non-U.S.) university... Enjoy!!!

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Revision 4.0.001. Originally created: 29 March 2005. Last updated: 13 April 2009.
© Copyright Jonathan Y. Tan, 2005-2009. All rights reserved.
REQUIRED
TEXTBOOK:


Mary Pat Fisher,
Living Religions,
7th Edition
(Prentice-Hall, 2008)