Asian Religions - Fall 2012
COURSE OUTLINE in brief (topics only)
1. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22 Possible goals for a course in Asian Religions at Trinity University
2. FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 Religious Experience Outside Texas: Is the Practice of Archery Religious? [DISCUSSION DAY]
II. INdia
A. the hindu tradition (11 classes)
4. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29 Is Life Fair? Rebirth and Rehabilitation
5. FRIDAY, AUGUST 31 Bondage, Delusion, and Liberation
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, LABOR DAY--NO CLASSES
6. WEDNESDAY, SPETEMBER 5 Renunciation and Non-Attachment: The Bhagavad Gita
7. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Renunciation and Non-attachment in R. K. Narayan, The Guide [DISCUSSION DAY]
8. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 Who, or What, do Hindus Really Worship? Icons vs. Idols
9. WEDNESDAY, SPETEMBER 12 Shiva, God of Paradox
10. FRIDAY, SPETEMBER 14 Shakti, Without Whom Shiva Is a Corpse
11. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 Ritual and Ritu: Women and Socio-cosmic Renewal
12. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 "Do As I Say, Not As I Do": Krishna, God of Play
13. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (ATTENDANCE REQUIRED) REVIEW SESSION AND HONOR CODE
FIRST EXAM
II. INdia
B. the INDIAN BUDDHIST tradition (9 classes)
14. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 Can You Truly Be Suffering If You Think You Are Happy?
15. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 The Life of the Buddha
16. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Suffering and Codependency: The Twelvefold Chain of Interdependent Causation
17. MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 Is Your I.D. Card Fake? The Evanescence and Emptiness of a "Self"
18.WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3 The Spiritual Quest in the Life of Siddhartha Gautama and in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha [DISCUSSION DAY]
19. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 Am I My Brother's Keeper? The Ideal of the Suffering Servant
20. MONDAY, OCTOBER 8 The Interdependence of Existence: Nagarjuna and Sunyata (Emptiness)
21. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10 Can Women Attain Nirvana?
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, FALL BREAK--NO CLASS
22. MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 The Buddhist World View in Architecture: Borobudur
23. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17 Review Session
SECOND EXAM
IiI. CHINA
A. INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE RELIGIONS (1 class)
24. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 The Three Traditions of China and the Yin/Yang
B. THE CONFUCIAN TRADITION (3 CLASSES)
25. MONDAY, OCTOBER 22 Confucius and World Order
26. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24 Is Confucius Religious?
27. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 The Nature of Religion and Approaches to the Study of Religion [DISCUSSION DAY]
C. THE DAOIST TRADITION (3 CLASSES)
28. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 Lao-zi (Lao Tzu) and Daoism
29. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31 The Dao and Its Power
30. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 Relativity and Self-transformation in Zhuang-zi (Chuang Tzu)
C. YIN/YANG PHILOSOPHY AND SUMMARY OF CHINESE INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS (2 CLASSES)
31. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5 Flowing with the Yin and Yang: The Book of Changes (I Ching)
32. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 Confucian and Taoist World Views--A Summary Review and Review Session
THIRD EXAM
IV. BUDDHISM AND MISSION , AND CHINESE AND JAPANESE BUDDHIST TRADITIONS, WITH EMPHASIS ON CH'AN (ZEN)
A. THE BUDDHIST TRADITIONS AS A MISSIONARY RELIGIOUS TRADITION (2 classES)
33. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 King Ashoka and the Dynamism of the Dharma-Wheel: The Buddha-Teaching Rolls to All Corners of the Earth
34. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Planting Indian seeds in Chinese Soil
b. CH'AN (ZEN) BUDDHISM (4 CLASSES)
35. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 Ch'an Buddhism--An Introduction
36. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Zen--A Legendary History
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19 NO CLASS: WORK ON COMPLETING TEMPLE PROJECT
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20: TEMPLE PROJECT DUE AT 5:00 P.M.
WEDNESDAY- FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21-23, THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS--NO CLASSES
37. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26 An Egalitarian Dharma Gate
38. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 The Buddhist Tradition and Modernity [DISCUSSION DAY]
39.FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Religious experience in Texas and in Asia
40. MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 Student Evaluation of Course and review
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, FINAL EXAM DUE AT 11:30 P.M.