DELUSION and ENLIGHTENMENT
IN
ZEN BUDDHISM
RLST 249
Vanderbilt University
Spring 2000
Furman 109
MWF 12:10-1 p.m.
Professor Paula Arai
Garland Hall 301-D
Office hours: MW 2-3:30 p.m. or by
appointment
p.arai@vanderbilt.edu
Tel. 322-6340
Teaching Assistant: Mr. Tripp Hunt, J. D.
Course Description
Delusion and enlightenment are the two main concerns of Zen
Buddhism as it developed over the centuries in various cultural
climates, including its inception in China, growth in Japan, and
emergence in the west. Special attention will be given to its basic
philosophy where differences in the core concepts will reveal and
explain divergent understandings of the ultimate goal. The key to
this investigation will be to analyze how cultural influences have
affected the teachings and practices. A Zen practicum, where we will
do zazen, chant, and eat and clean in Zen fashion, will enable us to
learn with mind and body a dimension of Zen that cannot be learned
merely through words.
Course Requirements
1. Class attendance and participation (20% -- you can have 1
unexcused absence)
2. Do reading assignments before coming to class
3. In-class mid-term examination (February 18) (40%)
4. 10-page, typed, double-spaced, paper. Due on May 1, 2000
(40%). I will solicit questions/topics from the class during the end
of the semester. On the last day of class, I will hand out the
questions/topics from which you may choose for the basis of your
paper.
5. 2 1/2-hour Zen practicum. Saturday March 18 from 8 a.m.-10:30
a.m.
Worth three class periods.
Vanderbilt's Honor Code governs all work in this course (e.g.
tests, papers,
homework assignments).
Students who may need disability-related classroom accommodations
should make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. Also, visit
or call the Opportunity Development Center, Franklin Building, West
Side Row, for information about other services available. The
telephone number is 322-4705 (V/TDD*).
Course Schedule
Week 1 (Jan. 12, 14):
Overview of Buddhist history and thought in India and China Thich
Nhat Hanh, The Heart of Understanding.
Week 2 (Jan. 17, 19, 21): Emergence of Ch'an and Monastic Life
Red Pine, The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma,
Week 3 (Jan. 24, 26, 28): Hui-Neng and the North/South
Dispute
A. F. Price and Wong Mou-Lam, trans., The Diamond Sutra & The
Sutra of Hui
Neng (read the entire translation of the Diamond Sutra and chps.
1, 2, 4, 5, 8 of Hui Neng)
Week 4
Jan. 31: Zen at War
Feb. 2, 4: class canceled on these days to allow for the Zen
practicum
Week 5
Feb 7: class is canceled on this day to allow for the Zen
practicum
Feb. 9, 11: Lin-chi and Koans
Paul Reps, comp., Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and
Pre-Zen Writings, pp. 5-155.
Week 6
Feb. 14: Discussion on Lin-chi and Koans
Feb 16: Review session
Feb 18: In-class exam
Week 7 (Feb. 21, 23, 25): Transplanting Zen in Japan: Eisai &
Nonin
Kitagawa, On Understanding Japanese Religion, pp. 250-268. (On
reserve) (I recommend starting to read Dogen's texts as well)
Week 8 (Feb. 28, Mar. 1, 3): Dogen
Kazuaki Tanahashi, ed., Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master
Dogen, (pp. 3-43, 69-107, 134-160)
**********************Spring Break **************************
Week 9 (Mar. 13, 15, 17): Zen Monastic Practice Eshin Nishimura,
Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life.
Eihei-ji video
*2 1/2 hour Zen Practicum on March 18, 8-10:30 a.m.
Week 10 (Mar. 20, 22, 24): Zen Arts: Tea, Poetry, and
Swordsmanship
Soshitsu Sen XV, Tea Life, Tea Mind
Tea Ceremony video
Week 11 (Mar. 27, 29, 31): Gozan: Politics and Ikkyu
James Sanford, Zen Man Ikkyu. (In classpak)
Week 12 (Apr. 3, 5, 7 ): Hakuin Norman Waddell. Zen Words for the
Heart: Hakuin's Commentary on the Heart Sutra. East Lansing: Shambala
Publications, 1996.
Week 13 (Apr. 10, 12, 14): Bankei and Ryokan
Peter Haskel. Bankei Zen: Translation from the Records of Bankei.
New York: Grove Press, 1984.
Week 14 (Apr. 17, 19, 21): Zen in America
Suzuki, Shunryu, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Final Paper due on May 1 by 4 p.m. in Arai's office
Paula K. R.
Arai
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Vanderbilt University
Box 97, Station B
Nashville, TN 37235
(O) 615-322-6340
(F) 615-322-7505
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