REL 3938: Buddhist Texts and Material Contexts (Spring 2009, section 6387)

Tuesday 5:10-6:00 (period 10)/Thursday 5:10-7:00 (periods 10-11 )

Anderson 32

 

Dr. Jason Neelis, Department of Religion, Anderson 130, 273-2935

Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3-4 pm and by appointment

e-mail: jneelis@religion.ufl.edu

website: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jneelis/classes/rel_3938.html

Vista: http://lss.at.ufl.edu/

 

Course description

This intermediate course is for reading and analyzing selected Buddhist texts translated into English from Sanskrit, Pali, and other Asian languages. Relationships between these literary texts and their material contexts are explored by examining Buddhist art, archeology, inscriptions, and other evidence of religious practices.

 

Goals

1) Develop methods for interpreting primary texts in translation

2) Investigate material and historical contexts for the composition, elaboration, and transmission of Buddhist textual traditions

3) Relate Buddhist literature to religious practices based on archeological, epigraphic and artistic sources

3) Understand how literary texts reflect changing patterns of Buddhist thought

 

Textbooks

These books were ordered for course adoption, but adjustments may be necessary. PTS and BPS publications can be obtained through Pariyatti publications: http://www.pariyatti.org/ and [relatively soon] from Orange and Blue textbooks across 13th St. NW from Kirspy Kreme donuts. Library copies are available for checkout from Course Reserves at the Circulation Desk in Smathers Library West. Supplementary texts listed as required and recommended reading assignments are also on Course Reserves: https://ares.uflib.ufl.edu/.

 

John Strong, The Buddha: A Short Biography (Oneworld, 2001).

Patrick Olivelle (translator), Life of the Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa (Clay Sanskrit Library, NYU, 2008).

K.R. Norman (translator), The Word of the Doctrine (Dhammapada) (Pali Text Society, 1997).

N.K.G. Mendis, The Questions of King Milinda (An Abridgement of the Milindapañha) (Buddhist Publication Society, 1993).

Sister Vajirā and Francis Story (translators), The Last Days of the Buddha: The Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta (Buddhist Publication Society, 1988).

R.E. Emmerick (translator), The Sūtra of the Golden Light: being a translation of the Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra (Pali Text Society, 2001).

Prerequisites and Requirements

There are no formal requirements to take this course, although some academic exposure to Buddhism, Hinduism or other Asian religions will be helpful. Knowledge of primary languages is not necessary, since the readings are in English translation. The instructor will provide some background information necessary for understanding textual contexts and can direct students to helpful secondary sources.

 

Attendance Policy

After two unexcused absences, each additional absence will result in a deduction of three points from the final grade. Excessive tardiness of more than 10 minutes or repeatedly arriving late to class will also be unexcused. Leaving class early without the instructor's permission and disrespectful behavior will result in further deductions. Absences can be excused if written requests are submitted in advance or if written explanations are submitted with valid documentation. If it is necessary to miss class, meet with the instructor during office hours (or by appointment) to discuss the material covered in class.

 

Participation in Discussions (20 %)

Each participant will also be required to lead a discussion on particular assignments chosen by the instructor and to contribute regularly to other discussions. When asked to lead a discussion, students should outline the assigned topic and generate discussion questions, which must be turned in to the instructor.

 

Take-home essay exams (40%)

Two take-home essay exams (mid-term and final) will be due one week after questions are distributed. Essays must thoroughly address all aspects of the questions in clearly written submissions based on reading assignments and discussions.

 

Book Reports (40%)

 Students will also engage with primary texts in translation by submitting two separate reports (expected length: 5-8 pages each) on primary Buddhist texts. In addition to providing information about the text’s authorship (and/or composition), language, and content, situate the text in appropriate historical, doctrinal, and religious contexts by drawing connections to its use in Buddhist practice and detailing its intertextual relationships.

 

Review Academic Honesty guidelines at the University of Florida: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/studenthonorcode.php

Any offense of plagiarism, misrepresentation of original work, or other violation in any assignment will result in a failing grade for the course.

 

Students with Disabilities needing classroom accommodation must register with the office of the Dean of Students, who will provide documentation to the instructor: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/ (for other support services see: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/supportservices/campuscounseling.php)

 

Schedule of topics and reading assignments (subject to modification)

 

Week 1 (Jan. 6-8): Course introduction and background for the study of Buddhism

Required: Strong, Buddha: A Short Biography, pp. 1-34 (Introduction and Chapter 1)

 

Recommended: Bechert and Gombrich, World of Buddhism, 9-14; Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 1-20; Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 1-16

 

Week 2 (Jan. 13-15): Hagiography of the Buddha

Required: Strong, Buddha, pp. 35-76 (chapters 2-3); Life of the Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa, cantos 1-5 (either Johnston 1-80 or Olivelle 1-158)

 

Recommended: Bechert and Gombrich, World of Buddhism, 41-50; Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 21-40; Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 17-34

 

Week 3 (Jan. 20-22): Hagiography of the Buddha, continued

Required: Strong, Buddha, pp. 77-123 (chapters 4-5); Life of the Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa, cantos 6-10 (either Johnston 80-148 or Olivelle 159-294)

 

Week 4 (Jan. 27-29): Hagiography of the Buddha, concluded

Required: Strong, Buddha, pp. 126-148 (chapter 6); Life of the Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa, cantos 11-14 (either Johnston 149-216 or Olivelle 295-432); Last Days of the Buddha (Mahāparinibbāna sutta translation by Sister Vajirā and Francis Story or selections translated by T.W. Rhys Davids from Dīgha Nikāya 16, pp. 78-105, 149-157, 173-191)

 

Week 5 (Feb. 3-5): Early Buddhist Literary Traditions: Dhammapada

Required: The Word of the Doctrine (translated by K.R. Norman), pp. xix-xxiv, 1-21 (first 10 chapters); The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems (Sutta-Nipāta) (translated by K.R. Norman), pp. 1-3; Timothy Lenz, A New Version of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories, TBA

 

Recommended: Oskar von Hinüber, A Handbook of Pāli Literature, 5-7, 44-45; Richard Salomon, Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhāra, xv-xix, 3-39; Bechert and Gombrich, World of Buddhism, 77-80; Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 35-55; Étienne Lamotte. History of Indian Buddhism, 140-164

 

 

 

Week 6 (Feb. 10-12): Early Buddhist Literary Traditions, cont.

Required: The Word of the Doctrine (translated by K.R. Norman), 22-59 (last 16 chapters)

 

Recommended: Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 41-55; Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 59-84; Étienne Lamotte. History of Indian Buddhism, 23-53

 

Submit first Book Report (Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita, Mahāparinibbāna sutta, or Dhammapada)

 

Week 7 (Feb. 17-19): Devotion and Doctrines in Buddhist Literature

(Guest teacher: Phillip Green)

Required: The Questions of King Milinda (Mendis’ abridgement, pp. 1-70, or translation by I.B. Horner of Milinda’s Questions, vol. 1, 1-124)

 

Recommended: Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 133-162; Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 56-74;

 

Week 8 (Feb. 24-27): Buddhist Texts in Historical Contexts

Required: The Questions of King Milinda (Mendis’ abridgement, pp. 71-172, or I.B. Horner, Milinda’s Questions, remainder of vol. 1 and vol. 2)

 

Recommended: Étienne Lamotte. History of Indian Buddhism, 415-442

 

Distribute Mid-term take-home essay questions, due Thursday, March 5

 

Week 9 (March 3-5): Mahāyāna Buddhist Literature

Required: The Questions of Rāṣṭrapāla (translated by Daniel Boucher in Bodhisattvas of the Forest and the Formation of the Mahāyāna, pp. 113-170)

 

Recommended: Bechert and Gombrich, World of Buddhism, 90-93; Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, 224-252; Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 96-111

 

Mid-term take-home essays due before Spring Break (March 7-14)

 

Week 10 (March 17-19): Mahāyāna Thought and Material Culture

Required: Begin The Sūtra of the Golden Light (translated by R.E. Emmerick)

 

Recommended: Williams and Tribe, Buddhist Thought, 131-191

 

Week 11 (March 24-26): Monastic Life and Literary Culture

Required: Finish The Sūtra of the Golden Light (translated by R.E. Emmerick)

 

Recommended: Gregory Schopen, either “Doing Business for the Lord” (pp. 45-90) or “Dead Monks and Bad Debts” (pp. 122-169) in Buddhist Monks and Business Matters

 

Week 12 (March 31- April 2): “Cult of the Book” in Buddhist Practices

Required: Vajracchedikā translation (TBA)

 

Recommended: Gregory Schopen, “The Phrase sa pthvīpradeśaś caityabhūto bhavet in the Vajracchedikā” (pp. 25-62) in Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna; David Drewes, “Revisiting the Phrase sa pthvīpradeśaś caityabhūto bhavet and the Mahāyāna Cult of the Book,” Indo-Iranian Journal 50 (2007), pp. 101-143

 

Week 13 (April 7-9): East Asian Buddhist Literary Paradigms

Required: Begin reading Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch (translated by John McRae) [available online: http://www.numatacenter.com/digital/dBET_T2008_PlatformSutra_2000.pdf]

 

Recommended: Bernard Faure, "Bodhidharma as Textual and Religious Paradigm," History of Religions 25.3 (1986), 187-198

 

Week 14 (April 14-16): East Asian Buddhism and Material Impacts

Required: Finish reading Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch

 

Recommended: Selections TBA from Fabio Rambelli, Buddhist Materiality or John Kieschnick, Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture

 

Submit 2nd Book Review (Questions of Rāṣṭrapāla, Sūtra of the Golden Light, or Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch)

 

Week 15 (April 21): Final Class

 

Final Take-home essay questions due the following week (April 28)

References (2nd floor of Smathers Library West)

Robert Buswell, ed. Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2 vols. Available online and in REFERENCE BQ 128 .E62 2003

Oskar von Hinüber. A Handbook of Pāli Literature. REFERENCE PK 4503 H56 1996

 

Recommended for background reading

Heinz Bechert and Richard Gombrich, eds. The World of Buddhism: Buddhist Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1984. BQ4012 .W67 1984

Rupert Gethin. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. (e-book available online)

Étienne Lamotte. History of Indian Buddhism, From the Origins to the Śaka Era (translated from French). Institut orientaliste de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium): 1988 [1958]. BQ286 .L3613 1988

Paul Williams with Anthony Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London and New York:  Routledge, 2000. (e-book available online)

 

Alternative and supplementary reading assignments on Course Reserves

Daniel Boucher. Bodhisattvas of the Forest and the Formation of the Mahāyāna: A Study and Translation of the Rāṣṭrapālaparipr̥cchā-sūtra (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i, 2008). BQ 1777 .B68 2008

David Drewes, “Revisiting the Phrase sa pthvīpradeśaś caityabhūto bhavet and the Mahāyāna Cult of the Book,” Indo-Iranian Journal 50 (2007), 101-143.

Bernard Faure, "Bodhidharma as Textual and Religious Paradigm," History of Religions 25.3 (1986), 187-198.

I.B. Horner, translator. Milinda’s Questions. 2 vols. Sacred Books of the Buddhists, vol. XXIII (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1996 [1963]). BL 1410 .S2 v. 22

E.H. Johnston, translator. Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1972 [1936]). BQ1606.B8322 E54 1972a

John Kieschnick. Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture (Princeton/Oxford: Princeton University, 2003). BQ626 .K54 2003

Timothy Lenz. A New Version of the Gāndhārī Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories. Gandhāran Buddhist Texts 3 (Seattle: University of Washington, 2003). BQ1377 .L46 2003

John McRae, translator. Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch translated from the Chinese of Tsung-pao (Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2000). BQ9299.H854 L613 2000

K.R. Norman, translator. The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems (Sutta-Nipāta). (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1996). BQ1412.E5 N67 1984

Fabio Rambelli. Buddhist Materiality: a cultural history of objects in Japanese Buddhism (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007). BQ678 .R36 2007

T.W. Rhys Davids, translator. Dialogues of the Buddha (Dīgha Nikāya). 3 vols. (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995 [1938]). BQ1138 .S23

Richard Salomon. Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhāra: the British Library Kharoṣṭhī fragments (Seattle, WA: British Library and University of Washington Press, 1999). BQ244.G35 S25 1999

Gregory Schopen. Buddhist Monks and Business Matters: still more papers on monastic Buddhism in India (Honululu: University of Hawaii, 2004). BQ6160.I4 S37 2004

Gregory Schopen. Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India : more collected papers (Honululu: University of Hawaii, 2004). BQ6160.I4 S38 2005

 

Journals (3rd floor periodicals)

Buddhist Studies Review BQ2 .B84

Journal of Buddhist Ethics [useful online journal for Buddhist ethics and doctrine: http://jbe.gold.ac.uk/]

Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies BQ2 I55a [top scholarly journal in the field]

Eastern Buddhist BL1400 .E3 [focus on Mahāyāna Buddhism in East Asia]