HR-1596 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THERAVĀDA BUDDHIST TRADITIONS

Instructor: Dr. Natalie Quli Email: [email protected] Room & Time: JSC 130, Tuesdays 9:40–12:30 Office hours: Thursdays 9–12, by appointment

This course will survey the traditions of Buddhism commonly referred to as Theravāda, with reference to their doctrine, development, and concrete localizations throughout South and Southeast Asia, as well as the contemporary West. We will also interrogate the shifting representations of these traditions that emerge in their interface with modernity. The course will incorporate both foundational primary texts and representative secondary scholarship in an attempt to broadly chart the living and historical dimensions of these traditions and the terms of their contemporary study. Auditors with faculty permission.

Format  Weekly readings with short lectures and seminar discussion  10–15 page research paper  Sunday field trip to local Theravāda temple for lunch, Wat Mongkolratanaram, 1911 Russell St., Berkeley: http://www.yelp.com/biz/wat-mongkolratanaram-berkeley.

Grading 50% participation, 50% term paper

Required Texts Books are available in the Jodo Shinshu Center Bookstore at a student discount (ask for it).

Asanga Tilakaratne, Theravāda Buddhism: View of the Elders. University of Hawaii Press, 2012. Phra Prayudh Payutto, Buddhadhamma: Natural Laws and Values for Life. State University of New York Press, 1995. Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed., In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon. Wisdom Publications, 2005.

Supplementary Readings Electronic copies to be provided by the instructor.

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CLASS SCHEDULE

Readings listed for each session should be completed before arriving for class.

February 4

Introductions

February 11 Doctrine I

Asanga Tilakaratne, Theravāda Buddhism, chaps. 1 & 2 Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha’s Words, pp. 50–78 Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, Life of the Buddha, pp. 1–30

February 18 Doctrine II

Tilakaratne, Theravāda Buddhism, chaps. 3 & 4 Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha’s Words, pp. 145–155 Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, Life of the Buddha, pp. 30–47

February 25 Doctrine III, Cosmology I

Phra Prayudh Payutto, Buddhadhamma, Part I, pp. 53–177 Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism, chap. 2

March 4 Cosmology II

Randy Kloetzi, Buddhist Cosmology, chaps. 1 and 2 Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha’s Words, 155–172, 373–423

March 11 History I: Sri Lanka and the Mahavihara

Andrew Skilton, A Concise History of Buddhism, chap. 19 Richard Gombrich, Theravāda Buddhism, chap. 6 Stephen Berkwitz, “Sri Lanka,” in Buddhism in World Cultures Michael Carrithers, “They Will Be Lords upon the Island,” in Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture

March 18 History II: Southeast Asia

Students will meet with the instructor individually to discuss research projects.

Tilakaratne, Theravāda Buddhism, chap. 6 Andrew Skilton, A Concise History of Buddhism, chap. 20 Ashley Thompson, “Buddhism in Cambodia,” in Buddhism in World Cultures Justin McDaniel, “Laos,” in Encyclopedia of Buddhism OPTIONAL: Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, The Ascendancy of Theravāda Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Introduction (pp. 1–3 only), chap. 3, chap. 6

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March 25

Reading week, no class.

April 1 Pali Literature I

Skilton, A Concise History of Buddhism, chaps. 6 and 9 K. R. Norman, Pāli Literature, chap. 1, chap. 2 (pp. 15–17 and 30–65 only), chap. 3, chap. 4 (pp. 138–151 only)

April 8 Pali Literature II

No class (in lieu of Wat Mongkolratanaram visit)

Skilton, A Concise History of Buddhism, chap. 10 Norman, Pāli Literature, chap. 2 (18–29 and 96–107 only) Kate Crosby, Theravada Buddhism, chap. 7 Charles Prebish, A Survey of Vinaya Literature, chap. 1 Peter Harvey, “Theravada Abhidhamma as a Guide to Mindful Exploration of Mental Qualities”

April 15 Practice I: Dana and Merit

Tilakaratne, Theravāda Buddhism, chap. 7 Donald Swearer, Buddhist World of Southeast Asia, part I Crosby, Theravada Buddhism, chap. 2

April 22 Practice II: Meditation

Guest meditation teacher Diana Clark.

Crosby, Theravada Buddhism, chap. 6 Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha’s Words, part VIII, 255–298

April 29 Contemporary Issues I: Theravada in the U.S.

Gil Fronsdal, “Insight Meditation in the United States,” in The Faces of Buddhism in America Carl Bankston and Danielle Hidalgo, “Temple and Society in the New World: Theravada Buddhism and Social Order in North America,” in North American Buddhists in Social Context Wakoh Shannon Hickey, “Two Buddhisms, Three Buddhisms, and Racism”

May 6 Contemporary Issues II: Nuns and Higher Ordination

Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Vinaya Basis for Refuting the Recent Bhikkhunī Ordination” Bhikkhu Anālayo, “The Legality of Bhikkhunī Ordination” Nimala Salgado, Buddhist Nuns and Gendered Practice, introduction, chap. 1

May 13

Final papers due.

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