Religious Studies with Language: • REL654 Integration Lab II (1) • REL651 Contemplative Practice Intensive: Religious Studies Contemplative Religions MA Students (noncredit) • REL655 Trends in Religious Studies (3) This MA degree includes all the course work of the MA Religious • Contemplative Practice elective (3) Studies degree with the Contemplative Religions concentration, and • Religious Studies or Graduate Collective electives (6)** is enriched by training in either Sanskrit or Tibetan through two years (16 credits) of course work or more. This 61-credit concentration SUBTOTAL 17 is designed for students who wish to join the academic study of comparative religions with interreligious dialog, contemplative Second year, fall practice, and personal investigation. Students develop literacy in • REL553 Tibetan III (4) or REL557 Sanskrit III (4) the living traditions of a variety of world religions, with emphasis on • REL728 Integration Lab III (1) the contemplative practices, texts, and teachings. Students develop • REL585 Spiritual Models of Social Action (3) skills in interreligious dialog within in the context of global pluralism. • Religious Studies or Graduate Collective electives (6)** Students work with faculty members who are both academically and spiritually trained in the teachings and practices of their SUBTOTAL 14 respective traditions. Second year, spring Sanskrit • REL583 Tibetan IV (4) or REL587 Sanskrit IV (4) • REL672 Non-Dualism in Theory and Practice (3) Sanskrit is a classical language of South Asia, that is foundational • Religious Studies or Graduate Collective elective (3)** to Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religious traditions. The formative works • Contemplative Practice elective (3) of yoga and tantra were also composed in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit • REL880 Comprehensive Exam (noncredit) language option provides students with a knowledge of Sanskrit • REL885 Master’s Project (noncredit) grammar and vocabulary, as well as initial reading skills, providing access to the remarkable textual archive of South Asia. SUBTOTAL 13 Tibetan Total Credits: 61 Study of the Tibetan language provides access to the rich and * It is recommended that students complete the noncredit diverse world of Tibetan Buddhist literature, to the oral teachings monthlong Contemplative Practice Intensive requirement (REL651) of contemporary Tibetan masters, and to a great body of Indian no later than the winter break between the fall and spring semesters texts that survive only in Tibetan translation. The Tibetan language of their second year. This requirement can be done in two two-week option provides training in both classical Tibetan and the spoken sections. Students choosing the Nitatha Institute Shedra-Gomdra language. Study of classical Tibetan involves learning grammar Option are only required to complete two weeks of this meditation and vocabulary of the classical language and the reading of texts. intensive. Modern Tibetan is learned through the study of the contemporary ** Students can take up 6 of their elective credits in courses from idiom with practice in hearing and speaking Tibetan. other programs in The Graduate Collective that are designated as open to students outside their programs, with permission of the Culminating Requirements faculty member. The degree program concludes with a master's paper or project, Religious Studies Electives which can include a Sanskrit or Tibetan translation, as well as an oral exam. Buddhism Electives • REL540 Zen Buddhism (3) Degree Requirements • REL546 Flight of the Swans: Dharma Comes West (3) First year, fall • REL611 First Turning of the Wheel: Nature of Mind and Emotions (3) • REL503 Tibetan I (4) or REL507 Sanskrit I (4) • REL614 Mind and Its World I (3) • REL616 Integration Lab I (1) • REL661 Second Turning of the Wheel: The Bodhisattva Path (3) • REL645 Methods and Issues in the Study of Religion (3) • REL710 Third Turning of the Wheel: Yogacara and Buddha • REL779 Interreligious Dialog (3) Nature (3) • Religious Studies or Graduate Collective elective (3)** • REL751 Buddhism in Tibet (3) • Contemplative Practice elective (3) • REL 760 Vajrayana: Symbol, Iconography, and Ritual (3) SUBTOTAL 17 General Electives First year, spring • REL525 Contemplative Christianity (3) • REL533 Tibetan II (4) or REL537 Sanskrit II (4) • REL529 Contemplative Judaism (3) 1 Naropa Course Catalog 2019—2020 • REL535 Kabbalah and Consciousness (3) Religious Studies Course Listings • REL545 Contemplative Islam: An Introduction to Its History, Thought, and Practice (3) (REL) • REL623 Religious Experience in Africa: Sacred Cosmos, Ritual, and Community (3) REL501W • REL625 Christian Scripture and Spirituality (3) Theravada Vipassana: Weekend (1.0) • REL634 Hindu Tantra (3) When mindfulness meditation is practiced, the exquisite ordinariness • REL676 Inner Oral Tradition of the Torah (3) of the movement of breath, of the sensation of the body sitting • REL749 Contemporary American Religion (3) on the earth, and of the busyness of the mind and emotions is discovered. This intensive weekend introduces insight meditation, Contemplative Practice Electives "vipassana," from the Theravada Buddhist tradition of Southeast Asia. This course includes mindfulness practice in sitting, walking, • REL504W Breeze of Simplicity: Meditation Weekend (1) and daily life through short talks, guided meditations, and the • REL540 Zen Buddhism (3) practice of "noble silence." Cross-listed as REL157W. • REL554W Opening the Heart: Meditation Weekend (1) • REL571 Christian Prayer and Mystical Practices (3) REL503 • REL600 Meditation Practicum I: Seeds of Peace (3)* • REL609W Mindfulness Instructor Training I (1)** Tibetan I (4.0) This class develops a foundation in literary Tibetan and begins • REL620 Meditation Practicum II: Self and No-Self (3)* the study of modern spoken Tibetan. The first semester focuses on • REL635 Meditation Practicum III: Mind-Training (3)* the grammatical foundation of the language, the acquisition of • REL690W–694W Shambhala Training Levels I–V (1) basic vocabulary, and training in the skills of correct pronunciation, • REL690W Shambhala Training Level I: The Art of Being handwriting, and spelling. Students should expect to study at least Human (1) eight hours per week outside of class. Cross-listed as REL274. • REL691W Shambhala Training Level II: Birth of the Warrior (1) • REL692W Shambhala Training Level III: Warrior in the REL504W World (1) Breeze of Simplicity: Meditation Weekend (1.0) • REL693W Shambhala Training Level IV: Awakened Heart This course introduces spiritual practices, meditation, and various (1) themes from specific spiritual traditions. The spiritual tradition will • REL694W Shambhala Training Level V: Open Sky (1) vary depending on the visiting instructor presenting. Beginning • REL709W Mindfulness Instructor Training II (1) ** or experienced students are welcome and are guided through • REL780 Meditation Practicum IV: Maitri and Mandala (3)* the presentations. The weekend includes lectures, discussion, • REL809W Mindfulness Instructor Training III (1)** meditation, and/or other spiritual practices. Cross-listed as REL158W. * These courses must be taken in sequence. REL507 ** These courses must be taken in sequence. The prerequisites Sanskrit I (4.0) for REL609W are Meditation Practicum I and II, as well as a An introduction to the classical Sanskrit language. The first-year Buddhist monthlong meditation intensive, two weeks of which must course includes developing familiarization with the Sanskrit be completed before the class begins. alphabet (devanagari), mastering the conventions of euphonic Nitartha Institute Shedra-Gomdra: *** combination (sandhi), and learning the basics of Sanskrit grammar. In addition, we begin reading texts from the classical Indian • REL547 Contemplative Practice Intensive (3) - Mahamudra tradition, particularly selections from the Mahabharata and Shamatha Ramayana and from some simple Buddhist texts (e.g., the Heart • REL701 The Middle Way School (3) Sutra). Students should expect to study at least six hours per week outside of class. Cross-listed as REL277. *** Students choosing the Nitartha Summer Institute Option should complete the requirement of attending a monthlong Nitartha Institute program in the summer following their first year. This is REL525 integral to the sequence of the curriculum. This replaces 6 credits of Contemplative Christianity (3.0) electives. This course examines the contemplative and mystical tradition of Christianity and its recent recovery by mainstream Christians through the work of Thomas Merton and others. Students examine contemplative perspectives on such major topics as God, Christ, salvation, divine union, deification, scripture, and spiritual evolution, especially as these views contrast with modern fundamentalism. This class also studies the contributions of the major historical writers of the tradition. The class includes ample time for contemplative practice. Cross-listed as REL325. 2 Naropa Course Catalog 2019—2020 REL529 instruction in zazen, periods of sitting zazen, instructions on Contemplative Judaism (3.0) applying mindfulness to one's daily life, as well as studying This course explores the contemplative teachings and practices of classic texts and teachings of the tradition. The course includes traditional Judaism. We will study sacred texts such as the Hebrew opportunities for a weekend retreat at one of the Zen centers in the Bible and the Talmud, learn about classical Jewish rituals and Boulder vicinity.