AST/REL 231 (Religions of India and Tibet) Dr. Richey Berea College Fall 2007 ESSAY OPTIONS Choose two of the following topics1 and be sure to submit each essay by the stated deadline: 1. The rise of the Upanishadic, Jain, and early Buddhist movements can be interpreted as responses to the earlier Vedic religious traditions of ancient India. Using appropriate primary texts assigned in the course as well as at least 2 relevant secondary sources (see Criteria for Assessment, p. 2), answer the following questions: • To what extent do these movements borrow or duplicate Vedic ideas, institutions, and practices? • To what extent do these movements develop new ideas, institutions, and practices? • To what extent are these movements ideologically, institutionally, or ritually related or similar to each other? -- ESSAYS ON TOPIC #1 WILL BE ACCEPTED ON SEPTEMBER 21! – 2. The encounter between Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism and what became the Bön religious tradition in Tibet left lasting legacies in Tibetan Buddhism. Using appropriate primary texts assigned in the course as well as at least 2 relevant secondary sources (see Criteria for Assessment, p. 2), answer the following questions: • To what extent can Indian Mahāyāna and Bön influences be seen in the development of Tibetan Buddhist ideas, institutions, and practices? • To what extent did Tibetan Buddhism develop its own distinct ideas, institutions, and practices? • To what extent are Buddhist and Bön elements combined in Tibetan religious culture? -- ESSAYS ON TOPIC #2 WILL BE ACCEPTED ON OCTOBER 26! -- 3. Hindu tradition tends to view the Bhagavad Gītā as şruti (“that which is heard,” i.e., divinely-revealed scripture) even though this text technically belongs to the category of smriti (“that which is remembered,” i.e., work of human authorship). Using appropriate primary texts assigned in the course as well as at least 2 relevant secondary sources (see Criteria for Assessment, p. 2), answer the following questions: • To what extent is the influence of earlier şruti texts such as the Vedas and the Upanişads apparent in the Gītā? • To what extent does the Gītā depart from these earlier traditions? • To what extent are the Gītā and these earlier texts compatible with one another? -- ESSAYS ON TOPIC #3 WILL BE ACCEPTED ON NOVEMBER 9! -- 1 You also may develop one topic of your own, in consultation with the instructor and subject to his approval. You must complete one of the assignments provided here, however. 1 4. Hindu bhaktī may be considered ancestral to the rise of later South Asian religious traditions, including Indo-Persian Sufi Islam and Sikhism. Using appropriate primary texts assigned in the course as well as at least 2 relevant secondary sources (see Criteria for Assessment, p. 2), answer the following questions: • To what extent is the influence of bhaktī apparent in Sufi and Sikh ideas, institutions, and practices? • To what extent do Sufism and Sikhism depart from bhaktī traditions? • To what extent are Sufi and Sikh ideas, institutions, and practices mutually intelligible or translatable? -- ESSAYS ON TOPIC #4 WILL BE ACCEPTED ON NOVEMBER 30! -- Criteria for Assessment • Essays must be typed in clear standard English prose, double-spaced, 5-8 pages in length, and free of mechanical errors (no misspellings, subject-verb disagreement, improper or inconsistent citations, split infinitives, etc.). • All secondary sources must be found in the bibliography below and/or in the following electronic databases of academic journal articles: (1) ATLA Religion Index, (2) JSTOR, (3) Religion and Philosophy Collection (all available online via http://www.berea.edu/hutchinslibrary/electronicresources.asp). • Cite any and all texts quoted or paraphrased (see The New St. Martin’s Handbook, pp. 494-497, section 42d: “Recognizing plagiarism and acknowledging sources”) using one of the following citation styles: MLA (see The New St. Martin’s Handbook, section 44: “Documenting Sources: MLA,” pp. 516-563), APA (see The New St. Martin’s Handbook, section 45: “Documenting Sources: APA,” pp. 564-586), or Chicago (see The New St. Martin’s Handbook, section 47: “Documenting Sources: Chicago,” pp. 601-618). • For conceptual help with approaching the basic assignment, please feel free to consult the instructor. Drafts are welcome in advance of due dates. • Each essay is due as an e-mailed attached Microsoft Word document by the end of the due date specified (i.e., by 11:59 p.m. that day). LATE ESSAYS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! Sarasvatī सरःवती Hindu goddess of the arts, music, and scholarship 2 Selected Bibliography (all items in Hutchins Library) INDIAN BUDDHISM Bunce, Frederick W. A Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography, Illustrated: Objects, Devices, Rites,and Related Terms. South Asia Books, 1997. CN: 704.948 B942d Buswell, Robert E., Jr., ed. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Macmillan USA, 2003. CN: Reference 294.303 E56 Conze, Edward. Buddhist Thought in India. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1982. CN: 294.3 C768bt Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. CN: 294.392 D253i ; E-book Dehejia, Vidya. Early Buddhist Rock Temples; a Chronology. Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University Press, 1972. CN: 726.143 D322e Geaves, Ron. Key Words in Buddhism. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2006. CN: Reference 294.303 G292k 2006 Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind. Buddhism and Asoka. Baroda and Bombay: Padmaja Publications, 1948. CN: 294.309 G616b Gyatso, Janet. In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. CN: E-book Hallade, Madeleine. Gandharan Art of North India and the Graeco-Buddhist Tradition in India, Persia, and Central Asia. Translated by Diana Imber. New York, H. N. Abrams, 1968. CN: 709.34 H181g Hirakawa, Akira. A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana. Translated and edited by Paul Groner. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990. CN: E-book Huntington, C.W. The Emptiness of Emptiness: An Introduction the Early Indian Madhyamika. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989. CN: E-book Inada, Kenneth K., with contributions by Richard Chi, Shotaro Iida, and David Kalupahana. Guide to Buddhist Philosophy. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1985. CN: 016.181 I35g Jackson, Roger R., trans. Tantric Treasures: Three Collections of Mystical Verse from Buddhist India. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. CN: 294.382 T169xj 2004 Kalupahana, David J. Ethics in Early Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1995. CN: E- book Lopez, Donald S., ed. Buddhism in Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. CN: 294.3 B9273 Keown, Damien. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. CN: Reference 294.303 K37d 2003 Keown, Damien, and Charles S. Prebish, eds. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. London: Routledge, 2007. CN: Reference 294.303 E563 2007 3 King, Richard. Indian Philosophy: An Introduction to Hindu and Buddhist Thought. Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 1999. CN: E-book Mitchell, Donald W. Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. CN: 294.3 M681b Monius, Anne E. Imagining a place for Buddhism: literary culture and religious community in Tamil- speaking South India. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. CN: 294.309 M744i Paul, Diana Y., ed. Women in Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. CN: 294.337 P324w Prebish, Charles S, ed. Historical Dictionary of Buddhism. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1993. CN: 294.303 P922h Reat, Noble Ross. Buddhism: A History. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, 1996. CN: 294.309 R288b Robinson, Richard H., and Willard L. Johnson. The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction. Encino, CA: Dickenson Publishing Company, 1977. CN: 294.3 R664b Schober, Juliane. Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997. CN: E-book Schopen, Gregory. Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997. CN: E-book Trainor, Kevin, ed. Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. CN: 294.3 B927i Waldron, William S. The Buddhist Unconscious: The Alaya-vijnana in the Context of Indian Buddhist Thought. London; New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. CN: E-book White, David Gordon, ed. Tantra in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000. CN: 294.595 T169 Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London ; New York: Routledge, 2000. CN: E-book Wood, Thomas E. Nagarjunian Disputations: A Philosophical Journey through an Indian Looking-glass. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1994. CN: E-book INDIAN HISTORY AND THOUGHT -- GENERAL Ames, Roger T., Wimal Dissanayake and Thomas P. Kasulis. Self as person in Asian theory and practice. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. CN: E-book Auboyer, Jeannine. Daily Life in Ancient India: from approximately 200 BC to AD 700. Translated by Simon Watson Taylor. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1994. CN: 954 A894d Baird, Robert D. and Alfred Bloom. Indian and Far Eastern religious traditions. New York, Harper & Row, 1972. CN: 299.5 B163i 4 Bhattacharyya, Narendra Nath. A Glossary of Indian Religious Terms and Concepts. Columbia, MO: South Asia Books, 1990. CN: 294.507 B575g Brown, Judith M. Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. CN: 954 B878m 1994 Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. CN: 934.02 B915q 2001 Callicott, J. Baird and Roger T. Ames, eds. Nature in Asian traditions of thought: essays in environmental philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press, c1989. CN: 179.109 N285 Chandra, Bipan. Essays on Contemporary India. South Asia Books, 1993. CN: on order since 6/1/05 Coward, Harold, et al, eds.