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Undergraduate Course offered by Centre of Buddhist Studies in 2019-20

ELECTIVE COURSE

(OPEN TO ALL FACULTIES)

BSTC1004 Introduction to Buddhism (6 Credits) (Semester 1)

Lecturer Dr. Pu Chengzhong

Office Rm 4.03, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus

Office Hours 4-5pm Thursday, or by appointment

Email pcz100@hku.hk (Abusive and improper language will be

reported.)

Class Schedule Thursday -1:30pm-3:20pm

Class Venue KB223 Course Description As one of the major world religions, Buddhism used to be an important common cultural heritage of Asian countries. It’s influences can be found in most Asian societies of pre-modern time and increasingly also in some western societies where elements of Buddhism have become popular in the public culture as well as professional sections such as the fields of psychotherapy, neuroscience and education. This course provides a brief introduction to such aspects of Buddhism as its historical traditions, texts, fundamental doctrines, basic ethical ideas, practices, and art. Objectives:

1. To give a general introduction to historical and geographical dimensions of Buddhism. 2. To introduce cultures of the three living Buddhist traditions. 3. To introduce the general features of Buddhist literature 4. To highlight the fundamental teachings of Buddhist traditions.

Learning outcomes: Generic skills

1. To engage with sources on Buddhism: primary and secondary. 2. To present ideas in both oral and written form. 3. To appreciate ancient Asian cultures and worldviews.

Course specific skills 1. To gain an overview of Buddhist traditions in past and present times. 2. To be able to recognise the main principles and characteristics of Buddhism. 3. To be able to make sense of important Buddhist activities in today’s world.

Required Reading: Prebish, Charles S. and Keown, Damien. Buddhism——The Ebook, Third Edition (online version in the

Moodle). Lecture Schedule

Week Date Content Remarks

Week 1 Sep. 5, 2019 Introduction to the course; The Social and

Religious Background for the Rise of

Buddhism

Read: “Background to Buddhism”, pp. 1-9.

All the page numbers

appeared in this schedule are

referring to the Required

Reading.

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Week 2 Sep. 12, 2019 The Life of the Buddha

Read: “The Buddha”, pp. 26-40.

Week 3

Sep. 19, 2019 Buddhist early teachings

Read: “The Dharma”, pp.42-

57. “Meditation”, pp.119-127.

Deadline to select book report

or meditation seminar in

Moodle

Week 4 Sep. 26, 2019 The Buddhist Communities: Sangha and its

rules

Read: “the Buddhist Sangha”, pp. 59-73.

Week 5 Oct. 3, 2019 Early Buddhist Texts

Read: “Early Council and Schools”, pp.78-

80; “Abhidharma”, pp. 89. +canon

Week 6 Oct. 10, 2019 Early development of Indian Buddhism

Read: “Early Council and Schools”, pp.78-

88;

Oct. 17, 2019 (Reading Week)

Week 7 Oct. 24, 2019 Mahayana Buddhism

Read: “Rise of Mahayana”, “Vasubandhu”,

pp. 91-94. “Mahayana”, pp. 97-117.

Week 8 Oct. 31, 2019 Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast

Asian countries

Read: “Buddhism in South-east Asia”,

pp.146-161.

Week 9 Nov. 7, 2019 Buddhism in Central Asia

Read: “The North-west and Central Asia”,

pp.88-89. + (Buddhist art in central Asia)

Week 10 Nov. 14, 2019 Buddhism in Greater China

“Buddhism in East Asia”, pp. 163-171;

“Buddhism in Tibet”, pp. 186-201.

Deadline to submit book report

or meditation seminar report

Week 11 Nov. 21, 2019 Buddhism in Korea, Japan [zen; pure

land], Vietnam

Read: “Buddhism in East Asia”, pp.172-

183.

+ Vietnam

Deadline for Short Essay

Week 12 Nov. 28, 2019 Buddhism goes to the West and new

tendencies-engaged Buddhism

Read: “Buddhism in the western world”,

pp. 205-216; “Socially Engaged

Buddhism”, pp. 218-232.

Quiz

Assessment: 100% coursework with the following breakdowns: Content Ratio Submission deadline / Quiz date

Attendance discussion in class 10%

Quiz （via the Moodle） 25% Oct. 24

Book report of 2,000-2200 words 25% Nov. 21

Short Assignment (a topic and its outline that can be used for final essay)

5% Nov. 21

Final essay of 2200-2800 words 35% Nov. 28

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General expectations of student performance at the various grades:

http://arts.hku.hk/BAprogramme/2012/assessment/A92_311_amended_2014.pdf

About Plagiarism:

Please be aware of plagiarism. For details, please refer to

http://arts.hku.hk/current-students/undergraduate/assessment/plagiarism

Guidelines for writing the report and the essay 1. Structure of the Book Report: the book and its author, identify the part of the book you will review (if

not the whole book), provide your view/interpretation, and make a conclusion. Apart from using the Reading List for Book Report, you can also choose a Buddhist scripture (in English translation) to write on.

2. Choose one topic from the list below or from the “Discussion Questions” in the Required Reading. You are expected to ask the instructor’s approval if you would like to use books not in this list.

3. Structure of the Final Essay: 1) have a question as the thread of your discussion, a coherent thesis. 2) Why is it important to research? (Exposing the problematic and its sub-issues). 3) Explaining the topic in a bigger context. 4) Your views with supporting evidence and corroborations, using objective and balanced arguments (Required book, Lecture PPT class notes, and webpage (such as Wikipedia, etc...) cannot be used as evidence). 5) Other’s views and their shortcomings or contributions. 6) Answering your central question as a way of conclusion. If you following this, you should get a B+. To get an A, you should have skillful arguments and general exposition, in addition to resourcefulness, obvious knowledge of the topic, showing effort in research and carefully written. (Faculty grade expectations - http://arts.hku.hk/file/upload/2485/grade_expectations.pdf)

4. Your essay should include proper referencing and citation. Only used peer-reviewed literature (journals and academic publications) as your reference. A bibliography of at least 5 items excluding textbooks used in this class is required. For the citation format, please use Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition (or 15th Edition). In-text citation should be ok but with page numbers. Your text must be double-spaced.

5. No plagiarism. 6. All your papers should be submitted through the ‘turn-it-in’ on the Moodle. 7. Late submission will be penalized with the following lowering of assignment grade: 1) within first 7 days

after the deadline, one sub-grade will be deducted (e.g. A A-); 2) from the 8th day after the deadline.

Suggested essay topics:

1. What do you think of Prince Siddhartha’s leaving his kingdom and abandoning his wife and son to become a wandering mendicant? Please explain.

2. Buddhist concept of karma and ethics. 3. Buddhist social engagement 4. Buddhism and cultural transmission. 5. Buddhism and Inter-faith dialogue. 6. Buddhism and world peace. 7. In recent decades, there have been anti-religion wars started by Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher

Hitchens and Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins. Do you think their arguments against religions and faith applies to Buddhism? Why?

8. Buddhist meditation and Science.

Reading List for Book Report 1. Bhante H. Gunaratana. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English. Boston: Wisdom

Publications, 2012. 2. Bodhi, Bhikkhu. Facing the Future, Four Essays. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 2000. 3. _____. In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha),

Wisdom Publications, 2005.

4. Dalai Lama XIV. The Art of Happiness: a Handbook for Living. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.

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5. Edo Shonin, William Van Gordon, Mark D. Griffiths. Mindfulness and Buddhist-Derived Approaches in Mental Health and Addiction. Springer, 2016.

6. Eppsteiner, Fred. Path of compassion: writing on socially engaged Buddhism. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press, 1988.

7. Goldstein, Joseph. Insight Mediation: The Practice of Freedom. Dublin: Newleaf, 1993. 8. Harris, Sam. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2004.

(The End of Faith http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=J3YOIImOoYM&feature=related) 9. Lopez, Donald. Buddhist Scriptures, London: Penguins, 2004. 10. Rahula, W. What the Buddha Taught. London: the Gorden Fraser Gallery Ltd, 1978. 11. Shantideva. The Way of the Bodhisattva: (Bodhicaryavatara). California: Shambhala Publications, 2009.

12. Wright, Robert, Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017.

13. Zindel V. Segal, J. Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse. The Guilford Press, 2002

Recommended Reading/watching 1. Anningson, Ryan 2017. 'Theories of the Self, Race, and Essentialization in Buddhism in the United States during

the “Yellow Peril,” 1899-1957'. PhD Dissertation. Wilfrid Laurier University.

2. Bechert, Heinz & Richard Gombrich. 1989. The World of Buddhism, Thames & Hudson, London.

3. Bluck, Robert. 2006. British Buddhism: Teachings, Practice and Development. London: Routledge.

4. Boisselier, Jean. 1994. The Wisdom of the Buddha, Thames and Hudson, London. (plus later editions).

5. Buswell, Robert E. (editor in chief) 2004. Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Macmillan Reference, New York

6. Ch’en, Kenneth. 1964. Buddhism in China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

7. _____. The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973).

8. Corless, Roger J. 1989. The Vision of Buddhism, Paragon House, St. Paul.

9. Deal, William E. & Ruppert, Brian. 2015. A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism, Oxford: Wiley-

Blackwell.

10. Gernet, Jacques. 1995. Buddhism in Chinese History: an Economic History from the 5thto the

10th Centuries. Translated by Franciscus Verellen. New York: Columbia University Press. 11. Gethin, Rupert. 1998. The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press.

12. Gombrich, Richard F. 2006. Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern

Colombo. 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

13. Gowans, Christopher W. 2003. Philosophy of the Buddha, London & New York: Routledge.

14. Grosnick, William. 1995. ‘The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra’, in Donald Lopez (ed.), Buddhism in Practice

(Princeton,), 92-I06.

15. Harvey, Peter. 1990. An Introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history, and practices. New York :

Cambridge University Press.

16. Hope, Jane and Borin Van Loon. 2005. Introducing Buddha, Icon Books UK.

17. Kalupahana, David J. 1992. A History of Buddhist Philosophy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

18. Keown, Damien. 1996). A Very Short Introduction to Buddhism, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

19. Korean Buddhist Research Institute (Chae, Taeg-su), ed., 1993. The History and Culture of Buddhism in

Korea. Seoul: Dongguk University Press.

20. Life of the Buddha, documentary at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z27O-Lh-s8I

21. Powers, John. 2000. A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Oneworld, Oxford.

22. Powers, John. 2007. Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Revised Edition edition, Snow Lion. 23. Queen, Christopher S. 2000. Engaged Buddhism in the West. Boston, MA : Wisdom Publications. 24. Robinson, R., Johnson. 1997. W. The Buddhist Religions, A historical introduction. New York: Wadsworth

Publishing Company.

25. Seager, Richard Hughes. 2012. Buddhism in America, Revised and expanded edition (The Columbia

Contemporary American Religion Series), New York: Columbia University Press. 26. Schumann, H.W. 1989. The Historical Buddha. London: Arkana Penguin Books,

27. Skilton, Andrew. 1997. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2nd Edition. Birmingham, England: Windhorse

Publications. 28. Strong, John. 2001. The Buddha: a short biography, Oneworld Oxford.

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29. Strong, John S. 1994. The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations, Wadsworth Publishing Company,

Belmont.

30. Swearer, Donald. 1995. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia, 2nd edition. SUNY Press.

31. Waterhouse, Helen. 2004. ‘Buddhism in Britain: A Brief History’. In: Harris, Elizabeth J. and Kauth,

Ramona eds. Meeting Buddhists. Leicester: Christians Aware, pp. 53–66.

32. Weinstein, Stanley. 1987. Buddhism Under the Tang. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press. 33. Williams, Paul. 2008. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. 2nd ed., London and New York:

Routledge & Kegan Paul.

34. Zürcher, Erik. 1972. The Buddhist Conquest of China. Leiden: Brill. Online Sources:

1. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Robert E. Buswell, Jr., Ed. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.

It contains articles on almost every aspect of Buddhism, written by scholars of Buddhist Studies. Online access through HKU Electronic Recourses.

2. Encyclopedia of Religion. Lindsay Jones, Ed. 2nd edition. 15 vols. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Online access through HKU Electronic Recourses.

3. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism. Charles Muller (Tokyo Gakuen University), ed. It is not a product of critical scholarship but can serve the purposes of general use. Type "guest" (case-sensitive, no quotes) in the “name” area, leaving the password area blank. One can have 20 free search within 24 hours. Website address: http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/

4. A Dictionary of Buddhism. Damien Keown, ed. Online access through HKU Electronic Recourses. 5. Access to insight. This website provides only the scriptures and their English translation of the Pali Canon.

Website address: www.accesstoinsight.org/ 6. Journal of Buddhist Ethics. Free access. Web address: http://www.jbe.gold.ac.uk/ 7. Taisho Edition of the Chinese Tripitaka. Buddhist canon in classical Chinese shared by Buddhists in

China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Address: http://www.cbeta.org/index.htm. 8. Buddhist Digital Library and Museum. Free access to scholarly resources on Buddhist Studies, some full

texts in both Chinese and English are downloadable. Website address: http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/BDLM/

9. Buddhasasana. Some useful published articles of Buddhist Studies. Website address is: http://www.saigon.com/~anson/ebud/ebidx.htm

10. The Internet Sacred Text Archive. Provides a collection of outdated published scriptures of almost all major religions in the world. The Sacred Books of the East Series, which includes a selection of Buddhist texts, can be found at http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

11. Mahayana Buddhist Sutras in English. Providing access to English translation of some popular Chinese Mahayana texts. Website address: http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/

(Last updated: July 23, 2019)