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Lecturer(s)
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Serrán-Pagán Cristóbal, prof. Dr.
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Course content
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Each lecture will cover important philosophical questions discussed in each one of the assigned readings from the four books to be read during the semester. These include: Introduction: Getting to know each other and reading the syllabus together Lecture 1: Read pages 3 to 66 in Dumoulin?s book Zen Buddhism in the 20th Century Lecture 2: Read pages 66 to 102 in Dumoulin's book Lecture 3: Read pages 103 to 148 in Dumoulin?s book--PAPER 1 is due at the beginning of class: Choose only one Strength and one Weakness from the different essays of our assigned readings. Which ones? Then explain in your own words using I think or I believe your selected Strength and selected Weakness by quoting a clear text and by using the source in parenthesis (Dumoulin 50). Bring a hard copy to class (or email attachments are only allowed as the last resort) Lecture 4: Read pages vii to 27 in Suzuki's book An Introduction to Zen Buddhism Lecture 5: Read pages 28 to 57 in Suzuki's book Lecture 6: Read pages 58 to 102 in Suzuki's book--PAPER 2 is due at the beginning of class: Choose only one Strength and one Weakness from the different essays of our assigned readings. Which ones? Then explain in your own words using I think or I believe your selected Strength and selected Weakness by quoting a clear text and by using the source in parenthesis (Suzuki 10). Bring a hard copy to class (or email attachments are only allowed as the last resort) Lecture 7: Read pages ix to 58 in Merton's book Zen and the Birds of Appetite Lecture 8: Read pages 59 to 95 in Merton's book Lecture 9: Read pages 99 to 141 in Merton's book--PAPER 3 is due at the beginning of class: Choose only one Strength and one Weakness from the different essays of our assigned readings. Which ones? Then explain in your own words using I think or I believe your selected Strength and selected Weakness by quoting a clear text and by using the source in parenthesis (Merton 111). Bring a hard copy to class (or email attachments are only allowed as the last resort) Lecture 10: Read pages 23 to 95 in Nhat Hanh's book Zen Keys Lecture 11: Read pages 99 to 140 in Nhat Hanh's book Lecture 12: Read pages 143 to 198 in Nhat Hanh's book--PAPER 4 is due at the beginning of class: Choose only one Strength and one Weakness from the different essays of our assigned readings. Which ones? Then explain in your own words using I think or I believe your selected Strength and selected Weakness by quoting a clear text and by using the source in parenthesis (Nhat Hanh 50). Bring a hard copy to class (or email attachments are only allowed as the last resort) Basic Literature: Primary Sources Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism in the 20th Century. Translated by Joseph S. O?Leary. Weatherhill, 1992. Merton, Thomas. Zen and the Birds of Appetite. A New Directions Book, 1968. Nhat Hanh, Thich. Zen Keys. Doubleday, 2005. Suzuki, D.T. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. Grove Press, 1964. Recommended Literature: Secondary Sources Abe, Masao. Zen and Western Thought. Edited by William R. LaFleur. University of Hawaii Press, 1989. Bercholz, Samuel, and Sherab Chodzin Kohn. An Introduction to the Buddha and his Teachings. Barnes & Noble Book, 1997. Habito, Ruben L. F. Total Liberation: Zen Spirituality and the Social Dimension. Orbis Books, 1989. McLeod, Melvin, ed. The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh. Shambala, 2017. Nishida, Kitaro. Last Writings: Nothingness and the Religious Worldview. Translated by David A. Dilworth. University of Hawaii, 1987. Yoshinori, Takeuchi. Buddhist Spirituality: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Early Chinese. Crossroad, 1995. Wu, John C.H. The Golden Age of Zen: Zen Masters of the T?ang Dynasty. World Wisdom, 2003. Samples of new MLA: https://libguides.unf.edu/citationguide/samplemla (MLA)
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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unspecified
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Learning outcomes
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This course explores cultural, philosophical, practical, and spiritual developments of the Zen Buddhist tradition from its inception in fifth century BCE India with the Buddhist founder Gautama Siddharta the Buddha to its historical development flourishing in China and Japan. Around the sixth century CE, the monk Bodhidharma brought Chan Buddhism from India to China putting more emphasis on direct experience. Then when Chan Buddhism arrived in Japan it was called Zen Buddhism. Two major Zen schools developed overtime in Japan: Rinzai (use of koans) and Soto (use of zazen). The goal of the Zen Buddhist experience in Japan was satori or enlightenment. We will take a close look at the historical development of Zen Buddhism in the 20th Century with an introductory book by Heinrich Dumoulin and then we will turn our attention to the main scholars and contemplative writers who made Zen popular in the West, especially D. T. Suzuki, Thomas Merton, and Thich Nhat Hanh. We will explore Zen Buddhism through the perspective of the Kyoto School in Japan (Nishida Kitaro, Tanabe Hajime, Suzuki, Hisamatsu Shin?ichi, Takeuchi Yoshinori, Nishitani Keiji, Ueda Shizuteru, and Maso Abe). And we will use case studies of how Zen Buddhism was brought to the West through interfaith dialogues with Christian authors (Thomas Merton, Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle, Ruben Habito, William Johnston, and John Wu), and through the studies of Western psychologists interested in Zen (Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, and others). No previous study of Zen Buddhism is required.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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unspecified
Students are expected to do the following if they want to get a good grade at the end of the semester: Attend classes (10%): Students are expected to attend classes and sign up on the sheet of paper at the beginning of the class. My policy of attendance is that students may miss up to 2 out of the 13 classes without any penalties. But once the student misses one more class the overall grade will drop one letter grade from A to B to C to D to F unless the student brings me proof of documentation from a doctor in case of illness. The student may fail the class if he or she misses a total of 6 classes which is almost half of the semester. Then, the student will need to repeat the class. Active participation in class (10%): Students are required to read all the material before coming to class. Be ready to actively participate in class discussions by sharing their thoughts with the professor and their classmates. How so? By asking good questions and sharing your opinions based on the reading material and your own research on the given topics. 4 short papers (20% each paper=80%): Students are required to submit 4 short papers (2 pages minimum and 3 pages maximum) based on the assigned readings. Which weakness and which strength did you find in each philosophical argument mentioned in the required chapters (see syllabus in Moodle)? Choose one for a Strength and one for a Weakness. Deadlines are important. Students will drop a letter grade each day it is delayed and is not submitted at the beginning of class. NOTE: In this seminar class there are no exams or quizzes but there are plenty of activities to learn from on how to improve your written and oral skills in English and to advance in your academic knowledge of the subject. Paper 4 is a substitute for an exam or an oral presentation which counts 20% of the overall grade.
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Recommended literature
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