Suggested Topics for Final Paper, REL 407/507 Buddhism in American Narratives

Due Tuesday, June 3, 2003, in class.

• You are encouraged to discuss these topics with each other and the instructor. Present your ideas and arguments clearly, taking into account possible objections/alternative views and examining different aspects of each theme or issue. State in full at the beginning of your paper or on a separate sheet the topic that you are writing on.
• Double-spaced, 10-12 pages.
• Be sure to write your name, the name of the class, and the title of your topic at the top of the page.
• Some topics allow for a nontraditional approach to writing such as the use of dialogue or fictitious narrative. No matter what topic you choose, be sure to provide quotations and/or textual references to substantiate the ideas.
• Students taking this for graduate credit (REL 507) should consult with instructor on topic.

I also strongly encourage you to read the essays on my "Writing Papers" web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness."

1. Discuss the possible tensions between "convert" Buddhism and "immigrant" Buddhism as found in Crooked Cucumber. Examine this tension in terms of the nature and function of ritual practice, institutional authority, and the relationship between the spiritual mission of Buddhism and the project of building a Buddhist community.

2. Historically, Gary Snyder, the inspiration for Japhy Ryder in Dharma Bums, Shunryu Suzuki of Crooked Cucumber, and Shinobu Matsuura of Compassionate Vow knew one another and were all influential in the development of Buddhism in the Bay Area of California. Compose a dialogue between these three figures discussing the development of Buddhism in America in the twenty-first century. What do they envision will be the particular opportunities and pitfalls of American Buddhism? (Note: Jane Imamura, Kaikyo-Opening the Dharma contains some information concerning the historical links between some of these figures. You are not, however, required to reference this work.)

3. Compare the lives of two figures from the course on the relation between the spiritual life and religious traditions. To what extent is religious tradition important for one's own spiritual development, and to what extent is it a hindrance? Can one's experience or fidelity to a single religious tradition open one up to appreciate and integrate diverse religious understandings? You may compose this paper in expository format or as a dialogue between the two figures. In either case, be sure to provide quotations and/or textual references to substantiate the ideas you attribute to these figures.

4. Maura Soshin O'Halloran in a sense chose to be multicultural: to enter the world of Japanese Buddhist monks in training while retaining her identity as a Irish woman; to enter the realm of intense religious practice while affirming her identity as a woman, a sexual being, and a human being with diverse intellectual interests. Her early death leaves us with a mystery as to the ultimate destiny of her life. Choose one of the following topics in relation to these circumstances: a) Discuss the ways in which she did or did not resolve the possible tension between these diverse elements while she was alive. Was there a tension at all? If so, how did her religious practice influence this. b) Provide additional narrative or journal entries that might reflect her further journeys had she lived. (Be sure to footnote your paper carefully if you choose this approach.)

5. Throughout her journal entries, Maura Soshin O'Halloran records her reflections on Zen practice in the context of her religious or spiritual journey as well as in the context of Zen as a Japanese cultural phenomenon. On the one hand, she attempts to make sense of and integrate Buddhist philosophical notions into her understanding of practice. On the other, she has serious questions about the behavior of her fellow monks and their attitudes towards women, society, and one another. How does she relate these concerns, and how do they hinder her or provide fuel for her own development?

6. Virtually all of the narrative works we have read for this course (without the possible exception of The Buddha from Brooklyn) can be understood in terms of inner and outer pilgrimage:

Pilgrimage may be thought of as extroverted mysticism, just as mysticism is introverted pilgrimage. The pilgrim physically traverses the mystical way; the mystic sets forth on an interior pilgrimage. For the former, concreteness and history dominate; for the latter, a phased interior process leads to a goal beyond conceptualization. (Edith and Victor Turner 1978: 33)

Option A: Correlate the internal and external development of one of the figure read for the course identifying at least four turning points as developments on the path of his or her "pilgrimage." As part of your paper discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using pilgrimage as a model for understanding that figure's life and thought.

Option B: Compare and contrast the life of two of the figures studied in this course in terms of the idea of inner and outer pilgrimage. Identify both similarities and differences in their pilgrimage paths.

7. Take any one author and discuss the balance of passion and compassion in her or his life and thought. How is her passion for justice tempered by her compassion? How is her erotic passion related to her compassion? Is there a moment in which her passion for justice, erotic passion, and compassion come together in a seamless whole? If so, how do they come together. If not, how might they eventually be brought together. Or will their always be some tension between the three? If so, why?

8. Analyze the life of one of the figures we studied as if it were a piece of music: a symphony, concerto, jazz improvisation. Identify themes, variations, silences and climax (spiritual experiences) , movements, and primary melodies and secondary harmonies. Devote one page at the end describing how this musical analogy helps one to understand the significance of mystical experiences in relation to the problem of death, love, and meaning. You may want to choose a specific musical composition as the matrix for your account, such as Beethoven's Appassionata or Miles Davis' So What.

9. Select any one author and examine the levels of understanding operative in her or his discourse: intellectual, intuitive, affective, and somatic. How might these levels be related to one another? Is there a hierarchy of understanding? Do they move in and out of one another fluidly? Are there progressive stages of development as seen, for example, in such figures as Etty Hillesum and Maura Soshin O'Halloran?