REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism, Fall 2007 Mark Unno
CRN15240/15241
Medieval Japanese Buddhism
Instructor: Mark T. Unno, Office: PLC 812, Tel.
346-4973, Email: munno@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Unno Home Page: http://www.uoregon.edu/~munno/
2:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m., CON 201; Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00-4:00 p.m.
PLC 812
Overview
REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism for 2004-05 focuses on
the selected strains of Japanese Buddhism during the medieval period
from the thirteenth through the eighteenth centuries. The course
weaves together the examination of religious thought and cultural
developments in historical context. We begin the course with an
examination of the Chinese Daoist classic Zhuangzi. While this
might seem unusual in a course on Japanese Buddhism, as we shall see
it reflects a classical influence in the formation of Japanese
religion generally. We then go on to read works that introduce
elements of Japanese Buddhist thought and cultural context including
those dealing with the function of state religion and the worshipping
the kami or native gods. Once some of the outlines of the
intellectual and cultural framework of medieval Japanese Buddhism
have been brought into relief, we will proceed to examine in depth
examples of significant developments. In particular, we will delve
into the work of Myoe Koben (1173-1232), a monk of the Kegon and
Shingon sects; Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), Zen master and founding
figure of the Soto sect; and Shinran, founding figure of Jodo
Shinshu, the largest Pure Land sect, more simply known as Shin
Buddhism.
Themes of the course include: Buddhism as state religion; the
relation between institutional practices and individual self
cultivation; ritual practices and transgression; gender roles and
relations; relations between ordained and lay; religious authority
and enlightenment; and two-fold truth and religious practice. The
seminar format includes lecture, student presentations, and
discussion.
Requirements
1. Attendance: Required. Students can have one
unexcused absence without penalty. Each class missed thereafter
without prior permission will result in 1/2 grade penalty for the
course grade.
2. Short exams: There will be two short, in-class exams, based
on materials from the readings, lectures, and course web site.
3. Medium papers & summaries: There will be two medium-length
papers (3-4 pages) based on topics that will be provided by the
instructor.
4. Presentation: Students will make a presentation on the readings
for one of the section meetings. The presenter should not
summarize the reading but should use the presentation to discuss why
the selected ideas/passages in question are important for
understanding the reading and proceed to explain as well as raise
questions about these ideas/passages.
The primary purpose of these presentations is to launch the
discussion, not to demonstrate breadth of knowledge or to lead the
discussion. Each presenter will prepare a handout with 2 questions
and brief, corresponding quotations from the readings. More detailed
instructions will be provided on the course web site.
5. Final paper: Each student will hand in a final paper of 8-11 pages
double-spaced (A longer final paper of 12-15 pages will be required
for those who have registered for REL544.) Suggested topics will be
provided. Students may choose to create their own topics with the
consent of the instructor. In the case of the latter, a one-paragraph
description of the topic must be submitted by email to the
instructor four days prior to the due date for the peer review
draft.
Peer review draft for final paper: Drafts will be required for the
final paper. Instructions to follow.
6. Late policy on written assignments: Three grace days total will be
allotted excluding the final paper for which no extensions will be
given. For the short papers, a cumulative total of three late days
will be allowed without penalty. Thereafter, each late day will
result in a two-point deduction from the course grade. Weekends are
not counted against the grace days.
Email accounts. Students should all have email accounts. Your
email address will be used to communicate with you during the
course.
Grades
Short exam A 10% Short exam B 10%
Short paper I 15% Short paper II 15%
Presentation 10% Discussion 10%
Final paper 30%
Assignment Schedule Exam A-10/4, Exam B-11/1, Paper
I-10/18, Paper II-11/8, Final Paper 11/29.
Required Texts
- Shinmon Aoki, Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist
Mortician (Anaheim, CA: Buddhist Education Ctr, 2002).
- John Stevens, One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poems of Ryokan
(NY: Weatherhill, 1977).
- Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of
Zen Buddhist Practice (Boston: Wisdom, 2004).
- Mark Unno, Shingon Refractions: Myoe and the Mantra of
Light (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2004).
- Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic
(Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center Press, 1987).
- Burton Watson, trans., Zhuangzi (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2003).
Course Reader-REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism
(Spring 2005).
Course Readings:
Bibliography & Schedule
[All readings from Course Reader unless followed
by (RT)=(Required Text)]
Week I: Sept 27:
Introduction-Course Overview: The Background of Buddhism; Buddhism
and Japanese Religion
Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), 9-26.
Robert A. F. Thurman, trans., The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti
(University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1987), 56-63,
73-77.
Hayao KAWAI, "Japanese Mythology: Balancing the Gods," in his Dreams,
Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan (Daimon, 1995), 67-97.
Week II: Oct 4: Background of Japanese Buddhism-Religion and the
State: EXAM A in class.
Toshio Kuroda, "Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion," tr.
by James Dobbins and Suzanne Gay, Journal of Japanese Studies
7:1 (Winter 1981), 1-21.
Robert E. Morrell, "Tendai's Jien as Buddhist Priest," Early
Kamakura Buddhism-A Minority Report, 23-43.
Joseph Kitagawa, "Chapter 6. The Shadow and the Sun: A Glimpse of the
Fujiwara and the Imperial Families in Japan," in his On
Understanding Japanese Religion (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1987), 98-116.
Jeffrey P. Mass, "The Emergence of the Kamakura Bakufu [Military
Government]" in Medieval Japan-Essays in Institutional
History, ed. John W. Hall and Jeffrey P. Mass (Stanford: Stanford
University Press), 127-156.
Week III: Oct 11: Zhuangzi and Daoism; Buddhism and Karma
Burton Watson, trans., Zhuangzi (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2003)(focus pages: 31-49,
62-63, 78-81, 94-95, 126-140) (RT).
P. J. Ivanhoe, "Zhuangzi on Skepticism, Skill, and the Ineffable
Dao," Journal of the AAR, LX:4 639-654.
William LaFleur, "Chapter 2 In and out of the Rokudo," Karma
of Words-Buddhism and the literary arts in medieval Japan
(Berkeley : University of California Press, 1983), 26-59 (focus pages
49-59).
Helen Craig McCullough, tr. The Tale of the Heike (Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 1988), 1-6, 17-19, 23-37, 207-215,
426-438.
Week IV: Oct 18: Myoe Koben: Kegon and Shingon Monk: PAPER I due
in class.
Mark Unno, Shingon Refractions: Myoe and the Mantra of Light
(Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2004)(RT)(focus pages:
1-150).
Mark Unno, "Myoe Koben and the Uses of Reason," unpublished paper,
Stanford University, 1993, 1-6.
Week V: Oct 25: Eihei Dogen: Zen Master of the Soto School
Key
Terms: Dogen's Zen Buddhism
Norman Waddell and Masao Abe, tr. "Shobogenzo Genjokoan," by
Dogen Kigen, The Eastern Buddhist 5:2 (10/1972), 129-140.
Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen
Buddhist Practice (Boston: Wisdom, 2004).
Barbara Ruch, "The Other Side of Culture in Medieval Japan," in The
Cambridge History of Japan&endash;Volume 3 Medieval Japan, ed. by
Kozo Yamamura (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press,
1990), 500-511.
Week VI: Nov 1: Gutoku Shinran: Foolish Being of Pure Land
Buddhism: EXAM B in class.
Key
Terms: Shinran's Pure Land Buddhism (Shin Buddhism)
Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu of No-Meaning and the
Problem of Genres in the Writings and Statements of Gutoku Shinran,"
The Pure Land 10-11 (12/1994), 1-9.
Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu
as the Path of the Sudden Teaching," unpublished paper,
IASBS Conference, 1995, 1-7.
Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic (Honolulu:
Buddhist Study Center Press, 1987)(RT).
Week VII: Nov 8:Zen Poetry of Ryokan: PAPER II due in
class.
Steven Heine, The Zen Poetry of Dogen (Boston: Tuttle, 1997),
1-34.
John Stevens, One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poems of Ryokan (NY:
Weatherhill, 1977)(RT).
Week VIII: Nov 15: Bridging Pre-modern and Modern: Coffinman
Shinmon Aoki, Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician
(Anaheim, CA: Buddhist Education Ctr, 2002)(RT).
Week IX: Nov 22: Presentation of Student Research Topics
Week X: Nov 29: Concluding Beginnings: FINAL PAPER due in
class.
Wrap-up remarks and discussion.