REL303ShortTopicsII

Topics for Paper II, REL 303 Japanese Religions

Due on Canvas, Mon, Nov 16, 2026.

Select either PATH A or B (One topic from Path A, or Path B). In Path A, you will compose a traditional academic essay. In Path B, you will create a series of stories/narratives (fictional, or can be based on non-fiction material) for Papers 1, II, and the Final Paper, so that the end result will be one story/narrative. This provides for more creativity but can be more challenging as well, since it requires showing literary ability.

For All Papers:
REGARDLESS of whether you select Path A or B, you will be graded on the basis of your understanding of the course readings and materials, and your ability to cite your sources
Double-spaced, not more than 700 words (If necessary, you can go over some, but the topics are designed so that you can address them within the limited space alloted. You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references. Provide a bibliography at the end.)
I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another. You might find the Discussion Board on the Blackboard site for this course to be a convenient way to exchange ideas.
Be sure to write your name, the name of the class, and the TOPIC NUMBER and TITLE for Path A (1. Applying the Hollow-Centered Model, 2. Shamanism and Divine Madness, and so forth) at the top of the page.
I also encourage you to read the essays on my Writing web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness." Be sure to provide CITATIONS for your paper (direct quotations and/or page references plus bibliography) There is no need to go to any materials other than the assigned readings.

Two to three pages (If necessary, you can go over some, but the topics are designed so that you can address them within the limited space alloted. You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references. Provide a bibliography at the end.)
Select ONE topic from below, either from Topics A, or Topic B.
I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another.
Write your name, the name of the class, and the number and title of your topic at the top of the page.
For both Topics A and B, be sure to document your ideas. Include direct quotations and/or page references from the readingsrelevant to your chosen topic in developing the body of your paper. If you are using a source that does not have page numbers (such as the Kindle version of a book), then there are other ways to document your use of the sources: a) As noted above, you can use direct quotations, and cite your sources in the Bibliography. b) You can provide an annotated Bibliography with a brief paragraph description of how you used each of the sources under each bibliography entry. For citation and bibliography format, you can view the "Writing Sample" from the Writing Page (scroll to the bottom) from my Home Page. For Topics B, you can choose to just provide an annotated Bibliography with a paragraph description for each of the sources used.
I also strongly encourage you to read the essays on my Writing web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness."
I encourage you to use Grammerly, an online writing aid tool, available free at https://www.grammarly.com/ The basic version is free.

TOPICS A (Topics 1 through 3 below carry over from Paper I. I have repeated them here because the readings were assigned just before Paper I was due. DO NOT DO Topics 1 through 3 if you wrote about one of them for Paper I.)

1. Dogen and Sitting-Only
Dogen emphasized "sitting-only" as the core of his Zen Buddhist practice. Explain how this concept is both historical and philosophical. Identify at least two passages from the readings for Week 5 that illustrate your views (CR11, 12).

2. Dogen and Shunryu Suzuki
Use two passages from Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind to explain two passages from the "Genjokoan" chapter from Dogen's Shobogenzo. (There are passages that Suzuki directly refers to from the "Genjokoan") (CR11).

3. Barbara Ruch and Women from Previous Readings
In the "Other Side of Culture in Medieval Japan" (CR 13), Barbara Ruch presents the story of the Zen nun Mugai along with her idea that women in Medieval Japan could only pursue independence as a nun or a prostitute. Compare and contrast this female figures presented in earlier readings (such as the Unno reading on women in the chapter on the "Gendered Power of Light" (CR 9) and the Tale of Heike (CR 6).

4. Shinran and Shin Buddhism
Discuss two passages from the Tannisho and how they illustrate Shinran's practice of saying/chanting the Name of Amida Buddha, Namu Amida Butsu, as an expression of the oneness or nonduality of blind passions and boundless compassion, the foolish being and Amida Buddha. karmic self and Amida self.

5. Shinran and Dogen
Shinran and Dogen, Pure Land teacher and Zen master, each appealed to different formulations of the two-fold truth. Shinran spoke of Amida Buddha and the foolish being, Dogen of the traceless enlightenment of buddhas and sentient beings with illusions. Not only did their versions of Buddhist thought differ, but their social visions also diverged: Dogen established a mountain monastery for monks; Shinran went to live among the farmers as a married priest, "neither monk nor layman."

First Option: Pick one passage from Dogen's "Genjokoan" and use it as the basis to comment on Shinran's vision of Pure Land Buddhism. (Of course, you can draw on other ideas from the "Genjokoan," but use one passage as the focus.) Where does Dogen agree or disagree with Shinran?

Second Option: Pick one passage from the Tannisho (which contains Shinran's ideas) and use it to comment on Dogen's vision of Zen Buddhism. (Of course, you can draw on other ideas from the Tannisho, but use one passage as the focus.) Where does Shinran agree or disagree with Dogen?

6. The Buddhist Monk Myoe and his shamaness cousin, the Woman of Yuasa

Based on Myoe's own records (see Unno, CR9), he asks the kami or deity of the Kasuga Shrine if he should go to India, and through the voice of his shamaness cousin, the Woman of Yuasa, the Kasuga deity tells him that he should remain in Japan. The Kasuga deity is supposed to be the representative of the Buddha himself in Japan. Yet, why should Myoe seek such an indirect answer (Cousin Shamaness <-- possessed by <-- Kasuga Deity <-- representing <-- The Buddha)? Who is really in charge here, the Kasuga deity (the deity of the Fujiwara clan) that possesses Myoe's cousin, or the Buddha's teaching on emptiness that Myoe relied on? (Suggestion: You may find some of the earlier articles dealing with shamans and kami helpful for thinking about this question.)

TOPICS B
You need to select an initial scenario from among the following. You can write in either the first-person voice ("I") or third-person voice ("He/She/They, or Sam, Joey, Margaret, etc.) Each of the following contains specific experiences based on the readings from the course. If you would rather incorporate something else, just send me an email asking about other readings/figures/episodes from the course, and you can modity the topic/story accordingly.

A. Time and Dimensional Traveler
You (or the character you created) for Paper I continue your journey through time and space. You are introduced to the Woman of Yuasa, the cousin of the monk Myoe (Unno, CR9) who is the miko or shamanic priestess of the Kasuga Shrine. She explains that she, too, is a kind of time traveler, bringing the teachings of the historical Buddha Śākyamuni into the present of Medieval Japan where she conveys the message to her cousin Myoe that he should stay in Japan to help the people there rather than travel to India to see the Buddhist remains from the time of the Buddha. You (or the character you created) engage in a dialogue that explores the nature of time and space, of earthly existence in the present moment here-and-now and the intervention of deities who descend from other times and realms to inform the present. You discuss at least one other case, such as that of the Goddess in the Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti (CR5), and whether she was really possessed by the Kasuga Deity and in turn the Buddha himself, or whether this is an act she puts on to keep Myoe as an influential figure of the Fujiwara clan. Alternately, you can choose some source outside the course, such as the film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, or a novel you read. Be sure to document and provide a bibliography.

B. Scholar with a Hidden Wound
You (or the character you created) are/is a scholar/professor of premodern Japanese religion. Continuing with your story from Paper I, you begin to discover that your need to keep up your image as an accomplished scholar might have been a hindrance to deeper self-knowledge that could lead to awakening and liberation. You reflect ideas from Buddhist masters that help you to begin understand this. This might include Zen Master Dōgen's idea that even "weeds" (delusions, attachments) are included in the spacious awareness of emptiness/buddha-nature (also found in Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind); Zen master Shunryu Suzuki's emphasis on the profound humility of Zen "beginner's mind"; and Shin Buddhist founder Shinran's idea that the blind passions of the foolish being are not simply hindrances to enlightenment but the very window or portal to the realization of Boundless Compassion, that blind passions and Boundless Compassion exist in oneness/nonduality. Be sure to document and provide a bibliography.

C. Private Individual with a Traumatic Past
You (or the character you created) have/has a traumatic past due to something - it could be as a victim of violence, lack or denial of emotional connection or nurturing, escape from a life and death situation. You continue your journey of healing and liberation. You take a trip to the ancient cultural and religious capital of Japan, Kyoto. There you meet a Tea Master who invites you into a tea ceremony (CR10). Something about the experience begins to shift your view of your past trauma that begins to open a path to healing. Then, you meet a Buddhist master who cites the work of one of the masters (such as Zen master Dōgen or founder of Shin Buddhism Shinran) that further opens up your journey.