PAPER TOPICS II: REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism

Due Wednesday, Feb 20 in class.

* Three pages: Not more than 1000 words (You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references.)
* I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another.
* Be sure to write your name, the name of the class, and the title of your topic at the top of the page.
* 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," "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness," and "Clauses and Commas."

Zhuangzi and the Buddhism of the Kamakura Period

Compare Zhuangzi's view of practice with that of one of the following Buddhists: Myoe, Dogen, and Shinran. Both Zhuangzi on the one hand and the emerging leaders of Buddhism during the Kamakura Period (Myoe, Dogen, Shinran) on the other subscribe to philosophies of living in the world (of distinctions) but not being of it (empty of attachment to ideas of this world for Buddhists; free from the entanglements of distinctions and flowing freely in the Dao for Zhuangzi). Yet, they differ on how to cultivate such an understanding both at the level of individual awakening and in terms of their views of society. Compare and contrast.

Women in Medieval Japanese Buddhism

Compare the representation of women's religious lives as found in two of the sources we have read so far: Barbara Ruch, "The Other Side of Culture in Medieval Japan"; Mark Unno, "Chapter 5: Gendered Power of Light," Shingon Refractions; Chapter on Lady Gio from The Tale of the Heike. In the sources you examine, what is the relation between social and spiritual power? What is women's capacity for enlightenment? How, if at all, is this capacity related to social status and empowerment?

Individual Awakening and Social Enlightenment in Medieval Japan

Compare and contrast the practices of two of the following: Shinran, Dogen, and Myoe, specifically in terms of the relation between their views of individual cultivation of awakening and their visions for a Buddhist society.

Sudden and Gradual Awakening

Compare and contrast the views concerning sudden versus gradual awakening as found in two of the following Shinran, Dogen, and Myoe. Refer to the on-line outlines of the previous history of the sudden/gradual paradigm:

Notes on the Platform Sutra of Hui-neng

Notes on the Sudden/Gradual Distinction

See also,

Notes on Dogen's "Genjokoan"

(contains notes on Dogen's view of sudden awakening in Zen Buddhism)

Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu as the Path of the Sudden Teaching,"

(explains the view of sudden awakening in Pure Land Buddhism according to Shinran)

Mark Unno's Shingon Refractions (pp. 79-86)

(explains view of sudden versus gradual awakening in Myoe's Shingon Buddhism)