Unit 2 intro: objectives, discussion, videos & demonstrations

**final day to sign up for
site visit** in SacCT

BRING PRINTED COPY of WORKSHEET FOR
Unit 1 **Source Analysis**
(PDF | MS Word)
@ beginning of class

FIND TERMS & EXCERPTS from reading guide in primary sources:

• "Death, Funerals & the Division of Property in a Monastic Code"
  (RDR, 51-54, 56, 58-59, 62, 65-66 + 54-57, 60-65 *OR* BIP, 357-86)
• Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses: translator's introduction & chapter 1
  (RDR, 68-75 + 75-78)
  [OPTIONAL: "[Sutra on] Right View" (MN9 @ www.accesstoinsight.org)]
  
• "A Mahayana Liturgy"(RDR, 79-81 + 81-83)

FIND * TERMS from reading guide in these overviews:

• "Dimensions & Layers" & "Detecting Clues about Community"
  (on the "Essuential Elements of Religious Life" page of this syllabus)
• EGBT, 6-11, 15-25, 64-68; 29-41

VIEW/BROWSE images related to terms & sources:

"Story of India"--> Ashoka, part 1|2|3(YouTube / @ LMC)
"Story of India"--> The Kushans, part 1|2|3 (YouTube)
"Buddhist Icons & Their Homes " (on-line PPT)

orientation to readings
& unit 2 reading guide
(print & annotate for extra credit)

SUBMIT FINAL PRODUCT
(in Assignments tab of SacCT)
by **SUNDAY 3/10, midnight**)

iTRA #2 (in SacCT) *DUE by 11:30 am*
gTRA #2 in class

preliminary Application Exercise #2

BRING PRINTED COPY of
Unit 1 *Source Analysis* OR
*Observation Report*
@ beginning of class

Application Exercise #2a

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

REVIEW IN DEPTH & FINISH::

• "Death, Funerals & the Division of Property in a Monastic Code"
  (RDR, 51-54, 56, 58-59, 62, 65-66 + 54-57, 60-65)
  

PREPARE by addressing the following focus:

THE SCENARIO: The next time you see you neighbor Juan after your conversation identifying a common Buddhist way of thinking (see scenario for the trial Application Exercise above), he tells you:

"I've been thinking about the way Asian forms of Buddhism preserve important teachings of the Buddha, like the fact that desires lead to suffering. I can see that modern American Buddhists integrate this same idea in their own ways. But I still can't get over how different the life of an Asian monk must be. I keep seeing these guys dressed in orange on the TV--and occasionally at the supermarket or Walmart!--and I can't imagine what it would be like to give up not only all your family ties, but also all your property and all your desires for objects."

Based on your reading of the excerpts from the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya and the Avadana Shataka, you think that Juan has misunderstood the nature of life in settled monastic communities. Based on his easygoing nature and his openness to what you have told him so far, you think he will want to know about the way monks living in settled communities still have to manage property, deal with societal expectations and wrestle with common everyday desires.

PREPARATION PAGE: Gather examples from the reading to plan for what you might tell Juan, given that your GOAL in this follow-up conversation is to show him evidence that settled monks still have to manage property, deal with societal expectations and wrestle with common everyday desires. Draw ONE example from EACH of the THREE SECTIONS of the reading listed in the reading guide, especially those highlighted in blue, which were not tested for the TRA. For each example, be sure to identify

• objects, actions, words and locales involved in monastic practices described in the sources;
• types of monks and laypeople involved in them; and
• those peoples' thoughts & feelings about divine beings & supernatural forces, which seem to heighten their practices.

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBER(S) FROM EACH SECTION OF YOUR SOURCES*

Application Exercise #2b

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

REVIEW IN DEPTH & FINISH:

• Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses (RDR, 68-75 + 75-78)
• EGBT, 6-7, 9-11, 18-21, 32 & 66, 35-39
  
  [OPTIONAL: "[Sutra on] Right View" (MN9 (@ www.accesstoinsight.org)]

PREPARE by addressing the following focus:

THE SCENARIO: You happen to mention to Francine (see scenarios in Unit 1) that one of the readings for this unit is a Mahayana sutra. She responds intently:

"O my goodness, I remember reading a few of those in my Asian philosophy class and I cannot STAND those kinds of sutras. They are so long, and either they go on about so many abstract teachings for bodhisattvas who are going to spend eons perfecting themselves, or else they describe some fantastic display of miracles supposedly displayed by the Buddha. I can't believe that anyone ever took those sutras seriously as the words of the Buddha."

While you can certainly sympathize with Francine's experience of such sources, and while you have only so far read the opening chapter of the Prajna Paramita Sutra, you sense that there is a good reason why such sources became so important in the history of Buddhism. By now you know that Francine values your thoughts on these things. You think you can get her to see that the composers of Mahayana sutras were representing the intensive practices and genuine insights of solitary wanderers, which had come to be ignored or devalued in many mainstream monasteries.

PREPARATION PAGE: Gather examples from the reading to plan for what you might tell Francine, given that your GOAL is to get her to consider that the composers of Mahayana sutras were representing the practices and insights of solitary wanderers who were ignored or criticized in many mainstream monasteries. Draw ONE example from EACH of the THREE SECTIONS of the reading listed in the reading guide, especially those highlighted in blue (not tested on the TRA), PLUS one example from EGBT, 6-7, 9-11, 18-21, 32 & 66, 35-39 (or the optional source). For each example, be sure to identify

• key concepts that were part of Abhidharma study;
• main characters in the sutra, and whether they seem to represent the wanderer or the settled monk's way of thinking;
• proclamations made by those main characters which might been used to heighten some kind of practice.

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBER(S) FROM EACH SECTION OF YOUR SOURCES*

Application Exercise #2c

(*PREPARATION PAGE REQUIRED* - optional worksheet: PDF | MS Word)

SUBMIT WORKSHEET
(in Assignments tab of SacCT)
for Unit 2 **Source Analysis**
(PDF | MS Word)
OR **Observation Report**
(PDF/MS Word)
by **SATURDAY 3/30, midnight**

REVIEW IN DEPTH & FINISH:

• "A Mahayana Liturgy" (RDR, 79-81 + 81-83)
• EGBT, 23-25, 40-41, 67

PREPARE by addressing the following focus:

THE SCENARIO: A few days after your conversation with Francine about Mahayana sutras (see scenario for Application Exercise 2b above), she tells you:

"Our conversations about Buddhism have really been getting me interested in finally getting some instructions on how to meditate, rather than just meditating on my own! Do you have any recommendations about a local center that offers meditation programs? But not the Mahayana kind, please. There may be a reason that those sutras had to be written, but I still feel like all that focus on semi-divine bodhisattvas detracts from focusing on the Buddha's actual teachings."

You are more than happy to show Francine the list of local Buddhist communities listed on this site. But after reading the assigned excerpt from the BodhiCaryAvatara, you once again feel that Francine is missing something important about Mahayana practice. You think she will want to know about the practice described in that source, which shows that medieval Mahayana monks focused their thoughts and feelings in much the same way that Shakyamuni reportedly did while facing all the trials that led to his awakening."

PREPARATION PAGE: Gather examples from the reading to plan for what you might tell Francine, given that your GOAL is to show her that medieval Mahayana monks focused their thoughts and feelings in much the same way that Shakyamuni reportedly did while facing all the trials that led to his awakening. Draw ONE example from EACH of the THREE SECTIONS of the reading listed in the reading guide, especially those highlighted in blue (not tested on the TRA), PLUS one example from EGBT, 23-25, 40-41, 67. For each example, be sure to identify

• objects, actions and locales imagined as part of the practice described in the sources;
• ways that such imaginative thoughts & feelings about divine beings & supernatural forces have the potential to heighten daily practice.
  

*MAKE SURE TO CITE PAGE NUMBER(S) FROM EACH SECTION OF YOUR SOURCES*