RELB5460 MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

Class location and time: Tuesday 3:30-5:50 Gibson 342

Instructor: KAREN LANG, Gibson 436

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30-3:30 and by appointment. E-mail: kcl@virginia.edu

Course description: This seminar will explore the development of

Mahayana Buddhist thought through reading selected Mahayana sutras and philosophical works inspired by these sutras.  

Course requirements

1. Active participation. To encourage active participation we will divide the responsibilities for stimulating discussion on the assigned readings among various members of the seminar.  The person/ people responsible for a particular session will prepare response to the readings that highlights passages from the assigned readings that are worth discussing and/or raises questions and comments that relate to these passages and/or to the readings as a whole.  You could also suggest readings for us to look at.  Post responses by Monday. Everyone should read what's been posted before class on Tuesday and respond to these e mail messages either on the forum on the class web site or in class.    Each of you will bring different strengths and interests to the seminar that will contribute our understanding of these Buddhist scriptures.

2. Term paper (ca 15-25 pages).  Due in my email box on or before May 5th.

In this paper you might: (a) trace how a particular philosophical issue develops over time, (b) focus on interpretations of a particular philosopher or philosophical topic  (c) a comparison of how Buddhist and western philosophy  (or other Asian philosophies/religions) treat one or more of the issues discussed (d) come up with a topic that best matches your particular interests.

 

Texts

Carpenter, Amber, Indian Buddhist Philosophy. (C)

Edelglass, William and Jay Garfield, eds. Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings (E & G)  

Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.

* = posted under resources on the class collab site

 

Weekly Topics and Readings

1/20 Introduction: The Buddha’s teachings

Readings:  Carpenter (The Buddha’s suffering, Practice and theory of no self) pp-1-48; and Harvey, "Theravāda Philosophy of Mind and the Person" in E&G, pp. 265-74.

1/27 Early Mahayana and the ideal person: arhats and bodhisattvas

Readings: Carpenter, (Klesas and compassion), pp. 48-71; Williams, (Introduction) pp. 1-33; *Harrison, “Who Gets to Ride in the Great Vehicle: Self image and identity among the followers of Early Mahayana.”

2/3 The first Mahayana sutras: Perfection of wisdom literature

Readings: Williams, (The Perfection of Wisdom) pp.45-62; *selections from *Conze, The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines;  *Nattier, “The Heart Sutra: A Chinese Apocryphal Text? “ (Heart Sutra translation on pp. 154-58), and *Conze, tr. Diamond Sutra.

2/10  Nagarjuna and the beginnings of the Madhyamaka School

Readings: Carpenter,  (The second Buddha’s greater vehicle) pp.72-92; Williams (Madhyamaka), pp. 63-83; Garfield "Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakārikās: chapter 24"  in E & G, pp. 26-33; *Garfield, tr. Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (pp. 87-99, MMK 12 “examination of suffering”  pp.202-206, MMK 13 “examination of compounded phenomena” pp.206-215,   MMK 15 “examination of essence”  pp.220-224, MMK 18 “examination of selves and entities” pp. 245-253, and MMK 25 “pp.322-334; and *Dunne & McClintock, trs., chap 4 of Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland.

2/17 Mahayana sutras: visions of pure lands and Buddha bodies

Readings: Williams, (On the bodies of the Buddha) 172-186; and (Trust, self-abandonment and devotion: the cults of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (pp. 209-266); *Gomez, “Introduction to the Longer Sutra” and *Longer Sukhavativyuha Sutra (translation);  *Nattier, “Aksobhya; *Harrison, “Buddhanusmrti” and *Harrison, tr. chapter 3 of the  Pratyutpannasutra; and *Yamabe, “the Practice of Visualization and the Visualization Sutra: An Examination of Mural Paintings at Toyok, Turfan.”  

2/24  Vasubandhu’s  critique of selves, souls, and persons in the Abhidharmakosa

Readings:  Carpenter, (Irresponsible selves, responsible non-selves) pp. 117-136; Lusthaus, “Pudgalavadin Doctrines of the Person” in E& G pp. 275-285, Duerlinger, “Vasubandhu’s Abhidhakarmakosa: Critique of the Pudgalavadin Theory of Persons” in E & G, pp. 286-296, Goodman, “Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa: the Critique of the Soul ” in E &G pp. 297-308; and *Kapstein, “Vasubandhu and Nyaya Philosophers on Personal Identity.”  

3/3 Vasubandhu and Asanga: Yogācāra masters

Readings:  Carpenter, The third turning: Yogācāra) pp. 137-168); Williams,(Yogācāra), pp. 84-103; Garfield, " Vasubandhu's Trisvabhāva" in E & G, pp. 35-45; Sparham, "Asaṅga's Bodhisattvabhūmi" in E & G, pp. 400-08; *Lusthaus, “What is and isn’t Yogācāra”; *Cronk, tr. Vasubandhu’s Twenty verses; and *Anacker, “the Meditational Therapy of the Madhyantavibhaga.”

3/10 Spring break!

3/17 Mahayana sutras: Tathagatagarbha, Gandavyuha-sutra, and Hua-Yen

Readings: Williams, (Tathagatagarbha) pp. 103-121 and (Hua-yen: Flower Garland tradition), pp. 129-149;  Fox, “Dushun’s Huayan Fajie Guan Men (Meditative Approaches to the Huayan Dharmadhātu)” in E & G, pp. 73-81; *Cole, *Sameness with a Difference in the Tathagatagarbhasutra;  *Gomez, “Bodhisattva as Wonder Worker”; *Gomez, tr. “The Whole Universe in a Sutra”; *Grosnick, the Tathagatagarbhasutra; and *King, “Buddha-nature; and *Osto, “Proto-Tantric elements in the Elements in the Gandavyuhasutra.”  

3/24: Madhyamaka (Bhaviveka, Candrakirti) and Yogacara (Dignaga, Dharmapal )debates:

Readings: Carpenter, “Epistemology as Ethics” pp.169-214; Hayes, "Sensation, Inference, and Language" in E & G, pp. 107-115, Huntington, "Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya 6.86-97"  in E & G, pp. 309-319; *Arnold, tr.  Materials for a Madhyamaka critique of Foundationalism: An annotated translation of Prasannapada 55.11-75.13; and *Eckel, “Chapter 5: Analysis of Reality According to the Yogacaras; ” *Hoornaert,”The Dharmapala-Bhavavieka debate.”

3/31 The Buddhist Epistemologists

Readings: Carpenter, “Epistemology as Ethics” pp.214-224;  Arnold, “Dharmakīrti and Dharmottara on the Intentionality of Perception” in E & G, pp. 186-196,  Gillon, “The Role of Knowledge of Causation in Dharmakīrti’s Theory of Inference”  in E& G pp. 197-203; *Arnold, *Dunne,  “Key features of Dharmakirti’s Apoha Theory”; and *Inami, “The Problem of Other Minds in the Buddhist Epistemological Tradition.”

4/7 the Bodhisattva Path

 Readings: Carpenter, pp. 224-231; Williams, pp. 187-208; Edelfield, “The Bodhisattva Path” in E&G pp.  388-389; *Garfield, “What is Like to be a bodhisattva?;  *Lang, Four Illusions: Candrakirti’s advice to travelers on the bodhisattva path, pp. 3-67; *Berzin, tr. Bodhicaryavatara (chap.9), pp. 89-109.

4/14 Indian Gradualism vs. Chan/Zen

Gradual approach: readings: Parkes, "Dogen's 'Mountain and Waters as Sūtras" in E & G, pp. 83-92 Davis, “Nishitani Keiji's The Standpoint of Zen" in E & G, pp. 93-102; Davis, "the Presencing of Truth" in E & G, pp. 251-59; Park, " The Mind is Buddha" in E & G pp. 348- 357;   *Beyer, “The Meditations of a Bodhisattva, pt. 1&2 and ” *Conze, Quietist Controversy.”

4/21: Tibetan interpretations of Madhyamaka and Yogacara  

Kapstein, “Mipham Namgyel: the Lion’s Roar Affirming Extrinsic Emptiness” in E & G pp. 61-72,Garfield, “Understanding the Two Truths" in E & G pp. 224-236; Cabezon, "Language and the Ultimate" in E & G pp. 126-136; van der Kuijp, “Classification of Nonauthoritative Cognitive Processes (tshad min) in the Ngog and Sakya traditions“ in E & G, pp. 220-223;  *Williams, “A Note on some aspects of Mi bskyod rdo rje's critique of dGe lugs pa Madhyamaka”;*Garfield, “the conventional status of reflexive awareness: what’s at stake in a Tibetan debate?”; Germano and Waldron *A comparison of alaya-vijñana in Yogacara and Dzogschen”in Buddhist thought and applied psychological research, pp. 36-68;  and Mathes,  “The gzhan stong model of reality – Some more material on its origin, transmission, and interpretation”;

4/28 Buddhist Ethics and Contemporary Buddhist Issues 

Readings: Karma Lekse Tsomo, “Buddhist Feminist Reflections” in E & G, pp. 437-448. Edelgrass, “ Thich Nhat Hahn’s Interbeing” and “Joanna Macy: the Ecological Self” in E & G, pp. 419-436.