REL 101 Exam Topics A

The exam will be in two parts. Part I, THE FIRST HALF OF THE EXAM, will be on matters related to Writing Papers. Part II will be on topics covered thus far in the readings and lectures. If you will not be here on the exam date to take the exam, you must make prior arrangements at least one week before. You must receive prior permission for absence as well as to take the exam separately. Only exceptional cases will be allowed.

The exam will be multiple choice, and as covered in the syllabus, will count 10% of your grade. There is only one right answer per question. If there appears to be more than one right answer, pick the best answer.

If you have any questions about the exam or the topics included in the exam, please ask me. You can come in during office hours, make an appointment or send me email.

Part I: Writing Papers

Read the following essays and guidelines that are posted on the Writing Papers links on my web pages:

I. Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities

II. Four Stages of Writing

III. Paper Writing Guidelines

IV. Sentence Structure and Punctuation: Clauses and Commas

V. Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness

Part II: Readings and Lectures

I will not be overly picky about dates and names. However, you should know major figures and thinkers covered in the course so far and the major ideas associated with them:

Pre-vedic Indus Valley Religion - What kind of culture and religion: agriculture, polytheistic religion, prominent male animal fertility symbolism

Vedic Religion

• Who were the followers of Vedic religion, what were the earliest scriptures?
• What or who are Brahman and atman?
• What is the relationship between Arjuna, and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita?
• What was Arjuna's great question, and what answer did he receive?
• What are the three types of yoga (religious practices): karma (action), bhakti (devotion), and jnana (knowledge),
• What are the four classes in early Hinduism, and what is the role of these classes?

Early Buddhism

• What are the key events in the life of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha (Sâkyamuni Buddha)?
• What are the Four Noble Truths?
• What are the three marks of existence?
• Who are Maya, Yasodhara, and Sujata?
• What are Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha?
• What are Sutra, Sastra, and Vinaya?
• What is the difference between the Hindu (Vedic) conception of karma and the early Buddhist conception of karma?
• What is the relationship between karma, samsara, rebirth, and nirvana according to Early Buddhism?

Mahayana Buddhism

• What are the meanings of the terms Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism, and Nikaya Buddhism?
• What is the relationship between karma, samsara, rebirth, and nirvana according to Early Buddhism?
• What is the two-fold truth of Nagarjuna?
• What is the tetra lemma or four-step logic of Nagarjuna?
• Who is a bodhisattva?
• What is the relationship between gender and the two-fold truth as it is explained by the Goddess in the Vimalakirti Sutra (Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti)?

Early Chinese Philosophical Schools

• What are are the four middles described by Jizang (Chi-ts'ang)?
• T'ien-t'ai School: Zhiyi's (Chih-i) conception of the human nature versus the nature of ultimate reality: karmically evil versus emptiness.