REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism, Fall 2021
CRN15514/5
Mark Unno
Instructor: Mark T. Unno, munno (at) uoregon.edu
http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/
Wed. 2:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m., PLC 189; Office Hours by Zoom: Mon & Tues
11:40-12:30 pm. or by appointment (email)
https://uoregon.zoom.us/j/97212514247?pwd=eFBUTEtCdWpOakZTNGROazFSdXpIdz09
See also, Syllabus Appendix
Overview
REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism focuses on
selected strains of Japanese Buddhism during the medieval period, especially
the Kamakura (1185-1333), but also traces influences on later developments
including the modern period. The course weaves together the examination of
religious thought and cultural developments in historical context. We begin
with an overview of key Buddhist concepts for those without prior exposure and
go onto examine the formative matrix of early Japanese religion. Once some of
the outlines of the intellectual and cultural framework of medieval Japanese
Buddhism have been brought into relief, we will proceed to examine in depth
examples of significant medieval developments. In particular,
we will delve into the work of three contemporary figures: Eihei Dōgen
(1200-1253), Zen master and founding figure of the Sōtō sect; Myōe of the
Shingon and Kegon sects, focusing on his Shingon practices; and Shinran,
founding figure of Jōdo Shinshū, the largest Pure Land sect, more simply known
as Shin Buddhism. We conclude with the study of some modern examples that
nonetheless are grounded in classical and medieval sources, thus revealing the
ongoing influence and transformations of medieval Japanese Buddhism in
intertextual context. Themes of the course include:
Buddhism as state religion; the relation between institutional practices and
individual religious cultivation; ritual practices and transgression; gender
idenity and relations; relations between ordained and lay; religious authority
and enlightenment; and two-fold truth and religious practice. The seminar
format includes lecture, student presentations, and discussion. Students will
have latitude to develop their own final research projects.
Requirements
1. Attendance: Required. Students can have one
unexcused absence without penalty. Each class missed thereafter without prior
permission will result in 1/2 grade penalty for the course grade.
2. Short exams: There will be one short, in-class exams, based on materials from the readings, lectures, and course web site.
3. Medium papers: There will be two medium-length papers (3-4 pages) based on topics that will be provided by the instructor.
4. Brief Research/Writing assignment: There will be one brief research/writing assignment. Details available on web site.
5. Presentation: Students will make a presentation
on the readings for one of the section meetings. The presenter should not
summarize the reading but should use the presentation to discuss why the
selected ideas/passages in question are important for understanding the reading
and proceed to explain as well as raise questions about these ideas/passages.
The primary purpose of these presentations is to launch
the discussion, not to demonstrate breadth of knowledge or to lead the
discussion. Each presenter will prepare a handout with 2 questions and brief,
corresponding quotations from the readings. More detailed instructions will be
provided on the course web site.
6. Final paper: Each student will hand in a final paper of 8-11 pages double-spaced (A longer final paper of 12-15 pages will be required for those who have registered for REL544.) Suggested topics will be provided. Students may choose to create their own topics in consultation with the instructor. In the case of the latter, a one-paragraph description of the topic must be submitted by email to the instructor at least one week prior to the due date, but an earlier consultation is recommended.
7. Late policy on written assignments: Three grace days total will be allotted excluding the final paper for which no extensions will be given. For the short papers, a cumulative total of three late days will be allowed without penalty. Thereafter, each late day will result in a two-point deduction from the course grade. Weekends are not counted against the grace days.
8. Be sure to bring the readings to class or have them available on a screen device so that we can discuss specific passages.
Grades (Grading Critera link)
Short Exam 10% Short paper I 15% Short paper
II 15% Group
Project 10%
Presentation 10% Discussion 10% Final paper 30%
Learning Outcomes
In this course students will: 1)
develop a sophisticated understanding of how Medieval Japanese Buddhism
constituted a formative moment in the development of major schools such as Zen
and Pure Land, 2) acquire tools for the study of Buddhism based on both emic
and etic sources (primary texts and secondary scholarly literature), 3) learn
to identify and analyze thematic presentations of Buddhist thought and praxis
including gender, sexuality, national identity, and class, and 4) have their
work assessed through exams, papers, and class discussion.
Required Texts
1. Shinmon Aoki, Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist
Mortician (Anaheim, CA: Buddhist Education Ctr, 2002).
2. Natalie Goldberg, A Long Quiet Highway (NY: Bantam,
1994).
4. Mark Unno, Shingon Refractions: Myōe and the Mantra of
Light (Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2004).
5. Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic (Honolulu:
Buddhist Study Center Press, 1996).
6. Course Packet-REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Fall
2021).
Course Packet REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism, Fall 2021 (Focus pages marked with asterisk*)
Introductory background material for those without coursework in Buddhism or Japanese Religion
·
1. Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) 9-26.
·
2. Robert A. F. Thurman, trans., The Holy Teaching of
Vimalakirti (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1987)
56-63, 73-77.*
·
3. Hayao Kawai, "Japanese Mythology: Balancing the
Gods," in his Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan (Daimon, 1995)
67-97.*
Matrix of Japanese society and religion leading up to the Kamakura Period
·
4. Toshio Kuroda, "Shinto in the History of Japanese
Religion," tr. by James Dobbins and Suzanne Gay, Journal of Japanese
Studies 7:1 (Winter 1981), 1-21.*
·
5. Joseph Kitagawa, "Chapter 6. The Shadow and the Sun:
A Glimpse of the Fujiwara and the Imperial Families in Japan," in his
On Understanding Japanese Religion (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1987), 98-116.
·
6. William LaFleur, "Chapter 2 In and out of the
Rokudō," in his Karma of Words-Buddhism and the Literary Arts in
Medieval Japan (Berkeley : University of
California Press, 1983) 26-59 (48-59*).
Matrix of Japanese society and the development of Buddhism into the Kamakura Period
·
7. Helen Craig McCullough, tr. The Tale of the Heike
(Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press, 1988), 1-6, 17-19, 23-37.*
·
8. Robert E. Morrell, "Tendai's Jien as Buddhist Priest,"
Early Kamakura Buddhism-A Minority Report, 23-43.
·
9. Kazuo OSUMI, “Buddhism in the Kamakura Period,” in The
Cambridge History of Japan, Vol 3 Medieval Japan, gen. ed. Kozo YAMAMURA
(NY: Cambridge University Press), 544-563 (544-555, 560-563*).
·
10. Jeffrey P. Mass, "The Emergence of the Kamakura
Bakufu [Military Government]" in Medieval Japan-Essays in Institutional
History, ed. John W. Hall and Jeffrey P. Mass (Stanford: Stanford
University Press), 127-156.
The Zen Buddhism of Dōgen
·
11. Mark Unno, “Philosophical Terms in the Zen Buddhist
Thought of Dōgen.”*
·
12. Mark Unno, “18. Shushōgi Paragraph 30,”
Engaging Dōgen’s Zen, eds. Bret Davis, Jason Wirth, & Brian Schroeder
(Boston: Wisdom, 2016), 179-184.*
·
13. Norman Waddell & Masao Abe, tr. "Shōbōgenzō
Genjōkōan," by Dōgen Kigen, The Eastern Buddhist 5:2 (10/1972),
129-140.*
·
14. Steven Heine, The Zen Poetry of Dogen (Boston:
Tuttle, 1997), 1-34.
·
15. Barbara Ruch, "The Other Side of Culture in
Medieval Japan," in The Cambridge History of Japan - Volume 3
Medieval Japan, 500-511.*
The Shin Buddhism of Shinran
·
16. Mark Unno, “Key Terms – Pure Land Buddhism and the
Philosophy of Hōnen and Shinran.”
·
17. Mark Unno, “The Original Buddhist Rebel - Shinran,” Tricycle
(Winter 2017), 1-16.
·
18. Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu of No-Meaning and the
Problem of Genres in the Writings and Statements of Gutoku Shinran," The
Pure Land 10-11 (12/1994) 1-9.*
Further readings on the background of women and gender in Buddhism and in the context of the Kamakura Period
·
19. Rita Gross, Buddhism after Patriarchy (Albany:
SUNY Press, 1990), 29-54.*
·
20. Lori Meeks, Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female
Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press,
2010) 250-300.
REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism: Weekly Schedule
[All readings from
Course Packet unless followed by (RT)=(Required Text)] (Focus pages marked with asterisk*)
Week I: Sept 29: Introduction-Course Overview:
The Background of Buddhism; Buddhism and Japanese Religion
Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 9-26.
Robert A. F. Thurman, trans., The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti (University Park: Pennsylvania State University
Press, 1987), 56-63, 73-77.*
Hayao KAWAI, "Japanese
Mythology: Balancing the Gods," in his Dreams,
Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan (Daimon, 1995), 67-97.*
Week II: Oct 6: Background of Japanese Buddhism-Religion and the
State; Karma in Medieval Japan
Toshio Kuroda,
"Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion," tr. by James Dobbins
and Suzanne Gay, Journal of Japanese Studies 7:1 (Winter 1981), 1-21.*
Joseph Kitagawa, "Chapter
6. The Shadow and the Sun: A Glimpse of the Fujiwara and the Imperial Families
in Japan," in his On Understanding
Japanese Religion
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987), 98-116.
William LaFleur, "Chapter 2 In and out of the
Rokudo," Karma of Words-Buddhism and the literary arts in medieval
Japan (Berkeley : University of California Press,
1983), 26-59 (48-59*).
Week III: Oct 13: Buddhism in the Kamakura Period: Themes and
Background
EXAM IN CLASS
Helen Craig McCullough, tr. The Tale of the Heike
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 1-6, 17-19, 23-37.*
Robert E. Morrell, "Tendai's Jien as Buddhist Priest," Early Kamakura Buddhism-A Minority Report, 23-43.
Jeffrey P. Mass, "The Emergence of the Kamakura Bakufu [Military Government]" in Medieval Japan-Essays in Institutional History, ed. John W. Hall and Jeffrey P. Mass (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 127-156.
Kazuo Osumi, "Buddhism in the Kamakura
Period," tr. by James Dobbins, in The Cambridge History of Japan-Volume
3 Medieval Japan, 544-563 (544-555, 560-563*).
Week IV: Oct 20: Myoe Koben: Kegon and Shingon
Monk
PAPER I DUE
Mark Unno, Shingon Refractions: Myōe and the Mantra of Light (Boston: Wisdom, 2004), (1-72, 111-149*) (RT).
Lori Meeks, Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan, 250-300.
Week V: Oct 27: Eihei Dogen: Zen Master of the Soto School
Mark Unno, “Philosophical Terms in the Zen Buddhist Thought
of Dōgen.”*
Norman Waddell & Masao Abe, tr. "Shōbōgenzō Genjōkōan," by Dōgen Kigen, The Eastern Buddhist 5:2 (10/1972), 129-140.*
Mark Unno, “18. Shushōgi Paragraph 30,” Engaging Dōgen’s Zen (Boston: Wisdom), 179-184.*
Eihei Dōgen & Kōshō Uchiyama, How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, trans. Tom Wright (New York: Shambhala 2005)(RT).
Steven Heine, The Zen Poetry of Dogen
(Boston: Tuttle, 1997), 1-34.
Barbara Ruch, "The Other Side of Culture in Medieval
Japan," in The Cambridge History of Japan - Volume 3 Medieval Japan, ed.
by Kozo Yamamura (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990),
500-511.*
Week VI: Nov
3: Gutoku Shinran: Foolish Being of Pure Land
Buddhism
GROUP PROJECT DUE
Mark Unno, “The Original Buddhist Rebel - Shinran,” Tricycle (Winter
2017), 1-16.
Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu of No-Meaning and the
Problem of Genres in the Writings and Statements of Gutoku Shinran," The
Pure Land 10-11 (12/1994), 1-9.*
Mark Unno, "The Nembutsu as the Path of the Sudden
Teaching," unpublished paper, IASBS Conference, 1995, 1-7 (online, course
web site).
Taitetsu Unno, Tannisho: A Shin Buddhist Classic (Honolulu:
Buddhist Study Center Press, 1987)(RT).*
Week VII: Nov 10: Between Pre-modern and Modern I:
Coffinman
PAPER II DUE
Shinmon Aoki, Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician (Anaheim,
CA: Buddhist Education Ctr, 2002)(RT).*
Week VIII: Nov 17: Between Pre-modern and Modern II: Natalie
Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg, A Long Quiet Highway (NY: Bantam,
1994)(RT).*
Week IX: Nov 24: Film: Departures; Discussion of Paper Topics
Week X: Dec 1: Wrap Lecture and Discussion
FINAL PAPER DUE
Wrap-up remarks and discussion.