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Contact Professor Cohen
office address: Literature Building 323
office hours: Tuesday + Thursday 2:00-3:15
email: prof.richard.cohen@gmail.com
home page: http://profcohen.net
phone: (858) 534-8691

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Formal Requirements

6 "think pieces"
@
500 words each
75%

Students are required to write six 500-word essays. Each essay is worth 12.5% of the overall grade.

To understand what I am looking for in this assignment, follow the link to The Think Piece: A Guide.

Every student is at liberty to choose the six classes in which she or he wants to want write the essays.

click here for examples of superior think pieces

CLICK HERE FOR THE THINK PIECE PROMPTS

You are required to submit the paper in two forms:
1) Bring a paper copy to your discussion section on Friday
2) Submit an electronic copy to turnitin.com

To use turnitin.com:

1) Go to http://turnitin.com
2) Register for this class. In order to register for the class, you will need a class ID and a class password. Those are available on the printed version of the syllabus that I handed out in class. If you do not have the syllabus, then contact me by email: prof.richard.cohen@gmail.com
3) Follow the turnitin.com instructions to submit your individual papers
various dates
final exam
15%
 A multiple choice test based upon the readings and lectures.

This is an inconvenient time for an exam. I know. I share your pain. Nevertheless, I will not give an alternate exam. Do not bother asking. No exceptions (except for well-documented last-minute critical emergencies).

Friday, Dec. 12
7-8 pm
attendance &
participation
10%
 I take attendance at every meeting. You may miss one class without it affecting your attendance grade. Subsequently, this grade drops for every missed class. If you miss seven class meetings during the quarter and you will fail the course entirely.
every class


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Required Books

You are required to purchase four books for this class. In order of use:

Buddhist Wisdom: The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, translated by Edward Conze [link to amazon]
 The Heart of Understanding, by Thich Nhat Hanh [link to amazon]
 The Lotus Sutra, translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama [link to amazon]
The Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light, translated by Luis O. Gómez [link to amazon]


Other Required Readings

In addition to the books, students are required to read several chapters, essays, and other shorter works.
These readings may be downloaded from class’ web page, available in PDF format.

The readings for each class are found below.

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Schedule of Topics

 
September 25
to
October 7 		Buddhism, The First Five Hundred Years    

  • Richard S. Cohen, “Shakyamuni: Buddhism’s Founder in Ten Acts,” in The Rivers of Paradise: Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus and Muhammad As Religious Founders edited by David Noel Freedman and Michael McClymond (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000), pp. 121-232. part 1: link to PDF \/\/\/ part 2: link to PDF ~~~ NOTE: Feel free to skim pages 133-143.

  • Paul Williams, “Introduction,” Mahâyâna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1989), pp. 1-33. link to PDF

  • Andrew Rawlinson, “The Problem of the Origin of the Mahâyâna,” in Traditions in Contact and Change edited by P. Slater and D. Wiebe (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1983), pp. 163-170, 693-699. link to PDF

  • Graeme MacQueen, "Inspired speech in early Mahāyāna Buddhism I," Religion 11/4 ( October 1981): 303-319. link to PDF
 
October 9
to
October 14		 The Mahâyâna Bodhisattva
  • “Sumati’s Questions,” in Treasury of Mahâyâna Sutras: Selections from the Mahâratnakûta Sûtra edited by Garma C. C. Chang (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1983), pp. 256-261. link to PDF

  • “Dialogue with Bodhisattva Infinite Wisdom,” in Treasury of Mahâyâna Sutras, pp. 415-424. link to PDF

  • “The Sûtra of Assembled Treasures,” in Treasury of Mahâyâna Sutras, pp. 387-414. link to PDF

  • “Abiding in Good and Noble Deportment,” in Treasury of Mahâyâna Sutras, pp. 280-312. link to PDF
 
October 16
to
October 21		 The Perfection of Wisdom
  • Buddhist Wisdom

  • The Heart of Understanding
 
October 23
to
November 11		 The Lotus Sûtra
  • The Lotus Sutra
 
November 13
to
November 25
 The Land of Bliss Sûtras 
  • The Land of Bliss
 
December 2
to
December 4
 A Perfect Religious Text
  • The Sarvatathagata-satvavalokana-buddhaksetrasamdarsana-vyuha Sutra link to PDF

Friday,
December 12,
7:00-8:00
pm
 Final Exam