Fall 2007
Cancelled

SOCS 604
Zen in Japan: Dōgen and the History of Zen Buddhism

Johnston,William D.

09/12/2007 - 12/12/2007
Wednesday 06:00 PM - 08:30 PM

Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of the Japanese Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism, has been recognized not only as a key figure in Japanese Zen, but as one of the greatest thinkers of all time. His ideas continue to influence the practice of Zen Buddhism for monastic and lay practitioners alike. This course will give students a brief background in Buddhism, and then examine the evolution of Chan Buddhism in China and how Dōgen changed it to become Japanese Zen. Through a number of secondary and primary sources, we will pay particular attention to the lines between monastic and lay practitioners, and to issues of "domesticity" for both. We also will examine the religious and philosophical implications of Dōgen's ideas in these respects.

Readings include John McRae, Seeing Through Zen; Kazuaki Tanahashi, Enlightenment Unfolds; Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught; Peter Hershock, Chen Buddhism; Elizabeth A. Clark, History, Theory, Text.

A syllabus for this course is available at:
Course Syllabus


William Johnston (B.A. Elmira College; M.A., Ph.D. Harvard University) is professor of East Asian studies, history, science and society, and chair of history. He is also the author of Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: A Woman, Sex, and Morality in Modern Japan (2004) and The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan (1995).

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Consent of Instructor Required: No

Format: Seminar

Level: GLSP Credits: 3 Enrollment Limit: 18

Texts to purchase for this course:
Jeffrey Broughton, THE BODHIDHARMA ANTHOLOGY (University of California Press), Paperback

Steven Heine, DID DOGEN GO TO CHINA? (Oxford University Press), Paperback

Peter Hershock, CHAN BUDDHISM (University of Hawaii Press), Paperback

Hee-Jin Kim, EIHEI DOGEN: MYSTICAL REALIST (Wisdom), Paperback

John McRae, SEEING THROUGH ZEN (University of California Press), Paperback

Wong Mou-Lam, THE DIAMOND SUTRA AND THE SUTRA OF HUI-NENG (Shambala), Paperback

Red Pine (Bill Porter), THE HEART SUTRA (Shoemaker & Hoard), Paperback

Kazuaki Tanahashi, ENLIGHTENMENT UNFOLDS (Shambala), Paperback

READING MATERIALS AVAILABLE AT BROAD STREET BOOKS, 45 BROAD STREET, MIDDLETOWN, 860-685-7323 Order your books online

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