Seminar on Buddha Nature in Tibetan Buddhism
Goal
To learn the history, doctrines, and major theories of Buddha Nature (tathagatagarbha) as understood in the Tibetan Ge-luk, Nying-ma and Jo-nang sects. At the end of the semester, students will understand the major Buddha Nature theories of Tibet and will be have increased their ability to read and write academic papers in English in order to function in an English-speaking University graduate program in Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Course Description:
This course takes a comparative look at the history, doctrines, and major theories of Buddha Nature (tathagatagarbha) as understood in the Tibetan Ge-luk and Jo-nang sects.
Collected Topics of Tibetan Epistemology and the Practice of Debate
Goal:
Training students in the rudiments of Tibetan Logic. At the end of the semester, students will be able to orally debate "Collected Topics" chapters 1-6.
Course Description:
This course exposes students to the Collected Topics taught in Ge-luk monastic universities as a prelude to all higher topics. We will orally debate memorized materials from the text having learned the logical structure of syllogisms and the comparison of phenomena. In addition, the course will address the fundamental concepts of Tibetan logic and dialectical debate.
Studies in Tibetan Linguistics
Prerequisites:
One year of literary Tibetan
Goal:
Training students in modern linguistic theory of the classical Tibetan language. At the end of the semester, students will have increased their ability to read the classical Tibetan language in order to be able to do original research in a graduate program in Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Course Description:
This course exposes students to a variety of forms of classical Tibetan as well as to a number of linguistic theories about classical Tibetan language.
Seminar in the Madhyamika School in Tibetan Buddhism
Goal:
To learn the history, doctrines, and major texts of the Madhyamika school as understood in the Tibetan Ge-luk lineage.At the end of the semester, students will understand this school’s presentation of madhyamaka and will be have increased their ability to read and write academic papers in English in order to function in an English-speaking University graduate program in Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Course Description:
This course looks at the Ge-luk presentation of Madhyamaka and its major Tibetan commentaries, and also looks at a number of academic papers that have been written about the Middle Way school.
Tibetan Buddhism: Methodological Studies in English
Goals:
Training students in Buddhist Methodological Approaches Through Reading Academic papers in English about Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the semester, students will be able to: have increased their ability to read and write academic papers in English in order to function in an English-speaking University graduate program in Tibetan Buddhist Studies.
Course Description:
This course exposes students to the many types of academic papers that are read in English-speaking University graduate programs in Tibetan Buddhist Studies. In addition, students write weekly papers in order to increase their English-language writing ability.
Seminar in Tibetan Mind-Only
Goal:
To acquaint students with the Mind-Only School of Buddhism according to Tibetan sources. At the end of the semester, students will be have in-depth familiarity with the Samdhinirmocanasutra (Sutra Unravelling the Thought) as well as Tibetan commentaries on that Sutra.
Course Description:
This course looks at an important Mind-Only sutra and its major Tibetan commentaries, and also looks at a number of academic papers that have been written about the Mind-Only School.
The Ocean of Reasoning: a Seminar on Nagarjuna’s “Treatise” according to Dzong-ka-ba
Goal:
Differentiate Ge-luk and non-Ge-luk approaches to Nagarjuna; understand Nagarjuna’s analytical method with respect to refutations of svabhava; discuss some innovative understandings of Dzong-ka-ba that differ from Candrakirti; determine which types of paradoxes can be resolved through a presentation of two truths.
Course Description:
Students will meet weekly to read and discuss commentarial literature on Nagarjuna’s Treatise on the Middle. We will read selected chapters of the Treatise and explore Ge-luk and non-Ge-luk understandings ofNagarjuna’s intentions. Students will give a half-hour presentation and write a three page research paper in English on a directed aspect of the course.
Seminar on Candrakirti's Prasannapada Chapter Two
and Tibetan Commentaries
Prerequisites:
Reading ability in Sanskrit and Tibetan
Goals:
(1) To acquaint students with the Middle Way Consequence School through Chapter Two of the Prasannapada and Tibetan commentaries and (2) to give students greater ability to read Sanskrit texts along with their Tibetan translations and Tibetan commentaries. At the end of the semester, students will be have in-depth familiarity with Chapter Two of the Prasannapada as well as Tibetan commentaries on that text.
Course Description:
This course looks at an important Middle Way Consequence text and its major Tibetan commentaries, and also aims at giving students in-depth experience in Middle Way reasoning while exposing them to Sanskrit and Tibetan philosophical literature.
Appearance and Reality in Svatantrika and Prasangika according to the Ge-luk and Jo-nang lineages
Goals:
Differentiate the two truths according to five Tibetan lineages; present svatantrika and prasangika tenets in Ge-luk and Jo-nang systems; become familiar with Nga-wang-bel-den’s Annotations to Jam-yang-shay-ba’s Great Exposition of Tenets, chapter 13.
Course Description:
Students will read selected sections of Guy Newland’s Appearance & Reality, Jeffrey Hopkins’ Meditation on Emptiness, Maps of the Proufound, and Mountain Doctrine, and Bill Magee’s Questioning Reality. Students will make one half-hour presentation and contribute a three page research paper in English on some aspect of svantantrika or prasangika.
Tantra Seminar in Tibetan Buddhism
Goal:
Fundamental understanding of Buddhist Tantra according to various Tibetan lineages. By the end of the semester, students will understand the differences between sutra and tantra and the four tantra sets. Students will also have an understanding of the theory of death, rebirth, and intermediate state as well as the two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra. They will have learned of different approaches to Tantra taken by Geluk, Nyingma, Kagyu and the Jonang Schools.
Course Description:
This course exposes students to the Geluk presentation of four Tantra sets, including a presentation of birth, death, and intermediate state. Other schools' approaches to tantra will also be studied (including Bon-po). This course involves reading academic papers in English as well as writing a short research paper on a predetermined topic.
Evaluation:
Evaluation is through a midterm exam, final exam, and one research paper.
Texts:
Excepts from: Beyer, "The Cult of Tara." Hopkins, "Deity Yoga." Hodges, "Twelve Principles of Buddhist Tantra." Cozort, "Sadhana." Cozort, "Highest Yoga Tantra." Hopkins, "Death, Intermediate State, and Rebirth." Robinson, "Vajrayana in Later Buddhism." Stearns, "The Buddha from Dolbo." Rogers, "Mahamudra." Lopez, "The Difference Between Sutra and Tantra." Wangyel, "Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep."
Religion and Hermeneutics in Asia, Europe, and America
(With Dr. Marcus Bingenheimer)
Goal:
At the end of the semester, students will know about the history and practice of religious hermeneutics in Asia and the West. They will have learned about hermeneutical concepts and terminology and be able to use them in their academic work.
Course Description:
What happens when we understand a text? How is textual understanding structured, and what theoretical models do we have to approach this question? In this course we will research how the problem of hermeneutics is discussed in the European and the Indo-Tibetan tradition.
In the European tradition we will place special emphasis on the works of Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) and Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005). In the Tibetan tradition emphasis will be laid upon hermeneutical theories of the three wheels found in the Samdhinirmocana Sutra and the theories of interpretation of scripture put forth in the Tibetan works of Dolbo-ba (1292-1361) and Dzong-ka-ba (1359-1417).
Most readings will be in English, some in Chinese, some in Tibetan. The teachers will provide a reading of important passages in Gadamer, Ricoeur’s and Iser’s work in the original German and French. Students are expected to be able to present (in English) a summary of a longer English essay or book twice during the course.
One of the presentations must be developed into a short essay.
Buddhist Historiography
(With Dr. Marcus Bingenheimer)
Goal:
At the end of the semester, students will be able to identify the different paradigms of Buddhist historiography and understand the differences between traditional and modern/post-modern historiography.
Course Description:
The course will consist of readings from Buddhist historiographical works of the three major traditions both in the original and an English translation.
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