Taking Refuge: The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Note: all of these readings are also available online at www.smith.edu/~jhubbard/ under "Courses/Rel 105 Buddhism Readings." You will be taken to the CourseInfo login screen; simply click on the "Preview" button to the left of the login box.
September 22: The Buddha: his life and beyond
| Readings: On Being Buddhist: o "The Crass Stupidity of Witless Persons" [1] o “The Three Refuges” from Conze [1]; o “Taking Refuge” by B. Alan Wallace [2]; ]
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o Read any ONE of the following on-line biographies of Buddha:
1. The Illustrated Life of the Buddha by ORIAS, Changhwan Park at http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/visuals/buddha/life.html;
2. Life of the Buddha in Pictures at Beyond the Net at http://www.beyondthenet.net/buddha/bpicmain.htm (from Śrī Lanka, an excellent site for a variety of information);
3. The Illustrated History of Buddhism by Tung Lin Kok Yuen Temple at http://www.buddhistdoor.com/passissue/9511/sources/blpg1.htm (click here for Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11)
4. The Life of Buddha in Legend and Art from Exotic India at http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/gautambuddha
5. The Illustrated Life of the Buddha by Sayagyi U Ba Kyi, Young Men's Buddhist Association, Burma at http://www.goldenlandpages.com/hotspots/buddhism/index.html
6. An Illustrated life of the Buddha from Mahidol University, Thailand
o “The Buddha’s Life” by the Dalai Lama [2]
o “The Example of the Buddha” by Joseph Goldstein [6];
] Developments in the concept of Buddha
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o Tales of the Buddha's past lives: “The Goat Who Laughed and Cried” [1]; o Tales of the Buddha's past lives: "Vesantara" [4]; o The bodhisattva ideal: Shantideva on the Bodhisattva’s career [6]; o On the Bodhisattava: two selections from the Dalai Lama & Uchiyama Roshi [2]; o "Maitreya, The Future Buddha" [2] o “The Immeasurable Lifespan of the Buddha” from The Lotus Sutra [1]; o Visions of Buddha: Williams, “Faith and the Cult of Buddhas” [5]; o "A Footprint on the Shore" (Visions of Kuan-yin) by Sandra Boucher o “Amida Buddha” by Tetsuo Unno [2]; o Buddha-Nature (various readings) [8].
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September 24: The Dharma: Basic Buddhist teachings
Readings:
] The power of the mind to know
o Everything [1];
o Dhammapada [1];
o “Purification of the Buddha-field” from the Vimalakirtinirdesa-Sūtra [2];
o Discourse with Canki [2];
o Discourse with Potthapada [2];
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o The Shorter Instructions to Malunkyaputta [2] ] Four Noble Truths & Eight-Fold Noble Path o Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth [2]; o The Fire Sermon [1] o Samsara: Transmigration in the six realms: [4]; o Karma: Effect of salt [1]; o "The Unbearable Permanence of Being" [1] o A reading from the Bhagavadgita [1] o “Impermanence and the Four Truths” by Bhikkhu Bodhi [3]; o "The Man Who Lost His Body" [1]; o "The Questions of King Menander" [3];
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September 29: The Dharma: Basic Buddhist teachings, cont.
o Paean of Joy [1];
o “Arising” [1]
o “Nirvana” by Wallace; [2]; “Nirvana” by Keown [2];
o Nirvana, Nirvana [1]
] Developments:
o The Heart of Understanding by Thick Nhat Hanh [1];
o
The
Heart Sutra by Mu Soeng Sunim [1]
o The Heart Sutra [1];
o Indra’s Net: Various Readings [1].
Practices of the sangha
Readings:
] Joining the order: conversion and ordination
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o On Householder Life [1]; o "The First Disciples" [2] o "Sujata, the first laywoman" [2]; o Accepting women into the monastic community [3]; o Various poems from the early Buddhist nuns [4];
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October 1: Practices of the sangha, cont.
] Monastic practices: the Vinaya (monastic precepts)
o The Pratimoksha: Recitation of the Rules [2]
o Thanisarro Bhikkhu on killing [4]
o The Vinaya on shoes [2] and the Vinaya on meat-eating [1];
o "Walls Make Good Neighbors" (The Big Fat Pumpkin Nun) [1];
] Monastic practices: liturgy, analysis, contemplation
o "The Seven-limbed Puja" [4];
o Metta Sutta [1];
o “Metta Practice” by Sharon Salzberg [2];
o "The benefits of metta" [1];
o "Vipasanna Practice" by Bhante Gunaratna [6];
o "The Foundations of Mindfulness" by Stephen Batchelor [2];
o The Way of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta) [10];
o Ten Oxherding Pictures [1]