Buddhist Studies in Kyoto, Japan

Credit & Evaluation

Twelve to sixteen semester credits will be awarded by Antioch University for successful completion of the program. Students should take at least one core course, as well as Practice and Theory of Buddism in Japan and Field Research. A second core course or a language course may be added in order to earn a maximum of sixteen credits. Written evaluations are given and letter grades are provided if required by the student's home institution.

Courses

The program consists of five courses:
1. Development and Doctrine of Buddhism in Japan
2. Japanese Buddhist Culture
3. Japanese Language
4. Practice and Theory of Buddhism in Japan (required)
5. Field Research: Selected Topics (required)

Complete syllabi are available for all courses upon request.

ARELS 351 Development and Doctrine of Buddhism in Japan
(four semester credits)
This course invites an exploration of the essence (principal teachings, theories, and doctrines) and development of Japanese Buddhism, as reflected in the life and teachings of Japan’s major religious figures and the schools of Buddhism that they founded. Students are expected to come to the program with a basic knowledge of the historical Buddha (b. 563 BCE) and his teachings, including ideas common to both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. However, our primary concern is with the Mahayana tradition, particularly the Madhyamika school, and its subsequent development in Japan following transmission from India through China and Korea.

As a precursor to the advent of Buddhism in Japan (552 CE), we begin our investigation with a look at religion’s role in pre-historical Japanese culture and society starting with mythology and indigenous religious beliefs and practices (i.e. 'Shinto'). This is followed by a consideration of the Buddhist synthesis of first the Nara (710-794 CE) and then the Heian periods (794–1185 CE), focusing on the emergence of the Tendai school. We then explore Buddhist movements that came to prominence during the Kamakura period (1186–1336 CE), paying special attention to the Nichiren school.

This course seeks to understand the development of institutional Japanese Buddhism within the context of its relationship to society as a whole, placing special emphasis on the role Buddhism played during the Tokugawa period (1600-1867) and continues to play in modern Japan. The course concludes with an examination of Japanese Buddhism’s encounter with modernity as symbolized by Japan’s opening to the West at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Requirements

Regular class attendance, active participation in discussions, and completion of readings and assignments on time are expected. There will be three in-class quizzes over the material that has just been covered.  In addition, beginning with the book Tokugawa Religion, each student will have the opportunity to introduce one or two chapters in class, including leading a class discussion on the material.  A final exam in essay form will be based on a synthesis of the assigned readings.

Required Texts

• Matsunaga, Daigan and Alicia. Foundation of Japanese Buddhism, Vols. I & II. Los Angeles: Buddhist Books International, 1974. [Photocopied edition]
• Bellah, Robert. Tokugawa Religion. Glencoe, Ill.; Free Press, 1985.
• Keetalar, James Edward. Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan. Princeton, NJ; Princeton University Press, 1993.

Supplemental Texts

• Brazier, David. The New Buddhism. New York: Palgrave, 2002.
• Tamura, Yoshio and Jeffrey Hunter. Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 2001.
• Victoria, Brian. Zen at War (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
• Victoria, Brian. Zen War Stories. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.

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ASSC 231 Japanese Buddhist Culture
(four semester credits)
This course will introduce students to the living cultural forms and practices of Japanese Buddhism. Students will observe and compare the rituals and activities of Buddhist practitioners and come to an understanding of the relationship between belief, personal practice, cultural representations, values, and norms. Studies will include cultural manifestations of Buddhism such as the tea ceremony (chadô), flower arrangement (kadô), calligraphy (shodô), haiku, and the Noh theater.

Visits to national treasures, demonstrations of the arts, and excursions to temples and monasteries will highlight the course. Students will also explore themes and issues in contemporary Japanese Buddhism such as Buddhism and the environment, women in Buddhism, and Buddhism as a force for social change.

Requirements
Regular class attendance, active participation in field activities and class discussions, and completion of readings and assignments on time are expected. Students will keep a journal of reflections on readings, field activities, personal experiences, and insights. There will also be a midterm and a final essay exam.

Sample of Readings
Readings may include, but will not be limited to, selections from the following:

• Eisenstadt, Susan. Japanese Civilization: A Comparative View. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
• Herrigel, Eugen. Zen in the Art of Archery. New York: Harcourt, 1972.
• Tsunoda, Ryusaku, William Theodore deBary, and Donald Keene, eds. Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1964.
• A course book of readings entitled "Japanese Buddhist Culture" compiled by BSJ program staff.
  

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ALLC 161 Japanese Language
(four semester credits)
This course is intended for students with no previous knowledge of the Japanese language who wish to develop communication skills in Japanese. The language drills and conversation practice are designed to improve speaking competence. Dialogues used in the textbook are in everyday Japanese so students will develop natural conversational skills. Upon completion of the course, successful students will be able to introduce themselves, ask directions, shop, make appointments, ask permission, and offer assistance. The written scripts of hiragana, katakana, and some kanji are also taught.

An intermediate (second-year) course is also offered. This course is designed for those students who have previously had at least one year of beginning Japanese (or its equivalent). While the focus of the course will be on the development of advanced conversational skills, students will also be exposed to reading texts in which basic kanji are introduced in a graded manner. The level and content of the course may vary from year to year based on the abilities and interests of the students. Both the Beginning and Intermediate classes meet Monday through Friday.

Requirements
Regular class attendance, active participation in practice sessions, and completion of assignments on time are expected. Oral and written quizzes will be given throughout the course. There will be a midterm and final, as well as a speaking test at the end of the term.

Note: An advanced (third-year) course may be offered in 2009 subject to sufficient enrollment.

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ARELS 352 Practice and Theory of Buddhism in Japan
(four semester credits)
This course will complement students’ understanding of Buddhist thought and culture through the study and practice of traditional Japanese Buddhist disciplines. We will emphasize the history, characteristics, and approaches of three distinct Buddhist traditions: Zen, Shingon (Japanese Esoteric Buddhism), and True Pure Land (Shin). The instructional portion of the course will be broken down into areas of study that embrace these three traditions.

Each of the areas will offer two integrated elements: a practice module and a seminar. The seminar will include lectures and discussions on the theory, transmission, and textual development of the practices. Antioch faculty will teach the seminar, which will include close readings and discussions of translated primary texts related to each form of praxis and its theoretical foundation. The practice modules will be led by specialists possessing both a theoretical understanding and extensive practical experience of each tradition. Instruction in the representative practices for each tradition will be given to encourage an intuitive understanding of the doctrinal teachings presented. Practices include primarily various forms of meditation, chanting, and ritual practice. Students will be expected to locate their academic and practical understanding of each tradition in the larger context of historical trends in Buddhist theory and praxis and Japanese culture.

The class will meet on a daily schedule for the practice modules, and two days a week for the seminar.

Requirements
Regular attendance at the practice sessions and a sustained effort in applying each of the practices taught are expected. Each participant will also be required to attend the seminars, complete the necessary background reading, and write three reflection papers connecting the experience of practice with the theoretical framework of each tradition, or between traditions.

Note: Students are not evaluated on how well they learn to do these practices or on whether they personally accept the underlying doctrinal and religious premises of the practices. What is emphasized is the student’s ability to place the experience of engaging in traditional Buddhist practices within the context of various trends and theoretical frameworks in order to facilitate an understanding of each tradition being studied.

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ABUDJ 396 Field Research: Selected Topics
(four semester credits)
The focus of this course is an independent research project in which the student has the opportunity to select a subject of special interest and pursue it in depth. The project may be approached through a variety of perspectives and academic disciplines; it involves travel and field study as well as library research and individual creativity. Antioch faculty carefully supervise the planning of the research project and help to identify the physical and textual resources; emphasis, however, is on the student's initiative in both the design and execution of the work. The project culminates in a written report that is presented when the program returns to Green Gulch Farm San Francisco Zen Center in December.

Previous research topics have included:

• Women in Mayahana Buddhism
• Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
• Shukyo buyo—Religious Dance in Shingon
• The Esoteric Nature of Shingon / Tendai Buddhism
• Japanese Calligraphy and the Influence of Zen
• Butoh and its Buddhist Roots
• Pilgrimage in Japan
• Go and Zen Buddhism in Japan
• Buddhism and Healing
• Esoteric Buddhism and the Divine Female
• Buddhist Meditation and the Emotions
• Bodhisattva—Compassion in Action
• Ikebana and Japanese Religion
• Play of Images: Comparative Study of Dôgen and Derrida

 

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