禪  /  禅

What is Chan / Zen? Is it philosophy? religion? even Buddhist?
Why did Bodhidharma (Daruma) leave for the East?
Why did Huineng tear up the Buddhist sutras?
Why did Linchi (Rinzai) say if you meet the Buddha kill him?
Suffering exists but no sufferer can be found,
there is no doer but only the deed,
there is no self but only nirvana,
there is no traveler but only the path  (Visuddhi-Magga XVI, from the Pali Canon).
A Special Transmission Outside the Scriptures.
It does not Rely upon Words and Letters,
but Points Directly to the Human Mind.
See Your own Nature and Become a Buddha!
the direct mind
Hakuin's bridge -where does it lead?

PHIL/REL-3510 001 Zen Philosophy 16663 MWF 10:00-10:50 AM RH-1541

Professor Eric Sean Nelson                                                                                    Email: eric.nelson@utoledo.edu
Office: Scott Hall 3012                                                                                                Office Number: 419-530-4517
Office Hours: TR 10:00-11:00 am, MW 2:00-4:00 pm, and by appointment                                         Eric's Homepage

Course Description
Ever wonder what is the sound of one hand clapping or what people get out of rock gardens and staring at walls? This course will cover the history, doctrines, and practices of Chan Buddhism in China and Zen Buddhism in Japan. We will examine the thought and practice of some of the central figures of Zen and the influence of Zen on Chinese and Japanese art, culture, and literature. We will explore the significance of Zen in twentieth-century Japanese philosophy (the Kyoto School) and American popular culture. There will also be group research projects about topics such as Zen and Japanese militarism, Feminism and Zen, Zen and engaged Buddhism, nature and ecology, Zen and the Beats (Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg), and Zen and interfaith dialogue. The class format will include lecture, discussion, and group activities. We will read and discuss both primary and secondary texts as well as view slides and some films.

Dōgen Zenji (道元 禅師)
Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉)
meditating Chan monks (Beijing)
why do zazen 座禅 (zen meditation)?
Zazen 1
Zazen 2  Zazen 3
To study the Way is to study the self.
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.
To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barriers between one's self and others. --Dogen (1200-1253)

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Attendance, participation, brief in-class (individual or group) assignments:  20% of final grade

2. Weekly journal/response (weekly reflections on the readings that may include poems, drawings, calligraphy, etc.): 20% of final grade

3. Each student must do one Kōan (公案) exercise and one group presentation: 20% of final grade

4. Two short (5 page) papers (counts as Midterm and Final): 40% of final grade

Need help?

This will be a reading intensive class and it is necessary to do the reading to engage the issues of the course. In addition, It is impossible to fully understand philosophical and religious texts, whether they are Eastern or Western, after only one reading. Professional academics have to read such texts at least twice in order to begin to appropriately understand it. You should be sure to read each assignment and be prepared to read it twice if needed!

Feel free to talk with me after class, during office hours, or by arrangement. My office hours are your time, you paid for them, so why not use them?

Please note: If you have a disability that presents a difficulty for you in this class or are experiencing problems that are interfering with your work in this class, please discuss this with me immediately and we will attempt to come up with an appropriate solution.

Need help with sources, your writing or studying?

Some Zen Web Resources and Links

Some General Eastern Thought Resources Links

Guide to Writing in Philosophy from the University of Toronto: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/philosophy/phlwrite/
University of Toledo Tutorial Services: http://www.ucollege.utoledo.edu/lec/index.html
University of Toledo Writing Center: http://writingcenter.utoledo.edu/

GRADING POLICY
The grade of “A” will be given only to excellent answers that show you understand and can work with the question in your own voice. Answers should be accurate, clear, consistent, complete, and involve a thoughtful response to the readings and class-discussion. Plagiarism, cheating, and all other forms of academic dishonesty are considered a serious violation of personal and educational integrity and will result in failure of the course. So be sure to cite anything (from any medium) that you use which is not your own!

example of haikū  俳句 - Zen inspired poetry
what is emptiness (Śūnyatā, शून्यता, 空)?
example of karesansui  枯山水 - Zen inspired garden

Required Texts

1. ZTT: Kenneth Kraft, ed., Zen: Tradition and Transition (Grove Press; ISBN: 080213162X)

2. RS: Nelson Foster, ed., Roaring Stream (Ecco Companions) (Ecco; ISBN: 088001511X)

3. MD: Dogen, Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen (North Point Press; ISBN: 086547186X)

4. NR: Basho Matsuo, Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (Penguin Books; 0140441859) 

5. BE: Frederick Franck, The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries (World Wisdom Books, 2004; ISBN: 0941532593)

Recommended Secondary Sources (excellent collections for fuller account of Zen history, thought and practices)

Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds), The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts (Oxford UP, 2004, ISBN: 0195150686)

Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (eds), The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism (Oxford UP, 2000, ISBN: 0195117492)

They ask me why I live in the green mountains.
I smile and don't reply; my heart's at ease.
Peach blossoms flow downstream, leaving no trace
-- And there are other earths and skies than these.

Li Po 李白 (701-762)
The old pond,
a frog leaps in,
the sound of water.
Bashō,  in his own calligraphy
The Old Pond
A Frog Jumps In
Kerplunk!
Allen Ginsberg's version

 Schedule

I. Why Zen? Introductions

1. - 2. August 23/25: Introduction to the Class, Buddhism, and China

                              Read one of the following:  Ten Oxherding Pictures 1 or Ten Oxherding Pictures 2

3. August 27: Introduction to Zen, Read ZTT ch. 1 (Morinaga) pages 13-29

II. Why did Bodhidharma leave for the East? Early and Middle Ch'an in China

4. August 30: Buddhism from India to China: Bodhidharma and Seng-Ts'an, Read RS, pages 3-15

5. Sept. 1: Hui-neng and Early Ch'an, Read RS 16-21 and ZTT ch. 7 (McRae) pages 125-139

6. Sept. 3: Shih-t'ou, Ma-tsu, and Pai-chang, Read RS, pages 38-56

    Sept. 6: Labor Day, no class today!

7. Sept. 8: P'ang family and Nan-ch'uan, RS 57-76

8. Sept. 10: The origins of Lin chi (Rinzai) Ch'an: Huang-po, Chao-chou, and Lin-chi, RS 90-102, 107-114

9. Sept. 13: The origins of Ts'ao-tung (Sőtő) Ch'an: Tung-shan and Ts'ao-shan, RS 115-124, 132-137

III. Silence and Language: Meditation and the Koan

10. Sept. 15: Hung-chih on "silent illumination" (mo-chao) and Zen Meditation, RS 176-183 and ZTT ch. 2 (Sheng-yen) pages 30-43

11. - 12. Sept. 17/20: Ta-hui on the "public case" (kung-an) and Zen Koans, RS 184-194 and ZTT ch. 4 (Shimano) pages 70-87

Note: Koan Practice: Assignment of Koan from Sept. 20-Sept. 29!

IV. Dogen and Japanese Zen

13. Sept. 22: Introduction to Japanese Zen, ZTT ch. 8 (Yampolsky) pages 140-156

14. Sept. 24: Dogen, Practical Instructions, MD 29-48

15. Sept. 27: Dogen, Philosophical Works, MD 69-86

16. - 17. Sept. 29/Oct. 1: Dogen, Poetic Imagery, MD 97-133

18. - 19. Oct. 4/6: Dogen, Transmission of the Teaching, MD 143-283, 203-210

                     Oct. 8: No class!

                     Oct. 11-12: Fall Break, no classes!

20. Oct. 13: Enni Ben'en, Musō and Daitō , RS 218-222, 239-253

21. Oct. 15: Bassui, Ikkyū, and Bankei, RS 260-273, 296-303

22. - 23. Oct. 18/20: Hakuin, RS 321-335 and ZTT ch. 5 (Low) pages 88-104

V. The Art and Poetry of Zen

24. Oct. 22: Zen Art: No assigned reading for today. First Paper due in class today!

25. Oct. 25: Zen Poetry, ZTT, ch. 6 (Watson) pages 105-124

26. - 27. Oct. 27/29: Matsuo Bashō, NR 51-96

28. - 29. Nov. 1/3: Matsuo Bashō, NR 97-144

VI. Is Zen still relevant? Suzuki, the Kyoto School, Inter- and intra-cultural Dialogue, and Modern Japan

30. Nov. 5: Suzuki Daisetz Teitaro, the self, BE chs. 1 and 3, pages 3-9, 21-37

31. Nov. 8: Nishitani Keiji, self and other, BE chs. 2 and 4, pages 11-20, 39-53

32. Nov. 10: Nishitani Keiji, Science and Zen, BE ch. 8, pages 107-135

     Nov. 12: No Class Today!

33. Nov. 15: Takeuchi Yoshinori, The Philosophy of Nishida, BE ch. 13, pages 183-206

34. Nov. 17: Soga Ryojin and Kiyozawa Manshi , Zen and Shin, BE chs. 16-17, pages 229-245

35. Nov. 19: Abe Masao, Zen and Christianity, BE chs. 5 and 10, pages  55-68, 147-155

36. Nov. 22: The Zen Institution in Modern Japan, ZTT ch. 9 (Foulk) 157-177

     Nov. 24-26: Thanksgiving Holiday, no classes!

VII. Western Zen and Group Presentations

37. Nov. 29: American Zen? ZTT ch. 10 (Kraft) and Epilogue (Collcutt), pages 178-208

Koan Practice: Response between Nov. 29 and Dec. 8

38. - 39. - 40. - 41.  Dec. 1/3/6/8: Group presentations

42.  Dec. 10: Conclusions and Course Evaluations!

Second Paper due by 5 PM on December 14!

Thanks to Joseph Adler for his pictures at: http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln360/SYL360.htm

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