Spring 2018 - CHAPTER 8 on ISLAM: 143-44: Chronology: ca. 570 - birth of Muhammad; 610 - first revelation; 622 - the Hijrah (flight to Medina); 632 - farewell sermon & death
- mid144b-mid145a: "What Does ... family.": meanings of Islam, Muslim, Ummah (= community of believers); Allah = the Arabic word for The One God
- mid145a-mid146a: "GOD And ... the Quran.": on Muhammad as The One God/Allah's FINAL/LAST messenger after the many prophets & messengers from the biblical Adam ... to Moses (Musa in Arabic) ... to Jesus (Isa in Arabic) - the Quran - the (arch)angel Gabriel (Jibril) as God's intermediary - the message: repent of sins & worship only GOD - 610-632: years of revelations from God spoken by Muhammad until the Prophet's death at age 62/63
- bottom147a-bottom150a: on the "Five Pillars of Islam: ... Shahada ... Salat ... imam ... mosque ... zakat ... Ramadan ... Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj ... Ka'ba ... Gabriel ... Abraham ... Ishmael ... Ali." + handout of Prof. Berkson's lecture-notes
CHAPTER 10 on HINDUISM: lower180b-mid181a: "At this point ... freedom and tolerance ... behavior and action ... 'religious' talk when ... many ways of being 'Hindu' ... be a Hindu.": general overview + lower181b: "Unlike most ... about Hinduism."
- 185b - box on the "Bhagavad Gita" ("Song of the Celestial Lord"): lesson taught to the warrior Arjuna by Lord Krishna: selfless devotion/bhakti to the Divine, god or goddess
- mid186b-lower187b: on the many "manifestations" of the one Ultimate Divine Reality: "Gods and Goddesses ... Brahma ... Vishnu ... Shiva [B & V & S = 3 divinities forming a "trinity" = trimurti] ... everyday puja, or worship, takes ... incarnations ... avataras ... karma ... rebirth (called samsara) ... disciplined meditation ... disciplined devotion ... would be the Bhagavad Gita.": good deeds/actions lead to ending the cycle of rebirths = good karma allows, eventually after a number of reincarnated lives, liberation/moksha from the cycle of rebirths/transmigration
- upper191a-lower191b: on Vivekananda and M. K. Gandhi: "A variety ... nation-state.": V. gave an Address on Hinduism in Chicago in 1893; MKG. advocated nonviolent resistance (ahimsa) to British colonial rule in India
- upper192b: on #4 - ISKCON: an internationalist Neo-(= NEW/ReNEWed) Hindu movement that seeks to gain converts
- mid193b + top195a: on Basic Beliefs: "As we have ... understanding.'"
- mid-lower195a: on WORSHIP = puja: "Personal or ... the family."
- lower195b: just #3 on the HOLI festival
- upper196a: just #7: on Lord Krishna's birthday = Janmashtami VIEW this http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2008/08/22/august-22-2008-janmashtami/25/ = about 3 mins. Viewed in class.
- mid196b: CONCLUSION: rituals like daily puja; meditation with yoga; devotion to one's "favorite" deity = bhakti: "This brings ... (bhakti)."
From CHAPTERS 11 & 12 on BUDDHISM: 199: Look at the Chronology: 5th c. BCE, 1853, 1893, 1899 & 1945, 1975 (in Barre, MASS), 2006
- mid200a-top200b: "As the Buddhist ... BCA ... Buddha Amida ... Zen ... Insight (Vipassana) Centers ... endless.": overview of Buddhism in America
- BOX 201: on "Ethnic" and "Convert" Buddhists in America: "It is common ... religious life.": highlights some items of the Chronology: 1853, 1893, 1899, 1945 - Jodo Shinshu = Pure Land True Sect
- bottom201a-top203b: on the life-experiences of SG who became "the Buddha" = "the Enlightened/Awakened One" - bodhisattva - samsara & karma - his teaching = the Dharma = "to chart [= guide us along] a path out of [self-inflicted] suffering" in the samsara-cycle
- top203b-lower205b: Prof. Eckel explains the 4 Noble Truths = the heart of the Buddha's Dharma: "After the Buddha ... suffering ... origin ... cessation ... path ... moral conduct ... five moral precepts ... chain of reincarnation."
- bottom205b-top207a: on the Buddhist Community of monks, nuns, & lay persons = the Samgha: "When the Buddha ... they seek."
- upper208a-upper209b: on the Wide/Broad/Great(er) Vehicle/Raft (that "transports" the "soul/mind/self" to nirvana) called Mahayana: "After the Buddha's ... bodhisattva ... wisdom and compassion ... Avalokiteshvara [= Guan-Yin/Kannon] ... om mani padme hum ... Amitabha ... Amida ... Pure Land ... namu Amida Butsu ... the nembutsu ...Bodhisattva path."
- upper-bottom210a: on Zen meditation: "This style of meditation ... koans ... sound of water!'"
- 210b: CONCLUSION: "The values ... Theravada ... in modern America ... this world."
- bottom226a-mid227a: on Zen Buddhism: "The third form ... zazen ... satori ... koan ... Zen centers in America ... roshi ... to satori."
- lower227a-mid227b: on Tibetan Buddhism = the Vajrayana (= Thunderbolt Raft) sect: "Other Americans ... Dalai Lama ... Deer Park ... Kalachakra Temple ... own practices."
*** The Exam-Format is will include PART I = Matching Columns for ISLAM: 12 pairs. + PART II = Matching Columns for HINDUISM: 10 pairs. + PART III = Matching Columns for BUDDHISM: 10 pairs + PART IV - TYPED 1-page ESSAY due at exam-time, or before = Choice of 2 options: Your presentation of, and reflections on either #1 or #2:
#1) Janmashtami = the Lord Krishna-birthday celebration news-item that we listened to & read (= short transcript - handout) in class. Link is above. Your Essay's theme-focus is: Compose an Objective/Subjective Essay in which you present the essentials of what Ms. Nidhi Singh tells us as she explains her faith in, and devotion to, the god Krishna, divine avatar of Lord Vishnu + your thoughts.
#2) the conversation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Barbara Walters viewed in class (on Thurs 4/30/15) - here's the link https://vimeo.com/24744987 - Compose an Objective/Subjective Essay in which you highlight what the Dalai Lama says to BW about Buddhism, and, then, your thoughts.
Sunday, March 18, 2018: I will formulate the Exam-Format based ONLY what is given below as selected from our WRA book + web-based video-clips + from Fr. William Rettig's class-visit:
CH. 5 - 88a - in the box: "What's in a name? ..." - for your general knowledge
- on Pentecostal Christian faith&worship: upper96a-top96b:
"Finally came [in the early 1900s] the great Pentecostal wave ... Puerto Rico."
+ 99 - in the box: "Pentecostal Worship ... structures for churches." +
VIEWED-READ in class on the Catholic Charismatic Christians
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/23/262793319/a-different-kind-of-catholicism-grows-in-latino-communities
(= 4:30)
- lower97a-lower97b: "El Santuario ... powerful
symbols.": on the 2 pilgrimage-sites associated with faith-affirming miraculous
events: 1) the "Sanctuary of Chimayo" in New Mexico with its "sacred sand" (= a
parallel to the holy-water grotto in Lourdes, France) - VIEWED in class also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMOBeo77vg
And, needless to say, in this coming Thursday's class we'll have our Retrospective = our review-session using this Review-Pages handout given in class on Tuesday.
February, 2018: Subjects/Terms for EXAM #1 from our book WRA + Handouts & the Exam-Format:
PART I: MATCHING COLUMNS - JUDAISM: 10 pairs @ 2 pts. to be matched (= 20 pts.): KNOW the meanings of the following: Kosher, Yom Kippur, Rabbi, Moses, Mezuzah, Torah, Sabbath/Shabbat, bar&bat mitzvah, Synagogue, the "Shema"
PART II: MATCHING COLUMNS - CHRISTIANITY: 10 pairs @ 2 pts. to be matched (= 20 pts.): KNOW the meanings of the following: Holy Bible, Holy Trinity, Holy Communion, the "Lord's Prayer," Jesus (the) Christ, Easter Sunday, Christmas, Baptism, "I Have a Dream" - Rev. MLK, Jr., Reformation: in WRA: lower32b-bottom33b: "Reformation ... in religion."
PART III: In-class handwritten OBJECTIVE Essay (lined-paper will be provided) at 20 points based on EITHER Chapter 2 OR Chapter 3 = YOUR CHOICE:
EITHER Ch. 2 - Protestant Christianity: REread top45a-lower46b: "Most Protestants gather ... READING ... PRAYER ... differ from it.": attending church for communal worship-services - pastors/ministers preaching God's Word relating to daily life = reading from, and then explaining the meaning of, quoted verses/passages in the BIBLE = sacred scriptures = the Torah/Tanakh = the Jewish Old Testament + the Christian New Testament (= 4 Gospel-narratives of the life & teachings of Jesus Christ, ...) - gift-giving for church-support (= aiding the poor, maintenance of the house of worship, ...).
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive REreading to these passages in Ch. 2 where Martin Marty explains that when Christians sing/speak/shout their PRAYERS, they are addressing/calling upon "a personal God" to hear and respond to their sincere words of faith, whether formal/ritual/public or informal/spontaneous/private, that come "from the heart." He emphasizes that people may pray to God for anything: "Nothing is too trivial, ... the congregation [at worship-service might] pray for a couple who had a child" asking for God's blessing. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to summarize Martin Marty's explanation of the nature & kinds of PRAYER with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from MM's chapter-passages to support your ideas.
OR Ch. 3 - African-American Christianity: REread bottom59a-upper61a: on "Spirituals ... The so-called spirituals, which ... Christian tradition.": In the pre-Civil War (= pre-1860s era), religious songs/hymns of the slaves, based on the Bible (= Old and New Testaments), expressing faith in God's ultimate deliverance from the oppression of slavery in the South - the importance of such biblical figures as Moses called by God to lead the Israelites from bondage in Egypt toward freedom in the Promised Land: "Go down, Moses, ..." - "Steal [= Run] away ... to Jesus ..." and eventually to Heaven, the eternal realm of equality for "All God's chillun [= children]" - white and black, who will be equal forever in Heaven.
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive reading to the section on "Spirituals" in Ch. 3 where Peter Paris explains the religiously meaningful SPIRITUALS in the harsh lives of the Slaves as Bible-based, Christian songs - hymns, really - which gave them spiritual solace/comfort/reassurance/inner strength to endure their hardships in this world, looking forward to liberation/salvation in Heaven. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to summarize Peter Paris's explanation of the faith-importance for the Slaves in pre-Civil War America (= pre-1865) of their biblical Spirituals - with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from PP's chapter-passages to support your ideas.
PART IV: Typed 1-page ESSAY @ 40 points on EITHER Rev. Lowery's Presidential Benediction OR Senator Lieberman's Personal Reflections:
Option #1 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of the Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction (= prayer-invocation for God's blessings) at President Obama's first Inauguration, Jan. 2009, on the steps of the Capitol, in Washington, DC, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT any themes/ideas/phrases of his Benediction that grabbed your attention by, first, OBJECTIVELY presenting them with quotations and/or paraphrases, and then SUBJECTIVELY explain WHY you chose what you chose to highlight = your personal perspective. http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/stevenwaldman/2009/01/rev-lowery-inauguration-benedi.html This is the link to both his text and his delivery at President Obama's Inauguration for your viewing and listening.
Option #2 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of Senator Joseph Lieberman's autobiographical Reflections, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT how he practices his Jewish faith - living his daily life as an observant Orthodox Jew - by focusing on BOTH his ideal of tikkun olam AND how he and his family observe their weekly Sabbath/Shabbat together from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. OBJECTIVELY, you must quote his own words as well as offer specific details to support your ideas. Then, SUBJECTIVELY, express YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS on what you highlighted. (No web-link - paper-copy handout in class.)
April 27, 2017: Here are the Review Pages for our Exam @ 100 points with the exam-format - EXAM on THURSDAY 5/4 at 11:30-1:30 for the 1:30-class & on FRIDAY 5/5 at 11:30-1:30 for the 10:30-class.
PART I - TFC: Choice of 1 of 2 Essay-questions @ 20 pts. written in class on lined-paper provided: OBJECTIVE content ONLY!
Option #1 - RANYA: upper170-bottom171: "I try ... my rituals." + top-lower258: "... I feel an appreciation ... all faith traditions."- Ranya's personal and Islamic credo = what she believes as a Muslim whose life is full of blessings from the One God, Who intentionally created humanity's diversity.
Option #2 - SUZANNE: bottom223-mid225: "As I passed ... in each one." - Suzanne's understanding of Priscilla as a Jew whose people's history - illustrated by the life&death of J. K. - has, over the centuries, been far more a valley of tears than a mountain of joys.
PART II - TFC - Choice of 1 of 3 Essay-questions @ 30 pts. written in class on lined-paper provided: You must present 1) OBJECTIVELY in the first-half what R or S or P expresses/describes/thinks and 2) SUBJECTIVELY in the 2nd-half your reflections about all that:
Option #1 - RANYA: upper-lower283: "My relationship ... great anticipation." + bottom285-mid287end: "Fortunately, the tenor [= tone/mood] of ... heritage.": Focus on Ranya's advocacy, in her response to a questioner, of "interfaith projects" which express her optimism about the future for Muslim-Americans as part of an envisioned Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.
Option #2 - PRISCILLA: mid287-bottom289: "Although I have found ... expert on.": Focus on Priscilla's gratitude to S & R for their "words [that] continue to comfort" Priscilla - she highlights what R & S have said to her about "life-affirming acts" and common-core "religious" (not social/cultural) values, which all "boil down to one morality."
Option #3 - SUZANNE - mid291-mid293end: "My faith returned ... next frame.": Focus on Suzanne's explanation to herself about the nature of faith in terms of what she calls a "faith journey," with every marker - "dot" - along the way as "sacred," since for her faith is "a gift from God" requiring work on the believer's part as well as, in Suzanne's life, "spiritual nourishment ... from my Faith Club soul mates."
PART III - ENM by HH the Dalai Lama: 1 essay-question @ 20 pts. written in class on lined-paper provided - OBJECTIVE content ONLY: based on ONLY these pages: top222-mid223: "Perhaps the most ... profound admiration.": present his key ideas read in THESE few pages
PART IV - TYPED Essay-question @ 30 pts.- A well-composed, substantial 1-page (into 2 pages if you wish) Essay (double-spaced) - TOPIC: REwatch the mini-documentary of about 10 minutes presented by Tony Carnes about the many "Houses of Worship" representing the diversity of religious faith-traditions practiced in NYC, itself mirroring our Global Society. This news-journal item was on the PBS program RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY 4 years ago. As we saw in class, there is a FULL transcript included. So, REwatch and READ what is presented, and then compose a well-pondered Essay in which you OBJECTIVELY highlight facts about religious diversity in NYC, and then SUBJECTIVELY express your thoughts about what you watched and read.
SOOOO, present OBJECTIVE content = WHAT KNOWLEDGE did you gain ("College for Knowledge!"), AND then present your SUBJECTIVE content = YOUR REFLECTIONS on what your learned (= the variety of worship-services, the personal testimony of Tony Carnes, ...). Here is the link to the mini-docu-film that we watched in class, and I also included it in my 4/27 email to you. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2014/03/07/february-22-2013-nyc-houses-of-worship/14793/
*** For your in-class handwritten essay, No notes and NO books, of course.
PART I - 20 pts. - Choose 1 of 2 OBJECTIVE Essay-Questions to be written in class on lined paper provided:
1) Based on your careful REreading in TFC of pp. 170-171 & p. 258, highlight what RANYA tells us about her #1] personal and #2] Islamic beliefs = that is, #1] what she tells us about her inner prayer-life expressing her faith in God, and #2] what she says (quoting also from the Quran) about the unity-in-diversity among the 3 monotheistic, Abrahamic religious traditions.
2) Based on your careful REreading in TFC of pp. 223-225, highlight what SUZANNE tells us about her deepened understanding of Priscilla's Jewish religious self/identity #1] as she learned about Janusz Korczak and #2] as she read the Jewish prayer book for Yom Kippur.
PART II - 30 pts. - Choose 1 of 3 OBJECTIVE #1 & SUBJECTIVE #2 Essay-Questions:
1) Based on your careful REreading in TFC of pp. 283 & 285-287, #1] present RANYA's optimistic advocacy of personal interfaith encounters between Muslim-Americans and fellow Americans of other faith-traditions, #2] and then express YOUR OWN reader's reflections thereon.
2) Based on your careful REreading in TFC of pp. 287-289, #1] present PRISCILLA'S thoughts of gratitude to Ranya & Suzanne whose conversations supported/comforted/guided her, #2] and then express YOUR OWN reader's reflections thereon.
3) Based on your careful REreading in TFC of pp. 291-193, #1] present SUZANNE's explanation to herself about what she learned on her "faith journey" from/through her two "soul mates," #2] and then express YOUR OWN reader's reflections thereon.
PART III - 20 pts. - Based on your careful REreading in ENM of pp. 222-224, in an OBJECTIVE short essay, highlight the key ideas that HH the Dalai Lama tells us about the various ways people can contribute to "interreligious harmony [in] today's interdependent world" = our global society. (For ex., what I pointed out in our last class regarding Pope Francis's most recent journey.)
PART IV - 30 pts. - Your typed 1-page double-spaced Viewer's Reflection-Essay based on watching the mini-documentary news-report about the very many "Houses of Worship" - religious traditionS - in NYC (a "global society" all to its Big Apple self!) presented by Tony Carnes & his colleagues. See the RevPp above for more details with link.
2/28/13: Review pages for MIDTERM - Thurs. 3/7/13 - READ my email to you all of 2/26:
--- PART I: You will have a choice of 1 Essay-topic out of 3 options, and compose your in-class, hand-written Essay-response to one Essay-question related to either Ranya or Suzanne or Priscilla. And having REread your selected few pages and pondered what R or S or P says therein, you will in class simply let your essay-thoughts&knowledge flow smoothly on to the lined paper that I will provide.
#1) RANYA: top104-lower106: "I was moved ... be compensated?" + bottom151-upper153: "Although I ... heroic act.": In these pages, Ranya presents her reflections on how her understanding of God toward Whom she made her own humble, mindful "leap" of faith - her "surrender to God" - developed from roots going all the way back to her childhood. As you reread think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#2) SUZANNE: top148-lower151: "At last I ... rescue workers.": In these pages Suzanne also presents her reflections on how her later-in-life (after college) understanding of "a more subtle God" (151) had its roots in her childhood and youth, BUT developed beyond her earlier notions [(("When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, ... " - St. Paul, I Corinthians 13:11))] to encompass Nature's wonders and Humanity's virtues. As you reread think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#3) PRISCILLA: through Suzanne's words + her own: mid153-mid158: "As I ... Ranya and Suzanne." + top-bottom108: "I looked out ... I leaped.": In these pages, through Suzanne's observations AND her own words, Priscilla presents her reflections on how she came to make her "leap of faith" with the help of R & S (acting, so to speak, as her "midwife") arriving at a deep, balanced appreciation of Life: "When I pray now, I thank God for the good times, the bad times, ..." - that is, Life's perplexing contradictions/challenges out of which (as Rabbi JS would say) come blessings, BUT it does require an inner struggle (RJS) involving patience, time, and humility. So, as you reread think about WHAT she tells us about how she was enabled "to understand my connection to God." And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART II: 1 Essay-topic related to Rabbi J. Sacks' ideas about the dignity&purpose of WORK + connecting Rabbi JS's thoughts with Sen. Joe Lieberman's affirmation of the ideal of tikkun olam (photocopy-handout) - TDD: mid94-top95: "Work, though ... the world.'" + upper-lower96: "Work achieves ... from mankind.": In these pages, RJS writes about the "spiritual value" of WORK through which "we serve God" in many ways as "partners with God." As you reread think about how he presents the spiritual and creative dimensions of human endeavor (labor, career, profession, ...) "in this life" from a Jewish biblical/rabbinical perspective. AND think about how to connect RJS's ideas with Sen. Joe L's affirmation of tikkun olam. AND think about how their ideas might - or might not - connect with your own life. Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART III: Choice of 1 out of 2 Essay-topics to be TYPED 1-to-2 pages due on exam-day in class related to EITHER the news-report "Colorado Springs Evangelicals" on Jim Daly and the Evangelical Christian Focus On The Family OR the news-report about NYC's many many Houses of Worship seen through the documentary-camera&drawing eyes of Tony Carnes and his fellow-journeyers. In either case, all I ask is that you compose your Objective/Subjective ESSAY in response to this general, two-part question: Keeping in mind the theme-title of our course Religious Traditions in our Global Society, WHAT did you LEARN through viewing the news-report that illustrated our course? And WHAT REFLECTIONS came to you upon having this chosen viewing-experience? Be prepared to explain ... .
2/22/17: Review Pages for MIDTERM - Thurs. 3/2/17: REread the selected pages below over the weekend to prep for our Retrospective on Tuesday 2/28 -
--- PART I @ 30 pts: You will have a choice of 1 Essay-topic out of 3 options, and will compose your in-class, hand-written Objective/Subjective Reflection-Response to the Essay-question related to 1 of 3 = Ranya or Suzanne or Priscilla. And having REread your chosen few pages and pondered what R or S or P says therein, you will in class simply let your knowledge & thoughts flow smoothly/legibly on to the lined paper that I will provide. No notes or book. All in your wonderful minds!
#1) RANYA: top104-lower106: "I was moved ... be compensated?" + bottom151-upper153: "Although I ... heroic act.": In these pages, RANYA presents her reflections on how her understanding of God toward Whom she made her own humble, mindful "leap" of faith - her "surrender to God" - developed from roots going all the way back to her childhood. As you REread the few pages, think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#2) SUZANNE: top148-lower151: "At last I ... rescue workers.": In these pages SUZANNE also presents her reflections on how her later-in-life (after college) understanding of "a more subtle God" (151) had its roots in her childhood and youth, BUT developed beyond her earlier notions [(("When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, ... " - St. Paul, I Corinthians 13:11))] to encompass Nature's splendid wonders and Humanity's noble virtues. As you REread the few pages, think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#3) PRISCILLA: through Suzanne's words + her own: mid153-mid158: "As I ... Ranya and Suzanne." + top-bottom108: "I looked out ... I leaped.": In these pages, through Suzanne's observations AND her own words, PRISCILLA presents her reflections on how she came to make her "leap of faith" with the help of R & S (acting as her "midwife") arriving at a deep, balanced appreciation of Life: "When I pray now, I thank God for the good times, the bad times, ..." - that is, Life's perplexing contradictions/challenges out of which can come blessings, BUT it does require an inner struggle involving patience, time, and humility. So, as you REread the few pages, think about WHAT she tells us about how she was enabled "to understand my connection to God." And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART II @ 30 pts: Islam in our Upper Midwest = 1 in-class Objective/Subjective Reflection-Response Essay based on your reading of the Fargo FORUM article regarding how Fargo-Moorhead & surrounding area schools (Pelican Rapids, ...) are accommodating religious observances such as prayer-needs of Muslim students. Photocopies handed out in class on Thursday 2/23. Read & Reflect!
--- PART III @ 40 pts: HH the Dalai Lama's thoughts on the disciplined mind vs. afflictive emotions and on our innate/inherent capacity for empathy - 1 typed double-spaced page to be handed in at the exam based on your reading attentively/ponderingly the selected passages from Ch. 6 "The Ethic of Restraint": p. 81: "I have suggested ... actions spring." + mid84: Prior to our every action, ... and unethical." + lower86-upper88: " In Tibetan, we call ... uncompassionate state of mind ... undisciplined mind ... capacity for empathy ... submerged in some way." + mid97: "If we are to retain ... be far away." + mid99-top100: "As I understand it, ... compassionate conduct ... afflictive emotion ... others' [interests and happiness] and learning to act accordingly." Your Essay will be a synthesizing fruit of his thoughts and your reflections thereon.
--- PART II: 1 Essay-topic related to Rabbi J. Sacks' ideas about the dignity&purpose of WORK + connecting Rabbi JS's thoughts with Sen. Joe Lieberman's affirmation of the ideal of tikkun olam (photocopy-handout) - TDD: mid94-top95: "Work, though ... the world.'" + upper-lower96: "Work achieves ... from mankind.": In these pages, RJS writes about the "spiritual value" of WORK through which "we serve God" in many ways as "partners with God." As you reread think about how he presents the spiritual and creative dimensions of human endeavor (labor, career, profession, ...) "in this life" from a Jewish biblical/rabbinical perspective. AND think about how to connect RJS's ideas with Sen. Joe L's affirmation of tikkun olam. AND think about how their ideas might - or might not - connect with your own life. Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART III: Choice of 1 out of 2 Essay-topics to be TYPED 1-to-2 pages due on exam-day in class related to EITHER the news-report "Colorado Springs Evangelicals" on Jim Daly and the Evangelical Christian Focus On The Family OR the news-report about NYC's many many Houses of Worship seen through the documentary-camera&drawing eyes of Tony Carnes and his fellow-journeyers. In either case, all I ask is that you compose your Objective/Subjective ESSAY in response to this general, two-part question: Keeping in mind the theme-title of our course Religious Traditions in our Global Society, WHAT did you LEARN through viewing the news-report that illustrated our course? And WHAT REFLECTIONS came to you upon having this chosen viewing-experience? Be prepared to explain ... .
Tuesday 4/28/15 - CHAPTER 8 on ISLAM: 143-44: Chronology: ca. 570 - birth of Muhammad; 610 - first revelation; 622 - the Hijrah (flight to Medina); 632 - farewell sermon & death; 2006: on Congressman Keith Ellison (DFL)
- mid144b-mid145a: meanings of Islam, Muslim, Ummah (= community of believers); Allah = the Arabic word for God
- mid145a-bottom145b: on Muhammad as God's FINAL/LAST messenger after the many prophets & messengers from the biblical Adam ... to Moses (Musa in Arabic) ... to Jesus (Isa in Arabic) - the Quran - the (arch)angel Gabriel (Jibril) as God's intermediary - the message: repent of sins & worship only GOD - 610-632: years of revelations from God until the Prophet's death at age 63 + upper146a: "The leaders of ... 622 ... medina ... the Quran.": on the Hijrah
- bottom147a-bottom150a: on the "Five Pillars of Islam: ... Shahada ... Salat ... imam ... mosque ... zakat ... Ramadan ... Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj ... Ka'ba ... Gabriel ... Ali."
CHAPTER 10 on HINDUISM: lower180b-mid181a: "At this point ... freedom and tolerance ... behavior and action ... 'religious' talk when ... many ways of being 'Hindu' ... be a Hindu.": general overview + lower181b: "Unlike most ... about Hinduism."
- 185b - box on the "Bhagavad Gita" ("Song of the Celestial Lord"): lesson taught to the warrior Arjuna by Lord Krishna: selfless devotion/bhakti to the Divine, god or goddess
- mid186b-lower187b: on the many "manifestations" of the one Ultimate Divine Reality: "Gods and Goddesses ... Brahma ... Vishnu ... Shiva [B & V & S = 3 divinities forming a "trinity" = trimurti] ... everyday puja, or worship, takes ... incarnations ... avataras ... karma ... rebirth (called samsara) ... disciplined meditation ... disciplined devotion ... would be the Bhagavad Gita.": good deeds/actions lead to ending the cycle of rebirths = good karma allows, eventually after a number of reincarnated lives, liberation/moksha from the cycle
- ipper191a-lower191b: on Vivekananda and M. K. Gandhi: "A variety ... nation-state.": V. gave an Address on Hinduism in Chicago in 1893; MKG. advocated nonviolent resistance (ahimsa) to British colonial rule in India
- lower192a-upper192b: on #3 = TM and on #4 - ISKCON: both are internationalist Neo-(= NEW/ReNEWed) Hindu movements that "missionize" to gain converts
- mid193b + top195a: on Basic Beliefs: "As we have ... understanding.'"
- mid-lower195a: on WORSHIP = puja: "Personal or ... the family."
- lower195b: just #3 on the HOLI festival
- upper196a: just #7: on Lord Krishna's birthday = Janmashtami VIEW this http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2008/08/22/august-22-2008-janmashtami/25/ = about 3 mins.
- mid196b: CONCLUSION: rituals like daily puja; meditation with yoga; devotion to one's "favorite" deity = bhakti: "This brings ... (bhakti)."
From CHAPTERS 11 & 12 on BUDDHISM: 199: Look at the Chronology: 5th c. BCE, 1853, 1893, 1899 & 1945, 1975 (in Barre, MASS), 2006
- mid200a-top200b: "As the Buddhist ... BCA ... Buddha Amida ... Zen ... Insight (Vipassana) Centers ... endless.": overview of Buddhism in America
- BOX 201: on "Ethnic" and "Convert" Buddhists in America: "It is common ... religious life.": highlights some items of the Chronology: 1853, 1893, 1899, 1945 - Jodo Shinshu = Pure Land True Sect
- bottom201a-top203b: on the life-experiences of SG who became "the Buddha" = "the Enlightened/Awakened One" - bodhisattva - samsara & karma - his teaching = the Dharma = "to chart [= guide us along] a path out of [self-inflicted] suffering" in the samsara-cycle
- top203b-lower205b: Prof. Eckel explains the 4 Noble Truths = the heart of the Buddha's Dharma: "After the Buddha ... suffering ... origin ... cessation ... path ... moral conduct ... five moral precepts ... chain of reincarnation."
- bottom205b-top207a: on the Buddhist Community of monks, nuns, & lay persons = the Samgha: "When the Buddha ... they seek."
- upper208a-upper209b: on the Wide/Broad/Great(er) Vehicle/Raft (that "transports" the "soul/mind/self" to nirvana) called Mahayana: "After the Buddha's ... bodhisattva ... wisdom and compassion ... Avalokiteshvara [= Guan-Yin/Kannon] ... om mani padme hum ... Amitabha ... Amida ... Pure Land ... namu Amida Butsu ... the nembutsu ...Bodhisattva path."
- upper-bottom210a: on Zen meditation: "This style of meditation ... koans ... sound of water!'"
- 210b: CONCLUSION: "The values ... Theravada ... in modern America ... this world."
- bottom226a-mid227a: on Zen Buddhism: "The third form ... zazen ... satori ... koan ... Zen centers in America ... roshi ... to satori."
- lower227a-mid227b: on Tibetan Buddhism = the Vajrayana (= Thunderbolt Raft) sect: "Other Americans ... Dalai Lama ... Deer Park ... Kalachakra Temple ... own practices."
*** The Exam-Format is will include PART I = Matching Columns for ISLAM: 12 pairs. + PART II = Matching Columns for HINDUISM: 10 pairs. + PART III = Matching Columns for BUDDHISM: 10 pairs + PART IV - TYPED 1-page ESSAY due at exam-time, or before = Choice of 2 options: Your presentation of, and reflections on,
1) Janmashtami = the Lord Krishna-birthday celebration news-item that we listened to & read (= short transcript - handout) in class. Link is above. Your Essay's theme-focus is: Compose an Objective/Subjective Essay in which you present the essentials of what Ms. Nidhi Singh tells us as she explains her faith in, and devotion to, the god Krishna, divine avatar of Lord Vishnu + your thoughts.
2) the conversation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Barbara Walters viewed in class (on Thurs 4/30/15) - here's the link https://vimeo.com/24744987 - Compose an Objective/Subjective Essay in which you highlight what the Dalai Lama says to BW about Buddhism, and, then, your thoughts.
March 24, 2015: RevPp for Exam #2 based only on Chapters 4 & 5 & 6 in WRA - exam-date = Thursday, April 2nd & Retrospective on Tuesday, March 31st (FYI - NPR.org = National Public Radio)
CH. 4 - CATHOLICISM in AMERICA: top-bottom74a: general introduction to Catholicism: "Catholicism is a very ... in this country [= USA] ... religion of immigrants ... same religion."
- upper74b-top75a: "Five major ethnic ... first came ... Despite these beliefs [= prejudicial opinions] ... college today.": the immigrants' children advance in America's "melting-pot" society + mid75a: "These paradoxes [= apparent contradictions] ... a church ... Who is Catholic? ... got it wrong." + mid75b: "In summary, American ... remarkable ease."
- top82a-top82b: "The realities and ... to humankind.": on the Sacraments = holy, ritual, priest-performed actions: Marriage/Matrimony --- on the symbolism of "Mary, the Mother of Jesus" - and look at the list of the Seven Sacraments on p.81, but focus ONLY on the "Sacrament" and "Meaning" of Marriage/Matrimony & its symbolism
CH. 5 - RELIGIONS of LATINO-HISPANIC AMERICANS: bottom95a-top96b: "Protestant Challenges and Growth ... Independence ... Puerto Rico.": Protestant missionaries sought to remove "unbiblical" Catholic practices such as incense, ornate robes for priests (= vestments), etc. - the Pentecostal ("Holy Spirit-inspired") movement beginning in Los Angeles = the Azusa Street Revival in 1906: beliefs = salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, inspiration by God the Holy Spirit ("speaking in tongues"), faith-healing through prayer + mid-bottom99 in the box on "Pentecostal Worship Practices ... for churches." + in-class listening-reading of NPR.org's "A Different Kind of Catholicism Grows In Latino Communities" = on Charismatic Catholic Christians (Morning Edition program for January 23, 2014 - there is a TRANSCRIPT link)
- upper-mid96b: on "Religion and Identity ... Today in any ... religious [and cultural] traditions." + lower97a-bottom97b: on Mary, Mother of Jesus, Our Lady "the Virgin of Guadalupe" - miracle-story from Mexico (early 1500s) + top-lower98a: "Recent Developments In recent ...who participate.": the Catholic mass in Spanish, with Mariachi band-music as part of a Mass/worship-service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, San Antonio, Texas
-JUST to sum-up: mid-bottom101b: conclusion that DIVERSITY in religious practice is "what it means to be an American" because of the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, with the mutual enrichment of respectful co-existence given "such a variety of religions": "... Hispanics belong to a tradition ... the losers."
CH. 6 - ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY: top106a-bottom106b: "Their onion-domed churches ... in America.": general overview of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the USA of many nationalities/ethnicities
- upper-mid108b-bottom109b: on "How Eastern Orthodoxy Came West ... Latin the [Roman Catholic] mass.": Florida first - Greeks, then Alaska - Russian Orthodoxy, then lots of different immigrant nationalities - "no centralized authority" like the catholic Pope, thus "free to evolve here" in the USA + bottom117a-end: "The new situation ... treasures."
- upper-mid113: on "What is an Icon? Among Orthodox ... A religious icon ... proper prayers.": religious ART that is more than a brightly-colored, stylized image = symbolism
*** On the EXAM-FORMAT: PART I - CATHOLICISM: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-questions with Short-Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 74-75: religion of immigrants 2) 81-82: religious symbolism
PART II - LATINO-HISPANIC CHRISTIANITY: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-question with a Short-Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 95-96 + 99: Protestant Pentecostalism 2) 96-97-98: Mexican heritage
PART III - ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-questions with a Short-Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 106-108-109-117: Orthodoxy in America 2) 113: the Icon as religious art
PART IV - TYPED Essay - 1 page (more if you wish) - double-spaced @ 40 pts.: CHOOSE EITHER on Catholic Charismatic Christianity among Latino/a-Hispanics based ONLY on the (5 min.) NPR report that we'll hear/read in class http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/23/262793319/a-different-kind-of-Catholicism-grows-in-Latino-communities : Describe/highlight Charismatic Catholicism among Hispanics in NY.
OR on St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in NYC: http://video.pbs.org/video/2119539400/ = 5 mins. + http://www.wliw.org/programs/religion-ethics-newsweekly/ground-zero-church-will-rebuild/ = 2 1/2 mins.
Wednesday, FEBRUARY 11, 2014: Selected pages/passages, for EXAM #1, from our book WRA + Handouts:
PART I: Essay at 25 points based on Ch. 2 - Protestant Christianity: REread pp.top45a-lower46b: "Most Protestants gather ... READING ... PRAYER ... differ from it.": attending church for communal worship-services - pastors/ministers preaching God's Word relating to daily life = reading from, and then explaining the meaning of quoted verses/passages in, the BIBLE = sacred scriptures = the Bible = the Torah/Tanakh = the Jewish Old Testament + the Christian New Testament (= 4 Gospel-narratives of the life & teachings of Jesus, ...) - gift-giving for church-support (= aiding the poor, maintenance of the house of worship, ...)
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive REreading to p.46a-b in Ch. 2 where Martin Marty explains that when Christians sing/speak/shout their PRAYERS, they are addressing/calling upon "a personal God" to hear and respond to their sincere words of faith, whether formal/ritual/public or informal/spontaneous/private, that come "from the heart." He emphasizes that people may pray to God for anything: "Nothing is too trivial, ... the congregation [at worship-service might] pray for a couple who had a child" asking for God's blessing. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to summarize MM's explanation of the nature & kinds of PRAYER with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from MM's chapter-passages to support your ideas.
PART II: Essay at 25 points based on Ch. 3 - African American Christianity: REread pp. bottom59a-upper61a: on "Spirituals ... The so-called spirituals, which ... Christian tradition.": In the pre-Civil War (= pre-1860s era), religious songs/hymns, based on the Bible (= Old and New Testaments), expressing faith in God's ultimate deliverance from the oppression of slavery in the South - the importance of such biblical figures as Moses called by God to lead the Israelites from bondage in Egypt toward freedom in the Promised Land: "Steal [= Run] away ... to Jesus ..." and eventually to Heaven, the eternal realm of equality for "All God's chillun [= children]" - white and black, who will be equal forever in Heaven.
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive reading to the section on "Spirituals" on pp. bottom59a-upper61a in Ch. 3 where Peter Paris explains the religiously meaningful SPIRITUALS, in the harsh lives of the Slaves as Bible-based, Christian songs - hymns, really - which gave them spiritual solace/comfort/reassurance/inner strength to endure their hardships in this world, looking forward to liberation/salvation in the After-life. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to explain the faith-importance for the Slaves in pre-Civil War America (= pre-1865) of their biblical Spirituals - with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from Peter Paris's chapter-section to support your ideas.
PART III: MATCHING COLUMNS of 12 pairs @ 2 pts. = 24 points based on selected RevPp from Ch. 7 - Judaism in America - given as follows:
lower-bottom125b: "The three ... God, Torah, and Israel ... gave the Torah.": belief in the one God, Creator of the universe; Torah = sacred scriptures = Hebrew Bible; Israel = descendants of Abraham; also, Jacob's other name = God will prevail; struggling to be a worthy creature of God; ...
- top126a-top126b: on "God, Torah, and Israel": "The God of ... of Americans.": meaningS of Torah = 1st 5 books of the Hebrew Bible revealed by God to & through Moses; the whole Bible; oral tradition communicated by Moses beyond the Torah proper and passed on to Joshua, ...; Israel = Jacob's God-given name through his wrestling with the Angel
- upper-mid126b: "Where ... Home, Synagogue, Pilgrimage To understand ... Passover ... of Egypt.": remembering the Exodus in the sanctuary of the home
- mid127b: "The December festival ... Hanukkah ... in the home.": A Prof. Berkson has said: "It's the Jewish 4th of July celebrating religious freedom."
- mid127b: on what is kosher: "These are dietary ... governs."
- mid127b-top130: at the Synagogue: holy days & ritual remembrance and congregational confession of sins on Yom Kippur - worship, study, fellowship - bar & bat mitzvah ceremonies: "The synagogue, or temple, is ... Sabbath ... Torah ... Day of Atonement ... Sabbath of Sabbaths ... bar mitzvah ... celebration."
- upper130a-mid130b: "Pilgrimage A journey undertaken ... Torah to Moses ... western wall [= "Wailing Wall"] of the ancient Temple ... home.": Jerusalem as holiest place of pilgrimage for all Jews (and a holy city also for Christians and Muslims)
- mid131a-mid131b: "Defining Judaism ... Torah refers to ... Written Torah ... Oral Torah ... gives the Torah.": God's revelation in sacred scripture = the Hebrew Bible + top-lower132: "First it [= Judaism] claims ... master to disciple ... [Rabbi] Hillel .... 'What is hateful [= What you would find hateful/wrong to do] ... whole of Judaism."
- top-mid134: a summing-up: "We see that Judaism ... define Judaism.": Mishnah & Talmud = rabbinical interpretations/commentaries on the Torah
- upper-mid138b: on Reform Judaism as "the largest branch of ... Torah is holy ... ethics ... in Judaism."
PART IV: Typed 1-page ESSAY @ 26 points on EITHER Rev. Lowery's formal Benediction OR retired Senator Lieberman's personal Reflections:
Option #1 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of the Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction (= prayer-invocation for God's blessings) at the conclusion of President Obama's first Inauguration, Jan. 2009, on the steps of the Capitol, in Washington, DC, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT any themes/ideas/phrases of his Benediction that grabbed your attention by, first, OBJECTIVELY presenting them with quotations and/or paraphrases, and then SUBJECTIVELY explain WHY you chose what you chose to highlight = your personal perspective. http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/stevenwaldman/2009/01/rev-lowery-inauguration-benedi.html This is the link to both his text and his delivery.
Option #2 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of Senator Joseph Lieberman's autobiographical Reflections, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT how he practices his Jewish faith - living his daily life as an observant Orthodox Jew - by focusing on his ideal of tikkun olam and how he and his family observe their weekly Sabbath together = Shabbat from Friday sundown to Saturday sunset. OBJECTIVELY, you must quote his own words as well as offer specific details to support your ideas. Then, SUBJECTIVELY, express YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS on what you highlighted. No web-link - paper-copy handout only.
From CHAPTER 18 - The Latter-day Saint (Mormon) Religion: 333: Look at the Chronology on Joseph Smith: 1805-1844 & 1847
- mid334b: "Most of the American religions ... Joseph Smith ... extraordinary.": historical overview
- upper-bottom335a: "Founded on ... biblical Eden ... Promised Land ... original church ... restored ... Advent ... 'Zion' ... of God.": America (= the New World) as "the place of a New Dispensation" = a new societal order restoring what was lost
- upper-lower337a: "For the Latter-day Saints ... and community.": a religion involving all aspects of daily living = "a total way of life" + mid338a: "Almost everything ... similar activities."
- lower337-top340a: "Latter-day Saint children ... baptism ... 'confirmation' ... age of eight ... own decisions ... 'deacon' ... 'elder' religious responsibilities ... Elders perform ... LDS women ... mission opportunity.": various religious roles and responsibilities at 8 years old, 12, 18, 21 (women) + top345b: "the women's 'Relief Society'" as Prof. Smith explained
- top-mid340a: "The Latter-day Saints subscribe ... bodies and minds ... bringing forth Zion ... college education.": cultivation of the mind/intelligence AND maintaining bodily well-being = "Word of Wisdom" as Prof. Smith explained + 341b: "The LDS religion ... 'word of wisdom' ... in their bones.'"
- bottom342b-lower343b: on the sacred scriptures guiding/inspiring the LDS church members: "The Saints accept the Bible ...'We believe ... Pearl of Great Price ... on earth (Zion) in preparation ... Book of Mormon ... a Christian history ... Doctrine and Covenants ... the kingdom."
- lower344a-lower344b: on the special functions of the LDS temples (about 140 in the world): "There are several ... 'temple' ... 'sealing;' ...sacred rituals ... 'temple recommend' ... laws of God."
- bottom344b-top345a: on the LDS church hierarchy who administer & minister: "The Latter-day Saint religion is ... Prophet-President [= Thomas S. Monson] ... administrators."
- lower-bottom345b: "The Saints are expected ... ward bishop ... the sacrament ... joyful fellowship ... children.": on the Sunday worship-service = 3 hours altogether, as Prof. Smith explained
- upper-top347a-b: "In the developing ... Perpetual ... uniformity ... ward meetings ... and Africa.": the LDS church is globally "the same" wherever it is found = definitely a world religion
- mid347b: READ the CONCLUSION: the LDS Church = from the New World (America) to Third World countries and the Old World (Europe)
From CHAPTERS 11 & 12 on BUDDHISM: 199: Look at the Chronology: 5th c. BCE, 1853, 1893, 1899 & 1945, 1975 (in Barre, MASS), 2006
- mid200a-top200b: "As the Buddhist ... BCA ... Buddha Amida ... Zen ... Insight (Vipassana) Centers ... endless.": overview of Buddhism in America
- BOX 201: on "Ethnic" and "Convert" Buddhists in America: "It is common ... religious life.": highlights some items of the Chronology: 1853, 1893, 1859, 1945 - Jodo Shinshu = Pure Land True Sect
- bottom201a-top203b: on the life-experiences of SG who became "the Buddha" = "the Enlightened/Awakened One" - bodhisattva - samsara & karma - his teaching = the Dharma = "to chart [= guide us along] a path out of [self-inflicted] suffering" in the samsara-cycle
- top203b-lower205b: Prof. Eckel explains the 4 Noble Truths = the heart of the Buddha's Dharma: "After the Buddha ... suffering ... origin ... cessation ... path ... moral conduct ... five moral precepts ... chain of reincarnation."
- bottom205b-top207a: on the Buddhist Community of monks, nuns, & lay persons = the Samgha: "When the Buddha ... they seek."
- upper208a-upper209b: on the Wide/Broad/Great(er) Vehicle/Raft (that "transports" the "soul/mind/self" to nirvana) called Mahayana: "After the Buddha's ... bodhisattva ... wisdom and compassion ... Avalokiteshvara [= Guan-Yin/Kannon] ... om mani padme hum ... Amitabha ... Amida ... Pure Land ... namu Amida Butsu ... the nembutsu ...Bodhisattva path."
- upper-bottom210a: on Zen meditation: "This style of meditation ... koans ... sound of water!'"
- 210b: CONCLUSION: "The values ... Theravada ... in modern America ... this world."
- bottom226a-mid227a: on Zen Buddhism: "The third form ... zazen ... satori ... koan ... Zen centers in America ... roshi ... to satori."
- lower227a-mid227b: on Tibetan Buddhism = the Vajrayana (= Thunderbolt Raft) sect: "Other Americans ... Dalai Lama ... Deer Park ... Kalachakra Temple ... own practices."
Sunday 4/26/15 - CHAPTER 8 on ISLAM: 143-44: Chronology: ca. 570 - birth of Muhammad; 610 - first revelation; 622 - the Hijrah (flight to Medina); 632 - farewell sermon & death; 2006: on Congressman Keith Ellison (DFL)
- mid144b-mid145a: meanings of Islam, Muslim, Ummah (= community of believers); Allah = the Arabic word for God
- mid145a-bottom145b: on Muhammad as God's FINAL/LAST messenger after the many prophets & messengers from the biblical Adam ... to Moses (Musa in Arabic) ... to Jesus (Isa in Arabic) - the Quran - the (arch)angel Gabriel (Jibril) as God's intermediary - the message: repent of sins & worship only GOD - 610-632: years of revelations from God until the Prophet's death at age 63 + upper146a: "The leaders of ... 622 ... medina ... the Quran.": on the Hijrah
- bottom147a-bottom150a: on the "Five Pillars of Islam: ... Shahada ... Salat ... imam ... mosque ... zakat ... Ramadan ... Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj ... Kaba ... Gabriel ... Ali."
CHAPTER 10 on HINDUISM: lower180b-mid181a: "At this point ... freedom and tolerance ... behavior and action ... 'religious' talk when ... many ways of being 'Hindu' ... be a Hindu.": general overview + lower181b: "Unlike most ... about Hinduism."
- 185b - box on the "Bhagavad Gita" ("Song of the Celestial Lord"): lesson taught to the warrior Arjuna by Lord Krishna: selfless devotion/bhakti to the Divine, god or goddess
- mid186b-lower187b: on the many "manifestations" of the one Ultimate Divine Reality: "Gods and Goddesses ... Brahma ... Vishnu ... Shiva [B & V & S = 3 divinities forming a "trinity" = trimurti] ... everyday puja, or worship, takes ... incarnations ... avataras ... karma ... rebirth (called samsara) ... disciplined meditation ... disciplined devotion ... would be the Bhagavad Gita.": good deeds/actions lead to ending the cycle of rebirths = good karma allows, eventually after a number of reincarnated lives, liberation/moksha from the cycle
- ipper191a-lower191b: on Vivekananda and M. K. Gandhi: "A variety ... nation-state.": V. gave an Address on Hinduism in Chicago in 1893; MKG. advocated nonviolent resistance (ahimsa) to British colonial rule in India
- lower192a-upper192b: on #3 = TM and on #4 - ISKCON: both are internationalist Neo-(= NEW/ReNEWed) Hindu movements that "missionize" to gain converts
- mid193b + top195a: on Basic Beliefs: "As we have ... understanding.'"
- mid-lower195a: on WORSHIP = puja: "Personal or ... the family."
- lower195b: just #3 on the HOLI festival
- upper196a: just #7: on Lord Krishna's birthday = Janmashtami VIEW this http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2008/08/22/august-22-2008-janmashtami/25/ = about 3 mins.
- mid196b: CONCLUSION: rituals like daily puja; meditation with yoga; devotion to one's "favorite" deity = bhakti: "This brings ... (bhakti)."
*** The Exam-Format (not yet finalized) will include PART I = Matching Columns for ISLAM: 12 pairs. + PART II = Matching Columns for HINDUISM: 10 pairs. + PART III = Matching Columns for BUDDHISM: 10 pairs + PART IV - TYPED 1-page ESSAY due at exam-time = Choice of 2 options: Your presentation of, and reflections on, 1) Janmashtami = the Lord Krishna-birthday celebration news-item that we listened to & read (= short transcript - handout) in class. Link is above. Your Essay's theme-focus is: Compose an Objective/Subjective Essay in which you present the essentials of what Ms. Nidhi Singh tells us as she explains her faith in, and devotion to, the god Krishna, divine avatar of Lord Vishnu + your thoughts. 2) the conversation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Barbara Walters viewed in class (on Thurs 4/30/15) - here's the link https://vimeo.com/24744987 - highlight what he says to her about Tibetan Busshims and, then, your thoughts.
March 24, 2015: RevPp for Exam #2 based only on Chapters 4 & 5 & 6 in WRA - exam-date = Thursday, April 2nd & Retrospective on Tuesday, March 31st (FYI - NPR.org = National Public Radio)
CH. 4 - CATHOLICISM in AMERICA: top-bottom74a: general introduction to Catholicism: "Catholicism is a very ... in this country [= USA] ... religion of immigrants ... same religion."
- upper74b-top75a: "Five major ethnic ... first came ... Despite these beliefs [= prejudicial opinions] ... college today.": the immigrants' children advance in America's "melting-pot" society + mid75a: "These paradoxes [= apparent contradictions] ... a church ... Who is Catholic? ... got it wrong." + mid75b: "In summary, American ... remarkable ease."
- top82a-top82b: "The realities and ... to humankind.": on the Sacraments = holy, ritual, priest-performed actions: Marriage/Matrimony --- on the symbolism of "Mary, the Mother of Jesus" - and look at the list of the Seven Sacraments on p.81, but focus ONLY on the "Sacrament" and "Meaning" of Marriage/Matrimony & its symbolism
CH. 5 - RELIGIONS of LATINO-HISPANIC AMERICANS: bottom95a-top96b: "Protestant Challenges and Growth ... Independence ... Puerto Rico.": Protestant missionaries sought to remove "unbiblical" Catholic practices such as incense, ornate robes for priests (= vestments), etc. - the Pentecostal ("Holy Spirit-inspired") movement beginning in Los Angeles = the Azusa Street Revival in 1906: beliefs = salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, inspiration by God the Holy Spirit ("speaking in tongues"), faith-healing through prayer + mid-bottom99 in the box on "Pentecostal Worship Practices ... for churches." + in-class listening-reading of NPR.org's "A Different Kind of Catholicism Grows In Latino Communities" = on Charismatic Catholic Christians (Morning Edition program for January 23, 2014)
- upper-mid96b: on "Religion and Identity ... Today in any ... religious [and cultural] traditions." + lower97a-bottom97b: on Mary, Mother of Jesus, Our Lady "the Virgin of Guadalupe" - miracle-story from Mexico (early 1500s) + top-lower98a: "Recent Developments In recent ...who participate.": the Catholic mass in Spanish, with Mariachi band-music as part of a Mass/worship-service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, San Antonio, Texas
-JUST to sum-up: mid-bottom101b: conclusion that DIVERSITY in religious practice is "what it means to be an American" because of the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, with the mutual enrichment of respectful co-existence given "such a variety of religions": "... Hispanics belong to a tradition ... the losers."
CH. 6 - ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY:
- top106a-bottom106b: "Their onion-domed churches ... in America.": general overview of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the USA of many nationalities/ethnicities
- upper-mid108b-bottom109b: on "How Eastern Orthodoxy Came West ... Latin the [Roman Catholic] mass.": Florida first - Greeks, then Alaska - Russian Orthodoxy, then lots of different immigrant nationalities - "no centralized authority" like the catholic Pope, thus "free to evolve here" in the USA + bottom117a-end: "The new situation ... treasures."
- upper-mid113: on "What is an Icon? Among Orthodox ... A religious icon ... proper prayers.": religious ART that is more than a brightly-colored, stylized image = symbolism
*** On the EXAM-FORMAT: PART I - CATHOLICISM: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-questions with Short-Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 74-75: religion of immigrants 2) 81-82: religious symbolism
PART II - LATINO-HISPANIC CHRISTIANITY: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-question with a Short Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 95-96 + 99: Protestant Pentecostalism 2) 96-97-98: Mexican heritage
PART III - ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY: choice of 1 out of 2 topic-questions with a Short-Essay Response @ 20 pts. 1) 106-108-109-117: Orthodoxy in America 2) 113: the Icon as religious art
PART IV - a TYPED Essay - 1 page (more if you wish) - double-spaced @ 40 pts.: on Catholic Charismatic Christianity among Latino/a-Hispanics based ONLY on the (5 min.) NPR report that we'll hear/read again in class http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/23/262793319/a-different-kind-of-Catholicism-grows-in-Latino-communities : Describe/highlight Charismatic Catholicism among Hispanics in NY.
Sunday, FEBRUARY 8,2014: Selected pages/passages, for EXAM #1, from our book WRA + Handouts:
PART I: Essay at 25 points based on Ch. 2 - Protestant Christianity: pp.top45a-lower46b: "Most Protestants gather ... READING ... PRAYER ... differ from it.": attending church for communal worship-services - pastors/ministers preaching God's Word relating to daily life = reading from, and then explaining the meaning of quoted verses/passages in, the BIBLE = sacred scriptures = the Bible = the Torah/Tanakh = the Jewish Old Testament + the Christian New Testament (= 4 Gospel-narratives of the life & teachings of Jesus, ...) - gift-giving for church-support (= aiding the poor, maintenance of the house of worship, ...)
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive reading to p.46a-b in Ch. 2 where Martin Marty explains that when Christians sing/speak/shout their PRAYERS, they are addressing/calling upon "a personal God" to hear and respond to their sincere words of faith, whether formal/ritual/public or informal/spontaneous/private, that come "from the heart." He emphasizes that people may pray to God for anything: "Nothing is too trivial, ... the congregation [at worship-service might] pray for a couple who had a child" asking for God's blessing. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to summarize MM's explanation with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from MM's chapter-passages.
PART II: Essay at 25 points based on Ch. 3 - African American Christianity: pp. bottom59a-upper61a: on "Spirituals ... The so-called spirituals, which ... Christian tradition.": In the pre-Civil War (= pre-1860s era), religious songs/hymns, based on the Bible (= Old and New Testaments), expressing faith in God's ultimate deliverance from the oppression of slavery in the South - the importance of such biblical figures as Moses called by God to lead the Israelites from bondage in Egypt toward freedom in the Promised Land: "Steal [= Run] away ... to Jesus ..." and eventually to Heaven, the eternal realm of equality for "All God's chillun [= children]" - white and black, who will be equal forever in Heaven.
Thematic FOCUS for in-class handwritten ESSAY: Give an attentive reading to the section on "Spirituals" on pp. bottom59a-upper61a in Ch. 3 where Peter Paris explains the religiously meaningful SPIRITUALS, in the harsh lives of the Slaves as Bible-based, Christian songs - hymns, really - which gave them spiritual solace/comfort/reassurance/inner strength to endure their hardships in this world, looking forward to liberation/salvation in the After-life. So, I would like you to be prepared (intellectually - no notes or book) to explain the faith-importance for the Slaves in pre-Civil War America (= pre-1865) of their biblical Spirituals - with brief quotations and/or your own words (= paraphrases) from PP's chapter-section.
PART III: MATCHING COLUMNS of 12 pairs @ 2 pts. = 24 points based on selected RevPp from Ch. 7 - Judaism in America - given as follows:
lower-bottom125b: "The three ... God, Torah, and Israel ... gave the Torah.": belief in the one God, Creator of the universe; Torah = sacred scriptures = Hebrew Bible; Israel = descendants of Abraham; also, Jacob's other name = God will prevail; struggling to be a worthy creature of God; ...
- top126a-top126b: on "God, Torah, and Israel": "The God of ... of Americans.": meaningS of Torah = 1st 5 books of the Hebrew Bible revealed by God to & through Moses; the whole Bible; oral tradition communicated by Moses beyond the Torah proper and passed on to Joshua, ...; Israel = Jacob's God-given name through his wrestling with the Angel
- upper-mid126b: "Where ... Home, Synagogue, Pilgrimage To understand ... Passover ... of Egypt.": remembering the Exodus in the sanctuary of the home
- mid127b: "The December festival ... Hanukkah ... in the home.": Prof. Berkson: "It's the Jewish 4th of July celebrating religious freedom."
- mid127b: on what is kosher: "These are dietary ... governs."
- mid127b-top130: at the Synagogue: holy days & ritual remembrance and congregational confession of sins on Yom Kippur - worship, study, fellowship - bar & bat mitzvah ceremonies: "The synagogue, or temple, is ... Sabbath ... Torah ... Day of Atonement ... Sabbath of Sabbaths ... bar mitzvah ... celebration."
- upper130a-mid130b: "Pilgrimage A journey undertaken ... Torah to Moses ... The Six Day War [= June 5-10, 1967] ... western wall [= "Wailing Wall"] of the ancient Temple ... home.": Jerusalem as holiest place of pilgrimage for all Jews (and a holy city also for Christians and Muslims)
- mid131a-mid131b: "Defining Judaism ... Torah refers to ... Written Torah ... Oral Torah ... gives the Torah.": God's revelation in sacred scripture = the Hebrew Bible + top-lower132: "First it [= Judaism] claims ... master to disciple ... [Rabbi] Hillel .... 'What is hateful [= What you would find hateful/wrong to do] ... whole of Judaism."
- top-mid134: a summing-up: "We see that Judaism ... define Judaism.": Mishnah & Talmud = rabbinical interpretations/commentaries on the Torah
- upper-mid138b: on Reform Judaism as "the largest branch of ... Torah is holy ... ethics ... in Judaism."
PART IV: Typed 1-page ESSAY @ 26 points on EITHER Rev. Lowery's formal Benediction OR retired Senator Lieberman's personal Reflections:
Option #1 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of the Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction (= prayer-invocation for God's blessings) at the conclusion of President Obama's first Inauguration, Jan. 2009, on the steps of the Capitol, in Washington, DC, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT any themes/ideas/phrases of his Benediction that grabbed your attention by, first, OBJECTIVELY presenting them with quotations and/or paraphrases, and then SUBJECTIVELY explain WHY you chose what you chose to highlight = your personal perspective.
Option #2 - Based on your attentive reading of the Handout of Senator Joseph Lieberman's autobiographical Reflections, compose an Essay in which you HIGHLIGHT how he practices his Jewish faith - living his daily life as an observant Orthodox Jew - by focusing on his ideal of tikkun olam and how he and his family observe their weekly Sabbath together = Shabbat from Friday sundown to Saturday sunset. OBJECTIVELY, you must quote his own words as well as offer specific details to support your ideas. Then, SUBJECTIVELY, express YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS on what you highlighted.
2/10/14: Regarding the EXAM FORMAT for exam #1: PARTS I & II will be handwritten in class, paper provided - no notes/book. PART III will be a typed, 1-2 page Essay due on exam-day.
PART I - Choice of 1 out of 2 essay-topics: Option #1: On p.12a in Ch. 1, Sam Gill writes of "ancient sensitivities" = cherished, traditional values, which "connect people" in a religious way "to the land, to nature, and to all living things." He says that this "religiousness, called Indian spirituality, is at once old and new." I would like you to expand upon AND illustrate what S.G. describes as the essential Native American religious attitude by presenting Chief Joseph's religious/spiritual ideas, with brief quotations and/or your own paraphrases from his 1879 declaration = the Handout I gave you.
- Option #2: On p.46a-b in Ch. 2, Martin Marty explains that when Christians sing/speak/shout their prayers, they are addressing/calling upon "a personal God" to hear and respond to their sincere words of faith, whether formal/ritual/public or informal/spontaneous/private, that come "from the heart." He emphasizes that people may pray to God for anything: "Nothing is too trivial, ... the congregation [at worship-service might] pray for a couple who had a child" asking for God's blessing. I would like you to expand upon AND illustrate what M.M. describes by presenting Pastor Rick Warren's prayer-themes, with brief quotations and/or your own paraphrases from his Opening Prayer at President Obama's Inauguration in January 2009 = the Handout I gave you.
PART II - Choice of 1 out of 2 essay-topics: Option #1: Based on your attentive reading of the section on "Spirituals" (bottom59a-upper60b) in Ch. 3 by Peter Paris, explain, by including brief quotations and/or your own paraphrases from the spirituals, the Christian religious meanings of the Bible-based songs that gave the slaves solace/comfort. That is, explain the faith-significance for the slaves (in pre-Civil War America) of their biblical spirituals.
- Option #2: Based on your attentive reading of the section "Personal Voices: Amanda [Berry] Smith" (lower64) in Ch. 3, present, by including brief quotations and/or your own paraphrases from the selection from her Autobiography, Amanda Smith's life-journey from slavery to Christian ministry. That is, explain her own faith-understanding of the significance of her religious calling/vocation and journey that began, she affirms, in November of 1869.
PART III - Choice of 1 out of 2 essay-topics: Based on your attentive reading of the double-sided Handout I gave you with the Rev. Joseph Lowery's Inaugural Benediction for President Obama in January 2009 and the "I Have a Dream" speech of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of August 1963, CHOOSING either JL's Benediction (= Blessing-prayer for the President and the Nation) or MLK's public Sermon-Address to the Nation, compose a 1-2 page Essay in which you EXPLAIN how either JL or MLK, in their inspiring and powerful words, expressed religious themes and social gospel concerns central to the Bible-based, activist faith-tradition of African American Christians.
May 1, 2013: Here are the Review Pages for our Exam @ 100 points with the format-outline - to be given on MONDAY 5/13 at 12-2 p.m. for the 1:30 class and WEDNESDAY 5/15 at 12-2 p.m. for the 10:30 class.
PART I - TFC - Choice of 1 out of 2 essay-style questions @ 25 pts. - written in class on lined-paper provided: OBJECTIVE
Option #1 - RANYA: upper170-bottom171: "I try ... my rituals." - Ranya's personal and Islamic credo = what she believes as a Muslim whose life is, in all its varied aspects, a blessing from the One God.
Option #2 - SUZANNE: bottom223-mid225: As I passed ... in each one." - Suzanne's understanding of Priscilla as a Jew whose people's history - illustrated by the story of J. K. - has, over the centuries, been far more of a valley of tears than a mountain of joys.
PART II - TFC - Choice of 1 out of 3 essay-style questions @ 25 pts. - written in class on lined-paper provided: You must present 1) OBJECTIVELY in the first-half what R or S or P expresses/describes/thinks and 2) SUBJECTIVELY in the 2nd-half your reflections about all that:
Option #1 - Ranya: upper-lower283: "My relationship ... great anticipation." + bottom285-mid287end: "Fortunately, the tenor [= tone/mood] of ... heritage.": Focus on Ranya's advocacy, in her response to a questioner, of "interfaith projects" which express her optimism about the future for Muslim-Americans as part of an envisioned Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.
Option #2 - Priscilla: mid287-bottom289: "Although I have found ... expert on.": Focus on Priscilla's gratitude to S & R for their "words [that] continue to comfort" Priscilla - she highlights what R & S have said to her about "life-affirming acts" and common-core "religious" (not social/cultural) values, which all "boil down to one morality."
Option #3 - Suzanne - mid291-mid293end: "My faith returned ... next frame.": Focus on Suzanne's explanation to herself about the nature of faith in terms of what she calls a "faith journey," with every marker - "dot" - along the way as "sacred," since for her faith is "a gift from God" requiring work on the believer's part as well as, in Suzanne's life, "spiritual nourishment ... from my Faith Club soul mates."
PART III - RJS - TDD & Gandhi: 1 essay-question @ 25 pts. - written in class on lined-paper provided - OBJECTIVE content ONLY - mid208-mid209end: "Many years ago ... of difference.": this will be a comparison/correlation between ideas expressed by RJS in THESE pages and those expressed by Gandhi as presented by Prof. Arvind Sharma in the hand-out that I also emailed to you ALL dated 4/23/2013.
PART IV - RJS - TDD & Eboo Patel: 1 essay-question @ 25 pts. = a 1-2 page TYPED essay: OBJECTIVE content = WHAT do they say AND your SUBJECTIVE content = what do you think about what they say: mid200: "I have argued ... our difference." + upper-mid208: "The question is ... and peace.": this will be a comparison/correlation of ideas expressed by RJS in THESE passages and those expressed by Eboo Patel in the 2 docu-clips that we watched in class and that are readily accessible via the Internet as I clearly indicated in my email to you ALL dated 4/30/2013.
2/28/13: Review pages for MIDTERM - Thurs. 3/7/13 - READ my email to you all of 2/26:
--- PART I: You will have a choice of 1 Essay-topic out of 3 options, and compose your in-class, hand-written Essay-response to one Essay-question related to either Ranya or Suzanne or Priscilla. And having REread your selected few pages and pondered what R or S or P says therein, you will in class simply let your essay-thoughts&knowledge flow smoothly on to the lined paper that I will provide.
#1) RANYA: top104-lower106: "I was moved ... be compensated?" + bottom151-upper153: "Although I ... heroic act.": In these pages, Ranya presents her reflections on how her understanding of God toward Whom she made her own humble, mindful "leap" of faith - her "surrender to God" - developed from roots going all the way back to her childhood. As you reread think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#2) SUZANNE: top148-lower151: "At last I ... rescue workers.": In these pages Suzanne also presents her reflections on how her later-in-life (after college) understanding of "a more subtle God" (151) had its roots in her childhood and youth, BUT developed beyond her earlier notions [(("When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, ... " - St. Paul, I Corinthians 13:11))] to encompass Nature's wonders and Humanity's virtues. As you reread think about WHAT she tells us. And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
#3) PRISCILLA: through Suzanne's words + her own: mid153-mid158: "As I ... Ranya and Suzanne." + top-bottom108: "I looked out ... I leaped.": In these pages, through Suzanne's observations AND her own words, Priscilla presents her reflections on how she came to make her "leap of faith" with the help of R & S (acting, so to speak, as her "midwife") arriving at a deep, balanced appreciation of Life: "When I pray now, I thank God for the good times, the bad times, ..." - that is, Life's perplexing contradictions/challenges out of which (as Rabbi JS would say) come blessings, BUT it does require an inner struggle (RJS) involving patience, time, and humility. So, as you reread think about WHAT she tells us about how she was enabled "to understand my connection to God." And what are YOUR thoughts about her thoughts? Any meaningful connection with your life? Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART II: 1 Essay-topic related to Rabbi J. Sacks' ideas about the dignity&purpose of WORK + connecting Rabbi JS's thoughts with Sen. Joe Lieberman's affirmation of the ideal of tikkun olam (photocopy-handout) - TDD: mid94-top95: "Work, though ... the world.'" + upper-lower96: "Work achieves ... from mankind.": In these pages, RJS writes about the "spiritual value" of WORK through which "we serve God" in many ways as "partners with God." As you reread think about how he presents the spiritual and creative dimensions of human endeavor (labor, career, profession, ...) "in this life" from a Jewish biblical/rabbinical perspective. AND think about how to connect RJS's ideas with Sen. Joe L's affirmation of tikkun olam. AND think about how their ideas might - or might not - connect with your own life. Be prepared to explain ... .
--- PART III: Choice of 1 out of 2 Essay-topics to be TYPED 1-to-2 pages due on exam-day in class related to EITHER the news-report "Colorado Springs Evangelicals" on Jim Daly and the Evangelical Christian Focus On The Family OR the news-report about NYC's many many Houses of Worship seen through the documentary-camera&drawing eyes of Tony Carnes and his fellow-journeyers. In either case, all I ask is that you compose your Objective/Subjective ESSAY in response to this general, two-part question: Keeping in mind the theme-title of our course Religious Traditions in our Global Society, WHAT did you LEARN through viewing the news-report that illustrated our course? And WHAT REFLECTIONS came to you upon having this chosen viewing-experience? Be prepared to explain ... .
Saturday 4/28/2012: RevPp for EXAM on Friday May 4 @ 12-2 p.m. for 10:30-class & on Wednesday May 9 @ 12-2 p.m. for 1:30-class. Exam-Format given below - 5 Parts @ 40 pts.: I-on Judaism, II-on Christianity, III-on Islam, IV-on JIL, V-Your TYPED Essay on the Dalai Lama's Epilogue in GOR - within 1 page (see details below). Correlate RevPp with ReadingNotes. GOR & JIL have helpful Glossaries.
JUDAISM: 203a-b + 206a-b: "Abraham and the Patriarchs ... transcendent in power.": on Abraham/Avraham/Ibrahim as spiritual founding-father of the 3 monotheistic traditions of J, C, and I = the Abrahamic faiths
- 209b: "According to the Book ... 'children of Israel.'": on God's calling of Moses/Moshe/Musa to liberate the Israelites
- lower212a-top212b: "Many of Judaism's ... sing in reply.": on the Exodus-story celebrated at Pesach/Passover - matzoh + painting by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) - Modernist/Surrealist + 214a-b: "The Passover is ... define the practice of Judaism.": + mid215: "Moses' experience, as ... worship since.": no anthropomorphic or figural imagery in synagogues (and in mosques and in certain Christian worship-buildings like Quaker Meeting Houses)
- 223: Selected Scriptures: intro-paragraph + from the Torah: the Shema & from Leviticus
- 229: "The People of the Book" (in Hebrew: Am Ha Sefer; in Arabic: Ahl al-Kitab): A Daily Practice: prayers, "laws," celebrations - "the Book" = sacred scripture = God's written-down, revealed Word = the Torah = the Bible/Tanakh
- 236a-top237b: "The leader of the ... of traditional Judaism.": on Y ben Z - role of the rabbis after the 2nd Temple's destruction c.70 CE - compilation of the Talmud = volumes of biblical interpretation/commentary as guidelines of "law and custom" for "Jewish religious survival"
- mid242a-upper242b: "In 1492 [Spanish] monarchs ... Amsterdam, in 1671.": on Sephardic Jews after expulsion - Isaac Luria (1534-72): mystical Kabbalah into pietistic Hasidism + lower248-mid249: "In the early 1700s, ... your beards.'": on the "pious ones" = Hasidic Jews beginning with the BShT = the Master of the Good Name - role of the rebbe
- 246-47: ESSAY: "My Judaism" by Rabbi J. Rosen: on "a universal Judaism" - what unifies "the variety of Jewish life"
- mid251a-mid251b; "Following practices ... throughout the 20th century.": observant Jewish men wear the "skull-cap" (as do Muslim men, Catholic cardinals, HH the Pope) - the synagogue - no human conception of the after-world = olam haba = "the-world-to-come" - burial/Kaddish/mourning - from WW II Holocaust to nation of Israel + lower252b: "Throughout the world, Jewish life today ... future with optimism."
- 256-57 + 260-61: brief texts & photos: "In the Footsteps of Abraham"
CHRISTIANITY: upper266a-upper266b: "The small town of Nazareth ... idolatry, and greed.": beginnings of the life of Jesus/Iesous (Yeshuah/Joshua/Isa in Arabic) in the Roman province of Judaea 2000 yrs. ago - Messianic hope vs. Roman rule
- lower271a-bottom271b + up to mid274a: "As an adult, Jesus ... THE [4] GOSPELS ... but before 200 A.D. [= CE = Common Era].": on Jesus' ministry - the New Testament Gospels = "good news" of salvation presented in the scriptures = God's Word
- mid274b-mid276b: "As that fame [as a preacher/teacher/miracle-worker] spread, ... promise of Resurrection.": on Jesus' message in parables (= stories with lessons) inspired and challenged - at Passover-season: Crucifixion & Resurrection = messianic, scripture-prophecy fulfilled
- mid276b-bottom277b + 281a: on "The [Gospel-]Word Spreads" from around 30 CE to the death of Saul/Paul around 67 CE = his missionary-journeys in the eastern Mediterranean region and Letters/Epistles forming part of the New Testament canon + lower-mid281b: "In the second century [around 150CE] a list ... Catholic Church.": on the New Testament - Athanansius - Jerome: Latin Vulgate
- mid282a-lower284a: on Roman imperial tolerance/acceptance of Christianity: "ROME EMBRACES ... a hundred knots.": from persecution to legal permission to practice - Emperor Constantine's major role: Edict of Milan in 313 CE; church building; pilgrimage-sites (Helena); Council of Nicaea in 325 CE - the Creed - by C's d. in 337 CE - Christian practices common today
- 285: Selected Scriptures: intro-paragraph + from Gospels of John & Mark & Matthew
- photos with captions of Eastern Byzantine Orthodox tradition: 287, 288-91, 294-96
- 303: "Give Us This Day": on the weekly Christian worship-service: the Mass, Eucharist - usually on Sundays
- top306a-lower308a: on the Protestant movement from Martin Luther onward: "In 1517, ... England and Wales.": dramatic splits of the Christian tree with many branches - importance of Martin Luther: his German New Testament - by c.1650 a new religious map of the European-Mediterranean world
- 314-15: ESSAY by Prof. Robert L. Wilken - "Christianity: An Affair [= Matter] of [Visible/Tangible/Symbolic] Things"
- mid316a-lower316b: "By the end ... of the world.": on R. Allen's church & founding of Ch of JC of L-day Saints
- 319a-320b (end): on "Christianity Today" as a world religion in our global society: 6 billion-plus among "the three arms" = EO, RC, P - the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65 (convened by Pope John XXIII) and its official pronouncements - Evangelical branches - Western Europe yielding in numbers & fervor to Africa, Asia, Latin America
ISLAM: upper340a-lower341b: "By the age of 40, Muhammad ... implement God's will.": how Muhammad became God's Prophet/Messenger - God's revealed Word = the Qur'an - Muslim = "one who obeys God's Will"
- mid344b-mid345a: "In the early 620s, Muhammad ... as a holy city.": his miraculous Night Journey/isra (and his Ascent/miraj) - "the community of the prophets" - prayer 5 times daily - Jerusalem
- mid345a-top346a: "While [nonMuslim] Meccans ... Turning from Jerusalem ... in Arabic.": the hijra of 622 to Yathrib/Medina - the hajj to Mecca: the Kaaba & its Black Stone symbolizing God's Oneness/Presence
- 347: Scripture Quotations: verses from the Qur'an: Chs. 1 (vv. 1-7) & 2 (vv. 261-63) & 33 (v. 35)
- bottom351a-mid352b: on the Five Pillars of Islam up to "... circling of the Kaaba."
- 353b: "He [Muhammad] had reasserted the ancient ... jihad ... centers."
- 357: "The Call to Worship": on daily prayer - the Bismillah + photos/captions on 390-95
- top-mid360a: "Samarkand [in Central Asia] was ... Sunni [= majority Orthodox] Islam.": on the hadith-collections
- 372-73: Prof. Hibba Abugideiri's ESSAY on her Islamic faith and certain values as her "Sustaining Guide"
- 396-97: EPILOGUE by the Dalai Lama: why/how "the world's religions have an important role" in our global society: PART V of the Exam will be a typed Essay-response @ 40 pts. - within 1-page - to this question: From the Dalai Lama's perspective, WHY and HOW do "the world's religions have an important role" to play in our global society? You must QUOTE directly from the Dalai Lama's essay, if briefly, to support your own statements/ideas. DUE on your exam-date.
THE JEW IN THE LOTUS: For PART IV of the exam - handwritten in class, no notes, no book, of course - you will respond to 2 out of 4 Essay-Questions (@ 20 pts. = 40) correlated to the 4 selected pages for your REreading as GIVEN BELOW. Section A) = a REQUIRED Essay-Question based on Chs. 11 & 23 Section B) is your choice of 1 out of 3, as GIVEN BELOW:
A) REQUIRED Essay-Question @ 20 pts.: Ch. 11: mid-lower142: Prof. Nathan Katz's concise summing-up of how "Judaism was a path" in one's life-journey: "Borrowing from Rabbi Greenberg's ... compassion." + Ch. 23: top280-top281: "This is what I saw: ... Jewish spiritual wisdom.": RK highlights the 3 essentials of the Jewish "path" echoing what NK spoke of -- davening = praying; midrash = biblical commentary/interpretation; tzedakah = charity, almsgiving (cf. zakat); menschlichkeit = "humanity" in the moral sense of performing humane deeds, benevolent attitude; tefilla = p.302
B) You'll choose 1 Essay-Question @ 20 pts. out of the 3 following:
#1 - Ch. 14: lower180-183 (end): RK and his companions are leaving Dharamsala to return to Delhi, India: "'Should we go by plane or by car?' Yitz ... keep us safe.": Rabbi Yitz Greenberg & N. Katz compare/contrast Tibetan Mahayan Buddhism and Judaism in terms of "the ultimate goals of each" centering on "the tension [gap/difference] between [imperfect] everyday life and [aimed-for moral/spiritual/religious] perfection" aiming for "transformation" of the world and of self - - kuten = monk-medium for the divine oracle, Dorje Drakden; halakhah = scripture based, body/corpus of Jewish law
#2 - Ch. 17: 211-mid213: "Rabbi Joy Levitt ... importance of religion.'": her presentation on the varied, institutional role of the synagogue/shul in Jewish life in America -- tulku: p.304
#3 - Ch. 18: bottom231-bottom233: RK's retrospective: "I'd come to Dharamsala as one ... we hold most dear.": RK presents his summing-up reflections on the journey with his fellow Jews to meet with the Dalai Lama whome he came to observe "in the spirit of the Hasidic [piously dedicated] student who wanted to see how the master [= the rebbe: p. 301: "Affectionate title for the Hasidic rabbi" as mentor/teacher/sage-guide/guru] ties his shoes." (meaning that a rebbe, in EVERY action - however religious and however mundane/down-to-earth - reveals the depths of his spirituality): "His presence ... was a constant teaching ... a benevolent feeling ... very deep regard ... kindness ... a deeper human contact ..." -- grager = a noisemaker like what we blow through at parties, and it uncurls and makes a funny, squeeky sound as the paper flaps
*** So, here is the EXAM-FORMAT - total points = 200 in 5 PARTS @ 40 points, each PART has 20 + 20 pts. - for the length of the in-class Essay-Questions, a solid paragraph = half-page of writing on lined-paper will suffice:
PART I: JUDAISM - A) MATCHING COLUMNS: 10 numbered items on left to be paired with 10 on right by writing the # in the blank next to the correct item in the right-hand column - 10 @ 2 pts. = 20 B) 1 ESSAY-QUESTION: choice of 1 out of 2 @ 20 pts. - options as given:
#1 - REread p.223 "Selected Scriptures" - Think about composing an Essay explaining, with brief quotations and/or paraphrased wording how the Shema "expresses the essence of Judaism." And your response must also include God's "command" in Leviticus 19: 17-18 which illustrates the HOW of being an observant Jew.
#2 - REread pp.246-47: Think about composing an Essay on Rabbi Jeremy Rosen's "My Judaism" in response to this: How does Rabbi JR answer his own question "What sort of Judaism was it that united the religious [Jews all over the world]?" So, what unites all Jews everywhere as they live observing their Jewish faith-tradition? In one word, Halakah (law or guiding-path in life), as he then elaborates from bottom247a to the end. So, you work what he says to form your essay-response.
PART II: CHRISTIANITY - A) MATCHING COLUMNS: (same as above) 10 pairs @ 2 pts. = 20 B) 1 ESSAY-QUESTION: choice of 1 out of 2 @ 20 pts. - options as given:
#1 - REread p.285 "Selected Scriptures": Think about composing an Essay explaining how the quotations from the New Testament Gospels of John, Mark and Matthew express the essentials of Christian faith and practice.
#2 - REread pp.314-15: Think about composing an Essay on Prof. R. Wilken's "Christianity: An Affair of Things" in response to this question focused mainly on the second-half of his Essay: How does Prof. Wilken explain/elaborate on, by giving illustrative examples in some detail, his title-theme that Christianity is a religion that minimizes "abstractions" in favor of making "visible things" symbols pointing beyond themselves with religious meaning?
PART III: ISLAM - A) MATCHING COLUMNS: (same as above) 10 pairs @ 2 pts. = 20 B) 1 ESSAY-QUESTION: choice of 1 out of 2 @ 20 pts. - options as given:
#1 - REread p.347 = quotations from several chapters/suras from Islam's sacred scripture, the QUR'AN: Think about composing an Essay explaining how the quotations - Ch. 1 - Prayer + Ch. 2 - On Charity + Ch. 33 - express the heart of Islamic faith & practice guiding Muslim men & women in their lives.
#2 - REread pp.372-73: Think about composing an Essay on Prof. Hibba Abugideiri's essay-reflections in which she explains how her Islamic faith and values guide and sustain her as a Muslim woman living her life with its fulfillments and its challenges.
PART IV: The JEW in the LOTUS -
A) Your required Essay-response @ 20 pts. as explained above. Based on pp.142 + 280-81
B) Your choice of 1 (@ 20 pts.) out of 3 essay-topics as explained above: #1 - based on pp.180-83 #2 - based on pp.211-13 #3 - based on pp.231-33
PART V: Your typed Essay (@ 40 pts.) on the Dalai Lama's EPILOGUE in our Geography of Religion as explained above - DUE on your EXAM-DATE - within 1 page.
TUESDAY 2/21/12: Selected Review Pages for our MIDTERM EXAM scheduled for Tuesday 2/28 - the Exam-Format for in-class writing (lined-paper will be provided) will be PART I: Hinduism and PART II: Buddhism = short Essay-Questions with choices: 4 out of 6 in each PART @ 6.50 = 26 x 2 = 52 pts. PART III: R K's THE JEW IN THE LOTUS will be a TYPED Essay-Question of 1 1/2 to 2 pages @ 48 pts. due no later than Tuesday 3/6 = one week after the in-class PARTS - see below:
*** From GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGION: PART I derived from Ch. 2 - HINDUISM: 74a-mid74b: "Two of the ... civilizations arose.": historical overview of the ancient Past (from c. 4500 years ago) into the living Present (21st century)
-- bottom81b-82 + top87a:" The Ganges River Hindus have ... performed today.": the holy river = the goddess Ganga & symbol; daily rituals "still performed today" - remember our documentary travels to Varanasi/Benares + bottom87b + 91a: "Riverbank cities ... cycle of rebirth.": Varanasi as ancient yet living pilgrimage-city
-- 100-top101b: "I must have ... Thank you indeed.'": Arvind Sharma's reflections on "What Hinduism means to me": his main theme echoes - and he, in fact, quotes - Mahatma Gandhi
-- bottom104: extract from the "Law Code of Manu" (compiled between c. 200 & 400 CE): universal, religio-moral precepts/principles shared by other religious traditions
-- 118: on puja = worship: "Seeing the Divine" = darshana = a daily practice at home as well as on occasion at temples
-- bottom121b: "Four out of five ... conversion." + bottom123a-end: "Hindu temples now ... with the gods.": Hinduism as a global religion
*** PART II derived from Ch. 3 - BUDDHISM: mid136-top139a: "Sometime in the fifth century B.C. [E.] in ... visited today.": from S G's birth to his journey after encountering the "Four Passing Sights"
-- mid139a-bottom139b: S G's enlightenment experience = discovering the "Four Noble Truths" - the ultimate goal is nirvana or moksha/liberation/breaking free from samsara = the cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth into a state of beatitude
--140a-b + mid-top145a: "His solution suggests ... on the road.": on the FOURTH Noble Truth = the Noble Eightfold Path with 3 moral/spiritual emphases + mid-bottom146b; "In his 80th year ... with diligence!'": death & final exhortation
-- 158-59: "A Buddhist Nun's Story" by the Rev. Lobsang Dechen of The Tibetan Nuns Project: the challenges she faced and overcame, and how she was/is spiritually fulfilled
-- 166: extracts from Buddhist scriptures: 1) "On Compassion" and 2) from the Avatamsaka Sutra: universal, common-ground themes shared by other religious traditions
-- bottom185a-b + top-lower188: "Buddhism faded in ... throughout the world.": on Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama
*** PART III: Your typed Essay-Response as a reader of R K's The JEW in the LOTUS: I ask you to REread the Acknowledgements (ix-x) and the Introduction. Since our first reading of these two prefatory pieces weeks ago, we have journeyed with Rodger Kamenetz and his fellow "Jewish delegates" to Dharamsala in India, and we have "listened in" on their thoughts and lively, intellectual discussions both among themselves and with the Dalai Lama. Our reading-journey thus far NOW allows us to bring our individual reader's "vicarious" travel-experiences to our REreading of these 2 opening sections of The J in the L, and thereby we can better understand what Rodger and his colleagues looked forward to: their meeting with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhist monks in a respectful, mutually beneficial, inquiring exchange of ideas about their historical circumstances, religious practices, and "spiritual survival." So, REread the Acknowledgements and the Introduction with the following focus-question in mind, and then compose a TYPED 1 1/2 half to 2-page Essay-Response: FOCUS-QUESTION - What strikes you NOW as significant to understand/appreciate that went passed your reader's attention the first time? = What do you NOW see (= intellectually grasp) as important to know/recognize that you only looked at (= passed over) in your first reading when Rodger's venture was totally new to you as a reader? Quote or paraphrase briefly from the 2 pieces AS WELL AS mention SEVERAL pertinent details from any chapter/s that we have read so far (= Chs. 1-10) to support/illustrate/substantiate your statements. Standard margins, double-spacing, 12-point font.
Saturday 4/30/11 - Scroll below for selected RevPp from BWB - followed by the Exam-Format = PART I @ 49 pts. and PART II @ 51 pts.
Thursday 4/28/11 - 8:30 a.m.: Greetings, ALL! Here is the first installment of the Review Pages for our Final Exam. Today I'll type the selected pages from HS & PN's BUDDHISM. By Saturday, I'll have selected RevPp from RM's BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA. Actually, I have made a selection, but I need to ponder further. I have not yet settled on an exam-format, but that, too, will be ready by Saturday, so when I come to the office to do the typing, I'll send you an email with all such info + link. Thanks for your patience. And on Tuesday we'll have our Retrospective session. I recommend that you begin to REread the selected pages for your personal Retrospective. TODAY I have 2 handouts, which will form an Attachment to my email to you. So, the RevPp for BWB will be typed by Saturday. I do not anticipate any additional pages from HS&PN's B. As I design the Exam-Format I may reduce some pages from A) BUDDHISM listed below; if so, I'll tell you. Exam for the 1:30 class is on THURSDAY 5/5 @ 12-2 p.m. and the Exam for the 10:30 class is on MONDAY 5/9 @ 12-2 p.m. Our classroom. I'll provide paper = Course Evaluations.
A) In Huston Smith & Philip Novak's BUDDHISM:
--- Ch. 10: top105-bottom106: on Tibetan Buddhism = Vajrayana = the Diamond/Thunderbolt Way - also called Tantrayana because of the psycho-physical "energies latent in the human makeup [= human nature]" that can be channeled into a person's "spiritual quest"
- top109-upper110: "Tibetan lamas ... being assessed.": remember Huston Smith's film-presentation of the monks he met
- lower110-111end: "To complete this ... planetary ordeal." on H H the 14th D L
--- Ch. 11: 112-upper113: "We have ... a boat, whatever.": what all the branches of the Buddhist-tradition share = 5 "propositions" and 1 thematic image
--- Ch. 12: 117-top118: "No introduction to ... world religion.": on the historically important Indian king, Asoka (pron. Ashoka) who reigned ca. 272-232 BCE + Ch. 13: 123: quotation of the Buddha & mention of Asoka's edicts + his "dharma envoys" sent westward (as well as south as far as Sri Lanka) = Buddhist "missionaries" spreading the Noble Truths and other teachings + my xeroxed handout on Ashoka
--- Ch. 13: 130: the 5 "points" of the Western Buddhist creed/confession-of-faith composed in the 1950s by the German Buddhist Union/DBU (= Deutschen Buddhistischen Union)
- 130: on the German-born Swiss author Herman Hesse's celebrated novel (in German) Siddhartha (1922)
--- Ch. 14: lower137-upper138: "One of the ... million copies.": on E A's 19th-c. popular epic-poem The Light of Asia
- bottom138-mid139: "Today the United ... world's attention.": on the historic 1893 W P of R's in Chicago
--- Ch. 15: upper147-149end: "Like-minded New Buddhists ... and reason.": on socially engaged/committed/activist Buddhism: the BPF & its mission-statement + on J M's activism + on B G's projects + on T N H and the D L's shared vision + Ch. 13: top135: T N H's P V retreat in France
--- Ch. 17: mid165-top166: on prostration and, more centrally, meditation: "The other two Tibetan ... own nature.'": think of Rinpoche and Otto - esp. Otto's obeisance (Andrew's perfect word) as "the right thing to do"
B) Roland Merullo's BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA:
- Ch. 24: mid169-top172: "In my experience, ... I thought he was.": in South Bend, IND - a "song" soothes the soul
- Ch. 27: lower-mid193-bottom194: while in the car in IND - R to Otto: "'Do not worry ... in circles?'": our thoughts and actions = choices - R's "Ortyk" prayer = quotation from the Buddha in a Pali text Dhammapada: handout-sheet: #1 & #2 - on Cecelia
- Ch. 32: upper219-224: R & O in the Nepali cuisine restaurant in Madison, WI: "Rinpoche finished his ... a frightening expectation.": R explains the religious symbolism of the thangka painting - the elderly woman with the "beatific smile" (216) and "chocolate eyes" (224): her demeanor towards R & Otto
- Ch. 34: lower-mid234-238end: in Eau Claire, WI - R teaches Otto how to meditate - remember our visit with Ms. Mary Struck: "He sat on ... 'Good night.'" - Otto speaks of his "new mind"
- Ch. 35: bottom243-245end: heading toward Lake Superior in middle-north Wisconsin: "'Remember the painting ... make it slow.'": more symbolical explanation of the thangka + Ch. 36: lower-bottom247: at a motel on Barker's island, the Wisconsin side of Lake S.: "Rinpoche was meditating ... would not.": Otto's thoughts about "the blue sphere"
- Ch. 39: upper-mid268: just one sentence = (in Duluth, MN) "I'd joined Rinpoche ... late start." + top269-upper272end: Otto's encounter with Jane A. the massage-therapist: "Due to back ... a new man.": their conversation about R and Buddhism - note mid269: "As she worked ... meditation ... armor away."
- Ch. 40: in the car from Duluth to Grand Rapids - mid274-mid278 (= 4 pages): "We took ... trip home.": a deep chapter whose title could be "Not a world for easy" (276): the theme of this chapter echoes the "Ortyk" prayer/Dhammapada quotation on life-choices: "They go this way and not that way" (278) when listening to "a very nice music always playing" (278) = "God's music that is playing all the time, for everyone [who has ears to hear] ... this love ... [that] runs the world.'" (294-95)
- Ch. 42: still in Grand Rapids - top-mid291: " ... Mom and Pop. I had been ... for meditation.'": Siberia and North Dakota + Ch. 44: Bismarck, ND - top309-lower310end: "Was Rinpoche crazy ... landscape there." + Ch. 45: Stark Cty., ND - top312-uper-mid313: "In order to appreciate ... Richardton." + top-mid317: "At some point you ... possibility that transcended [= rose above-and-beyond] ... responded to that [manifestation of Transcendence/Divine Presence] ... greater impact ... very clearly.": all of these passages = 4 1/2 pages presenting Otto's realization about the potential of his parents' farmland - his moment of enlightenment comes to him on a certain stone in a natural setting: mid-lower314: "That stone ... now, again."
EXAM-FORMAT: total points = 100 in 2 PARTS
- PART I: HS&PN's BUDDHISM: MATCHING COLUMNS: 14 numbered "names"/proper nouns on the left (1-14) to be matched with a phrase from the column on the right: 14 @ 3.50 points = 49 pts.
- PART II: RM's BWB: ESSAY-QUESTIONS: you will have a choice of just 3 out of 6 options @ 17 points = 51 pts.
--- E-Q #1 - Ch. 24 - will focus on the situation at the Chippewa Lanes = what Rinpoche does & what Otto says
--- E-Q #2 - Ch. 27 - will focus on R's teaching-"prayer" derived from the Dhammapada
--- E-Q #3 - Chs. 32 + 34 + 35 + 36 - will focus on R's interpretation of the thangka and Otto's response/thoughts
--- E-Q #4 - Ch. 39 - will focus on Otto's conversation-encounter with Jane A.
--- E-Q #5 - Ch. 40 - will focus on R's explanation about "This is not w world for easy."
--- E-Q #6 - Chs. 42 + 44 + 45 - will focus on Otto's enlightenment-experience about his parents' North Dakota farmland
Thursday 3/3/11 - Greetings, ALL! Here are the review pages that I & you shall REread over THIS weekend and that we'll "retrospect" on Monday in preparation for our MIDTERM next Thursday 3/10. I've made a modest selection with an eye to a reasonable exam - the format is given below. So, here's what to REread:
A) In Huston Smith & Philip Novak's BUDDHISM:
1 - Ch. 1 "The Man Who Woke Up": pp. 3-13 (= 10). As you REread these 10 pages, reflect upon why this chapter is titled as it is: Who is the person? What was his "sleep?" How did he arrive at his awakening? What kind of awakening? What now for him? ...
2 - Ch. 4 "The Four Noble Truths" + from Ch. 5 "The Eightfold Path": 31-mid41 (= 10): As you REread these 10 pages, reflect upon the logical and experientially meaningful sequence of the stages forming the Four Noble Truths, with the 4th being the Eightfold Path, which has its own components. I suggest consulting my handout to you "The Path" for helpful elucidation. Be prepared to explain concisely, not exhaustively, the Noble Truths' sequential, interlocking "steps" as a path of guidance toward (using HS&PN's words) liberating "the individual from [mindless, sometimes deliberate, hence inexcusable] ignorance, [harmful] unwitting impulse, and tanha [= undisciplined, thoughtless, self-centered desire]." (p.39)
3 - from Ch. 9 "Zen Buddhism: the Secret of the Flower": 92-top103: "Every religion that ... in its proper turn." (= 11): As you REread these 11 pages, remembering class-discussion just 2 days ago, reflect upon how Zen ("meditation") guides the practitioner to use words only to let them go so as to embrace the "intuitive experience" (HS's words) of "wordless insight" called, in Japanese, satori whereby "Being's amazingness" (= the eternal miraculousness of being - words of an old friend) is profoundly felt = the joyful "wonder" of "life's goodness" embracing the "welfare" of others, not just ourselves, seeing "the world robed in a new light" (= the blessed bliss of being - my words) - as expressed in the threefold affirmation of HS's Zen master, Goto Roshi, on top102.
B) In Roland Merullo's BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA:
1 - Ch. ONE: 1-5 (= 5): As you REread these 5 pages, formulate your own TITLE and be prepared to justify it with supporting details from the chapter. AND as you reflect upon Otto's first-person narrative sharing his own thoughts about Life and certain experiences, THINK ABOUT the extent to which he comes across as a religious/spiritual/philosophical/reflective person - and even "Buddhist" in terms of the Four Noble Truths. ... Stretch your thinking here and see what you can come up with in this chapter!
2 - Ch. SIX: 28-39 (= 11): As you REread these 11, formulate your own TITLE and be prepared to justify it with supporting details from the chapter. AND I expect you to pay close attention to Otto's conversation with his sister, Cecelia, esp. pp. 33-39, reflecting upon how she reveals her strong sense of selfhood, her perspective on Life (= what she deems important), and other significant aspects of her character IN CONTRAST to Otto at this point in his inward and outward journeying. THINK ABOUT, as you're picturing Cecelia in your mind's eye and listening to her fervent voice, the extent to which she comes across as a religious/spiritual/philosophical/reflective person - and "Buddhist" in her own way. Given what we have learned about Buddhism in our reading, and viewing, Huston Smith's presentation of this religious tradition from Noble Truths to Zen, how does she strike you NOW after your REreading? Of course, don't neglect what she emphatically tells Otto about (the) Rinpoche, whom we know better now as well.
So, here's what to expect for your MIDTERM exam-format: PARTS I & II are hand-written in class - paper provided - no books, no notes. PART III is your typed Essay.
PART I - HS&PN, BUDDHISM: Handwritten ESSAY-Questions (not yet formulated as such): You will choose only 2 out of 3 @ 22 pts. = 44. The 3 question-options parallel the Review Pages above:
#1 - derived from Ch. 1 on Siddhartha becoming the Buddha
#2 - derived from Chs. 4 & 5 on the Four Noble Truths
#3 - derived from Ch. 9 on Zen Buddhism
PART II - RM, BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA: Handwritten ESSAY-Question @ 22 pts. focussed on Ch. ONE for which you will give a Title, justifying it with significant story-details, AND include "Buddhist" echoes/aspects, as I explained above.
PART III - BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA: Typed ESSAY - 2-3 pages - @ 34 pts. focussed on Ch. SIX for which you will give a Title, justifying it with significant story-details, AND include Cecelia as a person who speaks with a "Buddhist" voice, in contrast to Otto, as I suggested above. This Essay is due no later than Friday 3/11 - drop it off in my office-mailbox or email it to me as an Attachment. I am interested, above all, in your ideas - the content/substance - of your Essay, BUT I will expect college-level English in your expression of those ideas. So, be attentive to grammar, punctuation, spelling, logic. IF I have to correct "surface flaws" in abundance, THEN ineluctably I'll deduct points. So, be a good proofreader! I really am looking forward to reading all your exam-essays, which will make my Spring Break all the sunnier!
FRIDAY 2/19/2010: As I said in class today, I will type explanatory details about your Exam-Format later this afternoon, once I've finished my other tasks. I will also send an e-mail to one and all as a reminder. Thanks for your patience. And I wish to thank Ravin on all our behalf for his wonderful presentation on Buddhism, giving us the perspective of the Southern - Theravada (also called Hinayana) - tradition, in contrast to the Northern - Mahayana - tradition of which Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) is a branch.
3:30 p.m. So, the Exam will have 4 PARTS: Parts I & II & III will be written in class on Monday 2/22; and Part IV will be your typed 1.5-2-page take-home Essay due next Friday 2/26. The IN-CLASS exam-content will be based upon 1) selected pages from the Review Pages for THE OPEN ROAD plus 2) two xeroxed pages: 1. the page on Buddhism with the image of the Seated Buddha & 2. the single sheet on Buddhism (Prof. M.D. Eckel ) with a focus on the Noble Eightfold Path. The TYPED ESSAY exam-content will be based on the short piece by the Dalai Lama "A Wish for Harmony (Among Religions)." So, now for the exam-format in which I give page-numbers that correlate to the FULL Review Pages below. Needless to say, I ask that you REread the pages with the idea of choosing the 2 options out of 4 (Part II) & the 2 out of 3 (Part III) that you will write on in class on Monday - that is, compose a mental response in advance (no written notes, of course), and then you will be on very familiar ground. No surprise/trick questions. I will send a list-serve e-mail to you all when I've finished typing.
PART I - MATCHING ITEMS : 6 @ 2 points (= 12 pts.) There will be a word-bank of 6 Buddhism-related words which you will match with sentences by number. These 6 fundamental key-words (name, title, ...) derive from the single-sheet with the statue-image and Prof. Eckel's comments as well - PLUS our general reading of TOR. Today we highlighted most, if not all, of them, in one way or another. They relate to the figure of the Buddha himself and essential concepts/beliefs in Buddhist teaching, whether Mahayana (Northern tradition - as in Tibet) or Theravada (Southern tradition - as in Sri Lanka).
PART II - SHORT-ESSAYS: 2 out of 4 @ 12 points (= 24 pts.) These are derived from THE OPEN ROAD. These are to be essay-style (= paragraphS in logical sequence) answers with objective content and subjective content. So, here are the 4 options - and as I said above, prepare in your mind responses in advance.
#1 - REread lower177-lower178 + bottom188-mid189 thinking about the DL's democratic yet Buddhist vision of Dharamsala as an experiment where spiritual values matter more than political (in the narrow sense) values. SO, what does Pico Iyer tell us, in THESE pages, about this community-in-exile designed by a philosopher-teacher-monk whose focus is INNER rather than OUTER? Relevant to us as Americans today?
#2 - REread lowermid191-mid193 thinking about the Gyuto Temple building, like Dharamsala itself, as a symbolic structure - "a metaphor, a gateway, a vessel" - that the DL calls "only the beginning" - that is , the beginning of an inward journey, we might say, guided by spiritual values. SO, what does Pico Iyer tell us, in THESE pages, about the DL's teaching-lesson on this occasion of the temple's opening-celebration that directs us to look inside rather than outside? Relevant to us Americans today?
#3 - REread 207 + mid208 + mid209 + upper215 + bottom215 thinking about the DL's optimistic/idealistic perspective on 21st-century Humanity. SO, which features/attributes/qualities of human nature give the DL his confidence/faith that Humanity "can do better" in the realm of politics (in the broad, moral sense) focused on peace? Relevant to us Americans today?
#4 - REread top-mid246 + upper248 thinking about how the DL, like the Buddha himself, emphasized his teaching (= dharma or dhamma) because its values (which?) are IMperishable/universal as one travels the open road of Life. SO, what does Pico Iyer tell us, in THESE pages, about the DL's confidence in the future down the open road full of Life's possibility? Which values sustain one on the journey? Relevant to us Americans today?
PART III - PARAGRAPH-ANSWERS: 2 out of 3 @ 6 points (= 12 pts.) FIRST, REread 1) the single sheet of Prof. M.D. Eckel's remarks on mindfulness, compassion, nirvana, the Noble Eightfold Path and its 3 components AND 2) the single sheet with the image of the seated Buddha focusing on SG's early life, esp. his encounter with the Four Sights (= which are?) that changed his way of life, leading him to follow the path of self-denial, as of the wandering Hindu ascetic (the 4th Sight), until he finds his own Middle Path. His decision to leave his past at around age 30 is called "the Great Going-Forth," after which - and after a long time of journeying and meditation - he discovers the Four Noble Truths (= which are?), the 4th being the Noble Eightfold Path (= which involves what? See Prof. Eckel's sheet.). Thus, Prince SG became the Buddha = the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, after which he became a teacher of the Way of unselfish virtues such as compassion, leading eventually (in more than one lifetime) to a state of transcendental "bliss" or "quietude/peace" called nirvana = release/liberation from the suffering-imbued cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth (= samsara = reincarnation/transmigration). What keeps us enchained, so to speak, in samsara are the deeds we commit which have consequences, good and bad, influencing our next state of life - in a word, karma.
PART IV - Typed ESSAY - 1.5 to 2 pages (more if you wish) - due next Friday, 2/26. REread the 4-page short-essay by the DL that I handed out "A Wish for Harmony (Among Religions)" thinking about what the DL suggests as 4 ways to promote "harmony among different religious traditions" based on his personal experiences. SO, you will explain the 4 efforts leading to "a kind of natural humility" arising within us, allowing us to "communicate better" with others of different "religious traditions and cultural backgrounds." SO, do YOU think that such virtues as humility and compassion can be an efficacious mode of strength - even political, in the broadest sense - in our 21st-century, conflicted world - or not? Explain.
WED 2/10/10 - Hi, again, Folks! As you can see, there are selected pages from THE FAITH CLUB that I used last summer when I read TFC for the first time with students. I am going to leave them all here because they'll be useful to us in one way or another. ... Well, now to the selected RevPp from THE OPEN ROAD. And remember to read the xeroxed hand-out pages, too. I've decided to begin from the more recent several chapters that we've been reading. This evening (it's now 5:55 p.m.) I'll type selected pages from "The Globalist" and "The Politician" - and tomorrow I'll add some pages from "The Future." After that, not too many more, I think, from the earlier chapters. (FYI - It's now 6:35 p.m., and I'm aheadin' home on ma rusty steed named Trusty.)
--- from "The GLOBALIST": p. 170: "Dharamsala, built, ... and mysticism.": what Dh'sala means for Tibetans in contrast to Westerners
- 174: "As you begin ... little square.": Dh'sala like a "lotus in the mud" and like "the center of a mandala" - 2 Buddhist symbols
- lower177-lower178: "Dharamsala, the Dalai ... heart of Tibet.": how the DL envisions Dh'sala as offering "a new possibility to the world"
- bottom188-mid189: "There is a real ... inner sense.": the essential values of Dh'sala as a democratic experiment - "deracinated" means those who have been UPROOTED = the nationless, displaced persons who are refugees in exile
- lowermid191-mid193: "For years they [= monks of the Gyuto Temple] ... other way round.": Dh'sala as a symbol of "the inner shrine" of the "simple human values ... that you can carry everywhere ..."
- 203: "Dharamsala is ... tomorrow.": a place of future promise - "avatar" means manifestation/embodiment/incarnation
--- from "The POLITICIAN": p. 207: "Almost the ... Nara [in Japan] ... of intellectuals." + mid208: "'Now, the Dalai ... of trend." + mid209: "Whenever I ... truly secure." + upper215: "'Politics,' Lhasang [Tsering who critiques the DL's non-activist approach] concluded ... other people." + bottom215: "It takes time ... never will.": all these passages highlight the DL's optimistic/idealistic perspective/vision
- top225-bottom228: these 4 pages from "The larger world ..." to "... inherently divisive." present a number of issues confronting the DL as a global/local, spiritual/political authoritative voice of wise counsel who looks beyond "conventional reality" to "ultimate reality" as an "internationalist" envisioning an all-encompassing WE, not an antagonistic USvs.THEM + lower: 229: "Thus even politics, ... it is necessary."
- top237-mid238: "A debate like Dharamsala's ... what you can.": how to follow the way of the Buddha in a world that counters our hopes
--- from "The FUTURE": top-mid246: "The Dalai Lama reposes ... apprehensible to us.": the DL's confident perspective on events unfolding meaningfully, tho' we can't know (= agnosticism: not knowing) in advance = "Until the last moment ... possible. = faith that it will all make sense - "apprehensible" means to perceive/grasp with understanding
- upper248: "His own ... is assured.": this reiterates p.246: believing that the "open road" has direction, even if we can't yet see the goal - the horizon is there, but we're not there yet - this also emphasizes the inward turning, as on p.193 + mid-lower249: "The story, ... and vessel.": this also reiterates the same theme: the Buddha emphasized his teaching (= dharma), not himself
- bottom251-upper252: "Yet in the long ... make effort.'": believing in a meaningful - and better - future requires effort = determined striving + bottom253-end: "I happened ... off the left.": trying is what matters = "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." (Tennyson) = "A man's reach exceeds his grasp." (R. Browning) = Shoot for the stars! = Carry the light within despite the darkness outside: Pico and his wife lost their Santa Barbara home in the California brush-fires of 1989 (254: "... lost everything I owned."), yet Pico sought to see "the largest light" (mid246) = "some revelation, ... some wisdom, ... the meaning of the universe, ... a better life ... the soul ... moments of illumination," all of which touched on Buddhist enlightenment, universal (Christian and other) charity, the Golden Rule (= "Love/Serve others ..." in Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, ...), the wisdom of the ages - when you turn off the light in one room, leaving darkness (= past experience), you open the door into a new light (= experience anew). ... Closing this book, we've opened our mind to new reflections, carried within us along the inward road. Thus, we've done a little mindful travelin' these several weeks. The journey continues. Let the mystery be! Thanks.
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GREETINGS! Thursday 4/29/10 - The exam-format will be as follows: PARTS I & II are in-class: PART I: 20 True/False Statements @ 2.50 = 50 points. PART II: Short Answer Questions = several sentences forming a paragraph - you will chose ONLY 10 out of 15 @ 5 = 50 points. LOOK BELOW for the helpful indications T/F or SA (= Short Answer) to the left of the numbered review-pages. PART III will be your final typed 2-page Essay @ 25 points due no later than 1) for the 9:30 class - MONDAY 5/10 and 2) for the 11:30 class - your exam-day = WEDNESDAY 5/12 - could be handed-in to me at the exam OR dropped off at my office OR sent to me as an e-mail Attachment. Topics - you pick ONE - are typed below, deriving from specific pages in our book. So, 125 total points-potential. And a total points-potential of 235 points for the course.
Here are the Review Pages from TFC for your REreading and our Retrospectives. Rya = Ranya, Suz = Suzanne, Pla = Priscilla
SA - CH. 1 - 5 -- Rya: "A student ... and Islam.": her research as a "student at heart" - the Isra-Mir'aj story as the "true voice within Islam" - her book-project
T/F - top-mid7 -- Suz: "The intent of ... their religions.": on the book's "necessary and noble goal" after 9/11 - "share stories of religious inspiration" - "our common heritage"
SA - mid8-top9 -- Pla: "For thirty-five ... overwhelming me.": her "panic attacks" - NY symbolism - trio collaboration = hope
SA - CH. 2 - lower12 -- Suz: "I had left ... in the West.": her "conversion" - on Rya's jihad
T/F - upper13-mid14 -- Pla: "When I was in ... and small-minded.": a Jewish girl at a Quaker girls' school - "felt liberating"
SA - bottom22-lower23 -- Rya: "In those days, ... of disrespect.": religious education within the family - piety - Ramadan
SA - CH. 3 - mid27-upper28 -- Pla: "As soon as I ... on the truth.": on her rabbi, Jeffrey S. - their conversation on sacred texts and "tolerance" - "mutual appreciation"
SA - top31-bottom32 -- Rya & Suz: "The location of ... sounded admirable.": on Muhammad & other aspects of Islam which inform and thrill Suzanne: Gospels and Torah
T/F - mid34-top35 -- Pla: "I loved ... we face.": her excitements about learning of interfaith connections - conversation with her rabbi, Jeffrey S., on Moses
T/F - CH. 4 - upper52-bottom53 -- Pla & Rya: "When Suzanne ... hotel room.": different responses to Jesus = Pla on being a Jew and Jesus as a Jew; Rya on reverence toward Jesus and his mother, the Virgin Mary
SA - CH. 6 - mid81-mid83 -- Rya: " For months, ... maternal voice.": her quest to legitimize her "family's understanding" of Islam - her father's experiences + Suz: "Ranya's religious ... religious community.": Suz's reflections and idea "to help"
T/F - lower85-top86 -- Rya: "Once I ... of God.": her first spiritual response to the Easter service + upper87-top88 -- Rya: "As Suzanne's ... club-meeting.": her second response = "sudden reversal" + top85: "I, on the other ... every year.": Rya's belief strengthened
SA - bottom88-mid90 -- Pla: "My father ... I am a Jew.": her father's experiences and her religious identity - "Paper Bag Story"
T/F - upper91-mid93 -- Rya: "Like other ... Suzanne had both.": her quotations from the Quran/Koran & her reflections on Islam - Muhammad and God (Sabeans = Arabs) *** Also used for ESSAY-Topic #2 - see below.
T/F - CH. 7 - mid103-mid106: Pla: "I wish I believed ... be compensated?": Pla's wish & Rya's faith affirmation - existentialist reflections = what's life's ultimate meaning? - "humble, mindful, and spiritual on this earthly journey"
SA - upper107-108 -- Pla: "With my boys ... as I leaped.": Nature's beauty - "my troubled New York soul" - life's many "leaps of faith"
SA - lower113-top114: "I didn't find ... is God's.": Rya explains jihad - see also p.12
ESSAY-Topic #1 to be defined below: CH. 8 - mid117-118 -- Rya: "Our discussion ... as religion.": quotations from the Quran - universal/all-encompassing themes
T/F - CH. 10 - bottom152-mid153 -- Rya: "As I ... heroic act.": her feeling of awe towards "God's ... presence" that cannot be "defined in an image, body, or form ..." - "leap of faith" - "surrender to God" = "seeing God in ... act." = So, the Divine manifest/revealed in Nature and in human nature
T/F - top156-top157 -- mainly Pla, who has been "humbled" before Life (= bottom155): "Suzanne: 'And how ... connection to God.": Pla's "rebirth" and the roles of Rya & Suz in leading Pla to "submission ... acceptance ... conviction."
T/F - CH. 11 - mid163-top164 -- Rya: "I do not ... such a God.": her reflections on her "personal religion"
T/F - mid-lower167 -- Suz: "No, it is ... populate our world.": putting "Islam into perspective" + Rya: upper169 = "That is only ... non-Muslims alike."
T/F - upper170-bottom171 -- Rya: "I try as much ... of my rituals.": her ideas about God/Allah, prayer, and humanity as "God sees beyond" what humanity is and does
T/F - upper172-lower173 -- Suz: "I was beginning ... in the world.": her responses to Rya's "religious practice" - "all so connected" - "all reciting the same truths"
T/F - mid174-mid177 -- Rya & Pla: "When I related ... thy faithfulness.": mutual inspiration - "raindrops everywhere"
T/F - CH. 12 - upper186-upper188 -- Pla: "At my father's ... and beggar alike.": the Reform Jewish prayer + Dialogue (P & R) on the hajj [see bottom373-top374] as pilgrimage + Rya on a universal longing & humility & equality
SA - CH. 13 - top207-upper208 -- Suz: "Even while ... without the creed." her faith-affirmation expressed in PVN's Latin song/hymn - "My heart ... of wonder." + "You have made ... your hands." - in symbolic images, not in doctrinal language
ESSAY-Topic #1 to be defined below- upper212-top213 -- Rya: "The more the imam ... my earthly life.": her reflections on "the difference between religion and faith" - Islam = humble obedience of the Heart; Iman = articles of creedal convictions of the Mind; Ihsan = actions/deeds (Body) performed with God in mind; "ritual prayer and formal, communal, devotional practices as "important component[s] of a higher level of faith and communion with God." - religion (= the institutional framework of organized religion with rituals and festivals and moral dictates) as "a tool" or instrument of living faith
SA - CH. 14 - top224-lower224 -- Suz: "On the temple wall ... actions of Korczak.": her comments on the sculpture honoring Dr. JK, a Polish Jew, who gave ultimately of himself + upper226-lower226: "The meditation ... Korczak?": fleeting nature of existence - Yom K prayers with the striving theme
T/F - top235-upper236 -- Pla: "And not all ... talk about peace!": Yom K praying as communal confession of sinfulness = knowing the good BUT acting the bad, despite gift of intelligence - Suz's & Rya's responses to the Yom K prayers
SA - CH. 15 - upper-mid242 -- Rya: "It's been ... well with Taymor.": on the interfaith strength of Islam in rel. to Judaism & Christianity = "no religious contradiction"
T/F - mid246-247 -- Pla: "My son Jack ... to talk about.": her family's feeling more & more "comfortable with" their American pluricultural society = being "up to speed" in preparation for adult social life
T/F - CH. 16 - upper251-top252 -- Suz: "By chance ... a primer [= elementary text-book for beginners] I already knew.": her brief account of Dr. Azza Karam's lect/disc with audience-responses, both negative & positive
ESSAY-Topic #2 to be defined below: CH. 17 - lower257-lower258 - Rya: "When I first ... introduced me.": her "fundamental belief" about God's "availability to all faith traditions" confirmed in the Quran on diversity/plurality of faith-traditions: Q - Ch. 49, v.13, also quoted by Pres. Obama in his Cairo Address of June 4, 2009 - + also use 91-93 as above. See below for ESSAY-Topic #2.
SA - top267-top269 - Pla & Rya: "Sometimes this ... do just that.": Pla's sense of attainment = "my religion" leading to "inner peace" and a Ranya-like appreciation of the world's miraculousness and how "God challenges us" to strive towards betterment - Life's contrasts/contradictions = all parts of a unified whole --- Rya's faith strengthened: "we are all one"
T/F - CH. 18 - mid277 - Suz: "I had embraced ... Ranya and Priscilla.": she is "a universalist" acknowledging the "one big area of agreement" = common ground for J & C & I - yet still in need of faith-comfort
SA - CH. 19 - lower286-mid287 - Rya: "After I finished ... - Muslim heritage.": her response justifying interfaith dialogue & her affirmation of "the Great American Judeo-Christian-Muslim heritage"
T/F - mid291-top292 - Suz: "My faith ... put into it.": faith as a journey ("a sacred pilgrimage": Pla - top187) - faith: never so "tidy" which "perplexes and inspires us"
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Here are the objective ESSAY-TOPICS: You will choose 1 out of 2. REread the specified pages in composing your typed, 2-page (minimum) essay in standard 12pt-font with standard margins. Due, as indicated above, on MON 5/10 - 9:30-class & WED 5/12 - 11:30-class
Option #1 - REread/examine attentively mid117-18 ("Our discussion ... as religion.") + upper212-top213 ("The more ... earthly life."): Working with these pages, which include Quranic quotations & the trio's conversation & quoted comments by Prof. Harold Bloom (Yale U.) on the Quran & Ranya's summary of Imam Feisal's answer to "What does it take to be a Muslim?", PRESENT what Ranya would consider to be the authentic religious voice of Islam, which is NOT "politics masquerading as religion."
Option #2 - REread/examine attentively upper91-upper93 ("Like other ... through Jesus.") + lower257-lower258 ("A friend ... introduced me."): Working with these pages, which include Quranic quotations and Ranya's reflections, PRESENT her thoughts about Islam's monotheistic Abrahamic heritage, including Muhammad's role, AND about God's revelation in the Quran concerning Creation as "pluralistic, universal," inclusive of both the natural world and human societies.