RELI-1330
ASIAN RELIGIONS
Fall 2022
MWF: 09:30-10:20am/11:30-12:20pm
DH 206
Instructor: Dr. Gregory M. Clines
Dicke 224
(210) 999-8433
gclines@trinity.edu
Office Hours: Thursday, 11:30am-2pm, and by appt.
Please use the link on the course TLearn page to sign up for office hours.
Course Description and Objectives:
This course is an introduction to the diverse religious traditions of Asia. We will specifically
examine the worldviews, doctrines, texts, and practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Chinese religions. In addition, the course will introduce students to the plethora of
methodological approaches used in the academic study of religion, all while working to
master skills in close reading, critical thinking, and analytic writing.
This course fulfills both the “Humanities” Approach and the “Global Awareness” Core
Capacity requirements of the Pathways curriculum. It can also count towards the “East
Asia” Interdisciplinary Cluster.
Upon successful completion of a Humanities course, students will have demonstrated the
ability to:
 Discuss the significance of ideas, texts, performances, or cultural artifacts within an
appropriate intellectual or historical framework.
 Apply the interpretive or analytical methods that characterize at least one of the
humanistic disciplines.
Upon successful completion of a Global Awareness (GA) course, students will have
demonstrated the ability to:
 Identify and articulate the perspectives or values of diverse peoples, groups,
institutions, or cultures of regions outside the United States.
 Gather and evaluate information from scholarly sources concerning the
perspectives and values of the peoples of regions outside the United States.
Course Requirements:
1) Class Attendance and Participation (20%): The instructor will take attendance at all
class meetings, and students are expected to be on time and ready to learn when
class begins. Students are allowed three excused absences throughout the course of
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the semester, no questions asked. Subsequent absences will negatively affect the
student’s grade. Students are expected to come to class having completed the
assigned reading for that day and to be prepared to discuss and ask questions.
BRING A HARD COPY OF THE DAY’S READING TO CLASS!
2) Three Unit Tests (20% each, 60% total): Class content is divided into three units: (1)
Hinduism, (2) Jainism and Buddhism, and (3) East Asian Religions. At the end of
each unit there will be a test. The first two will be taken in class and will consist of
multiple choice, short answer, passage IDs, and essay questions. The third will be
take-home and will be an essay.
3) Novel Paper (20%): Students will write a 3-5-page essay about the novel The Guide
by R.K. Narayan. Prompts for this essay will be given out on in class and the
assignment will be due via TLearn upload on.
Course Policies:
1) Be Respectful: We are all here to learn, and learning happens best in an environment
of respect and collaboration. Respect and support your fellow students.
2) Attendance: You will not be successful in this class if you do not attend. Unexcused
absences will affect your “Attendance and Participation” grade, and frequent
absences will result in a failing grade for the course. The instructor will also note
consistent tardiness, which will subsequently also negatively affect a student’s
“Attendance and Participation” grade.
3) Technology: Personal computers and electronic devices are permitted in the course
for note taking and accessing course related research or material. These devices
(including cell phones) should not be used for any non-class related purposes unless
it cannot be helped. If improper use becomes an issue, this policy may be amended.
4) Late Work: Any assignment turned in late without a previously granted extension
will suffer a penalty of 1/3-grade deduction per late day. For example, a paper
submitted one day late that would have normally received a B+ grade would be
marked down to a B. If submitted two days late, that same paper would receive a Bgrade.
5) Extensions: Requests for extensions must be submitted in writing to the instructor
no less than 72 hours before the assignment is due. The instructor reserves the right
to deny any extension request. In the event of a medical, personal, or family
emergency, the student is expected to contact the instructor at his or her earliest
possible convenience, whereupon appropriate arrangements can be made for the
completion and submission of the assignment.
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Required Texts:
The following books are required. Other readings, given below in the Schedule of Classes,
can be found BOTH on the class TLearn site and the class Perusall. Note, students MUST
procure their own copy of The Guide.
1) Ranchor Prime, Ramayana: A Tale of Gods and Demons
2) R.K. Narayan, The Guide
Schedule of Classes:
Week 1: Introductions
Monday (August 22): Introductions, Class Requirements, Class Expectations
Reading: -No reading
Wednesday (Aug. 24): What is Religion? How do we study it?
Reading: -Robert Orsi, “Snakes Alive: Religious Studies Between Heaven and
Earth”
Friday (Aug. 26): Introduction to Hinduism
Reading: -R.C. Zaehner, “Introduction”
Unit 1: Hinduism and Jainism
Week 2: The Vedas and the Hindu Pantheon
Monday (Aug. 29): Early Hinduism
Reading: Hopkins, “The Aryans and Early Indian Culture”
Wednesday (Aug. 31): The Upanishads
Reading: Hopkins, “The Upanishads”
Friday (Sep. 2): Families of Deities
Reading: -Joyce Flueckiger, “Families of Deities”
Week 3: No Class, Professor Away at Conference
Week 4: Dharma and the Ramayana
Monday (Sept. 12): Betty Curry, “Time Management Strategies”
Wednesday (Sept. 14): Caste, Stages of Life, and Aims of Man
Reading: -Selection on dharma from Anthony Hopkins’ The Hindu Religious
Tradition
-“Treatises on Dharma: Actions and Their Results, The Four Stages
of Life, Leaving Home Life, and Duties of the Four Social Classes”
Friday: (Sept. 16): The Ramayana
Reading: - Ranchor Prime, Ramayana: A Tale of Gods and Demons, ALL
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Week 5: Other Ramayanas and The Bhagavad Gita: The Song of the Lord
Monday (Sept. 19): Other Ramayanas
Reading: -Watch Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues
http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/watch.html
Wednesday: (Sept. 21): The Bhagavad Gita Day One
Reading: -Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, “Introduction” to the Mahabharata
Friday (Sept. 23): The Bhagavad Gita Day Two
Reading: -Selections from the Bhagavad Gita
Week 6: Bhakti: Loving Devotion to God
Monday (Sept. 26): Bhakti
Reading: -“Loving and Serving God: Bhakti, Murtis, and Puja”
Wednesday (Sept 28): Betty Curry, “Make It Stick! Smart Study Strategies”
Friday (Sept 30): Jenny Rowe, “Writing Strategies”
Week 7: Jainism and the Path of Non-Violence
Monday (Oct. 3): Mahavira
Reading: Mahavira, Great Saints of India
Wednesday (Oct. 5): The Jain Tradition
Reading: -“The Jain Tradition”
Friday (Oct. 7): Monastic Lives
Reading: -Padmanabh Jaini, “The Mendicant Path and the Attainment of the
Goal”
Unit 2: Buddhism
Week 8: Interlude
***Prompts for paper provided this week.
Monday (Oct. 10): First Unit Test in Class
Reading: No, Reading, Study for First Unit Test
Wednesday (Oct. 12): No Class, Professor Away
Friday (Oct. 14): No Class, Fall Break
Week 9: Introduction to Buddhism
Monday (Oct. 17): The Life of the Buddha
Reading: -“A Life of the Buddha”
Wednesday (Oct. 19): What the Buddha Taught
Reading: -“The Teachings of the Buddha”
Friday (Oct. 21): The Buddha’s Last Days
Reading: Selections from the Maha-Parinibbana Suta
Week 10: Theravada Buddhist Texts in Translation
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Monday (Oct. 24): The Way of the Elders
Reading: -“Early Buddhism and the Way of the Elders”
Wednesday (Oct. 26): Verses on Dharma: The Dhammapada
Reading: -Selections from the Pali Dhammapada
Friday (Oct. 28): The Experience of Women in Early Theravada Buddhism
Reading: -Selections from the Therigatha
Week 11: Mahayana Buddhism
Monday (Oct. 31): The Great Vehicle and the Boddhisattva
Reading: -“The Great Vehicle”
Wednesday (Nov. 2): Skillful Means
Reading: -Selections from The Lotus Sutra
Friday (Nov. 4): Pure Land Buddhism
Reading: -Selections from the Sukhavativyuha Sutra
Week 12: Finishing Buddhism
Monday (Nov. 7): Buddhism in Tibet
Reading: -“Tibetan Experiences of Buddhism”
Wednesday (Nov. 9): Review of Buddhism
Reading: -No Reading, Bring Questions to Class
Friday (Nov. 11): Second Unit test
Reading: -No Reading, Study for Second Unit Test
Unit 3: Chinese Traditions
Week 13: Confucianism
Monday (Nov. 14): Situating Confucianism
Reading: -Daniel K. Gardner, “The Individual and Self-Cultivation in the
Teachings of Confucius”
Wednesday (Nov. 16): The Analects of Confucius
Reading: “Kongzi (Confucius): The Analects”
Friday (Nov. 18): No Class, Professor Away at Conference
Week 14: No Classes, Enjoy Thanksgiving Break!
Week 15: Confucian Debates over Human Nature and Daoism
Monday (Nov. 28): Confucian Debates On Human Nature
Reading: -Selections from the “Mengzi (Mencius)”
-Selections from the “Xunzi”
Wednesday (Nov. 30): The Daodejing of Laozi
Reading: “Laozi (The Daodejing)”
Friday (Dec. 2): Zhuangzi and the Zhuangzi
Reading: -“Zhuangzi”
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Week 15: Wrap-Up
Monday (Dec. 5): Review of Chinese Traditions and Wrap-Up
***Prompts for Third Unit Test given out in class
Reading: No Reading
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Academic Honor Council. It is the task of the Council to investigate, adjudicate, and assign a
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