course information bstc2027 – tibetan buddhism (6 …

BSTC2027 – Tibetan Buddhism, G.T. Halkias

1-5

COURSEINFORMATION

BSTC2027–TibetanBuddhism(6credits)

SamyeMonastery,CentralTibet

LecturerDr.GeorgiosT.HalkiasTel:(852)25493040Email:halkias@hku.hkOffice:4/F,TheJockeyClubTowerOfficeHours:TBAbyappointmentClassSchedule:Thursdays,13:30-15:20Venue:MWT7TutorMr.NicoHobhouse(PhDcandidateinBuddhistStudies)Email:hobhouse@connect.hku.hkOfficeHours:TBAbyappointment

BSTC2027 – Tibetan Buddhism, G.T. Halkias

2-5

CourseDescription

TibetanBuddhismisaformofMahayanaBuddhismthatdevelopedinTibet,Mongolia,partsofRussia,andtheHimalayasoverthecourseofmorethanonethousandyears.Inthis coursewewill examine thehistory, institutions, teachings, andritualpracticesofTibetanBuddhism.Wewilldosobyfollowingtwoparalleltracks,onehistoricalandtheother thematic, providingon theonehanda senseof theorigins anddevelopmentofTibetanBuddhism,andontheotherageneraloverviewofsomecentraltopicssuchasTibetanBuddhistart,meditationpracticesontheBuddhistpathofliberation,pilgrimage,death and dying, and more. Although foundational knowledge of Buddhism will beprovidedintheopeningweeks,somepriorbackgroundknowledgeofBuddhismwouldbehelpfulforstudentswishingtotakethiscourse.

ReadingMaterial*

MainSourcebook

(JP1)Powers,John.2008.AConciseIntroductiontoTibetanBuddhism.BostonandLondon:SnowLionPublications.

AdditionalSources

[GH]Halkias,Georgios.2013.LuminousBliss:AReligiousHistoryofPurelandLiteratureinTibet.UniversityofHawaiiPress.[GS]Samuel,Geoffrey.2012.IntroducingTibetanBuddhism.NewYork:Routledge.[JP2]Powers,John.2007.IntroductiontoTibetanBuddhism.NewYorkandColorado:SnowLionPublications.[MK]Kapstein,Matthew.2014.TibetanBuddhism:AVeryShortIntroduction.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.*WeeklyreadingsfromtheReferenceSourcesandOptionalReadingswillbemadeavailablebytheInstructoronmoodle.

CourseExpectationsStudentsenrolledinthiscourseareexpectedtoattendalllecturespunctually,completetheweeklyreadingsprior toeach lecture, take two in-class tests,andcompletea longessayonatopicprovidedbytheprofessorortutoronthesubjectofTibetanBuddhism

BSTC2027 – Tibetan Buddhism, G.T. Halkias

3-5

CourseAssessmentAssessmentforthiscoursewillbecarriedaccordingtothefollowingthreecriteria:

1:ClassAttendanceandParticipation-20%Students are expected to arrive punctually in class and participate in the groupdiscussionsattheendandduringeachlecture.Togainfullmarks,studentsshouldnothavemissedwithoutvalidexcusemorethan2lecturesduringtheterm.*Pleasenotethattheuseofmobilephonesinclassisnotpermitted.2:In-classTests-40%Two in-class testswill beheld at thebeginningof the fourthweekonFebruary17th(coveringthematerialfromthefirstthreeweeks)andtheeighthweekonMarch24th(coveringthematerialfromthefourthtoseventhweeks).Thepurposeofthesetestsistoensurethatthestudentsconsolidatethecoreknowledgeofeachstageofthecourse,aslaterlectureswillbuilduponwhathasbeentaughtinearlierlectures.Bothtestswilllast approximately twenty minutes. They will comprise several multiple-choicequestionsandonewrittenanswer.Assignment3:LongEssay(1300-1700words)-40%Studentswillbeexpectedtochooseoneessayquestionfromapproximatelyfivetosevenoptions, each of which will link to a topic/set of topics discussed in the lectures. Inadditiontothereadingsalreadyassignedforthelectures,uptothreeextracompulsoryreadingswillbeprovidedwitheachquestion.Theexpectationisthatstudentswillbasetheir essays on these readings. However, to achieve the very highestmarks, studentsshouldalsoindependentlyseekoutfurtheracademicsourcesrelatingtotheirtopic.BibliographyYourbibliographyshouldinclude,asapplicable,sourcesfromthefollowing:1. TheTextbook (JP) and theReference Sources (GH) (GS) (GT) (MK) assigned for thiscourse.2.Other sources held atHKUMain Library including: academic books, encyclopedias,chaptersineditedvolumesand/orjournalarticles.ForsuggestedbibliographyseealsoReferencesforEssays.

BSTC2027 – Tibetan Buddhism, G.T. Halkias

4-5

EvaluationCriteriaa).ClearStructureandOrganization.Yourpapershouldhaveanintroduction,amainbodywithheadings,sections,andaconclusion/summary.Theinformationshouldbeorganizedinalogicalandclearmanner.b).BackgroundReading,UnderstandingofSourcesandArguments.Itisexpectedthatallessays show familiarity with the assigned readings. To achieve the highest gradesfamiliaritywillalsobeexpectedwithfurtherpublicationsonyourchosentopic.c).StyleofScholarlyWriting.Thismeansthatoneiscarefulwiththechoiceofwordsandonedoesnotreproducecolloquialorconversationalmodesofexpressionandjargon.Theuseofthesaurusisencouraged.d).Properuseofcitationsandquotations.Recognizeforthecontributionofotherwritersisexpectedthroughaccuratequotations(judiciouslyselectedandsparinglyused).FollowtheconventionsintheEssayTopicsandGuidelines.e).CarefullyEdited.AccuratespellingandusageofEnglishpunctuationandgrammar.Bibliography

A minimum of 5 bibliographical sources cited in the essay (not just listed in thebibliography)oughttoreflectsomeofthereadingmaterialassignedinthiscourseandspecializedreadingsonyourtopic.Non-academicsources,i.e.,internetwebsites,lecturenotes,magazinesandpartisanpublicationsdonotcounttowardstheminimumsources.DeadlineStudentsplanningtoreceivefullgradeforthisassignmentoughttosubmitbythedeadline:May12thAnelectroniccopyoftheirpaperuploadedthroughtheTurnitinlinkavailableinmoodle*Lateandincompletesubmissionswillbepenalizedbygradereduction.

BSTC2027 – Tibetan Buddhism, G.T. Halkias

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WEEKLYLECTURES(Thursdays,13:30-15:20)January20thLecture1.IntroductiontoIndianMahayanaBuddhismIJanuary27thLecture2.IntroductiontoIndianMahayanaBuddhismIIFebruary10thLecture3.TheTransmissionofBuddhismtoTibetFebruary17thLecture4.CharacteristicsofTibetanBuddhism:thePathofthePanditaFebruary24thLecture5.CharacteristicsofTibetanBuddhism:thePathoftheSiddhaMarch3rdLecture6.TheFourMajorSchools:theNyingmaMarch17thLecture7.TheFourMajorSchools:theKagyu,SakyaandGelugMarch24thLecture8.LamasandotherReligiousPractitionersMarch31stLecture9.Death,DyingandLiberationApril7thLecture10.TibetanBuddhistIconography,ArtandMaterialCultureApril14thLecture11.TibetanBuddhistPracticesApril21stLecture12.AVirtualPilgrimagethroughTibet