Reading Assignments

No new reading assignment. Instead, look over these study questions for the final. We’ll be discussing these in class this coming week. The final will consist of an objective part and two essay questions that will drawn from these study questions, so here’s your chance to start getting ready for it.

Read the front matter and all ten chapters of 10 Bulls in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Read Chapters 25-49 of The Gateless Gate in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Read the front matter and Chapters 1-24 of The Gateless Gate in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Read 101 Zen Stories in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Read pp. 11-23 in Chad Hansen’s piece on Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism.

Read pp. 1-11 (up to the section titled “Five Common Attitudes and Illustrative Zen Stories”) in this piece on Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism by Chad Hansen. The piece is available on the Web at http://www.hku.hk/philodep/courses/religion/Buddhism.htm, but the HTML version contains Chinese characters your browser might not succeed in rendering correctly.

Read chapters 19 and 26 in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. 118-140), still working on what’s going on.

Read chapters 17 and 18 in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. 96-117), still working on what’s going on.

Read the sixth and seventh chapters in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. 73-95), still working on what’s going on here.

Read the fourth and fifth chapters in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. 50-72), still working on what’s going on here.

Read the second and third chapters in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. 31-49), giving special thought to the question—you’re familiar by now with what this means—of what is going on in each of these two chapters.

Read the front matter (the Preface, the Outline of Early Chinese History, and the Introduction) and the first chapter in Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings (pp. v-xii and pp. 1-30).

Read the Tao part of the Te-Tao Ching—i.e., of Henrick’s translation of the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts (pp. 53-92 in Henricks).

Read the Te part of the Te-Tao Ching—i.e., of Henrick’s translation of the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts—as well as his brief “Translator's Note” (pp. 1-52 in Henricks). Also, if you haven’t yet looked at it, catch up on the material assigned for Mar. 11 and listed again in the assignment for Mar. 21.

Read the Preface and the Introduction in Robert Henricks’ Te-Tao Ching, pp. xi-xxxviii. Feel free to begin reading your way through his translation of the Ma-wang-tui version of the Daodejing as well (pp. 7-92); this will be the assignment for Wednesday. Also, if you haven’t yet studied the contents of the Web sites I asked you to look at for Mar. 11, now’s the time:

• 100+ Translations of Chapter I of the Tao Te Ching
• Kelley Ross’s Comments on the Tao Te Ching—read just the first four bullets, which will get you through what Ross has to say about Chapter 1
• A sound file containing a reading of Chapter 1 in Mandarin Chinese—just click on the Chinese text of the first chapter—the block of Chinese characters right under the big Arabic numeral “1”

So. Translations differ. But how much? Well, check this out: a Web site featuring 100+ Translations of Chapter I of the Tao Te Ching. Once you’ve looked at those, to help you appreciate even more why they differ so much, take a look at the very beginning of Kelley Ross’s Comments on the Tao Te Ching—just the first four bullets, which will get you through what he has to say about Chapter 1. (Feel free to read the rest of this commentary if you like, but take it, as you would any commentary, with a grain of salt.)

But wait! There’s more! Want to hear the whole first chapter in Chinese? You know, just to get a feel for what the langauge sounds like and what the poetry sounds like? Why not? Here it is. Just click on the Chinese text of the first chapter—the block of Chinese characters right under the big Arabic numeral “1”. (This doesn’t, by the way, work for most of the chapters.)