Buddhist Sutra  Project

 "Laziness and neglect result in backsliding"     - Sutra of the Eightfold Awakening

 "Laziness and neglect result in bad quiz scores." - Mr. Borneman

The Buddhist Sutra Project is an intensive look into five Buddhist sutras which capture, each in a different way, essential teachings in Buddhism.  While Buddhism does not have a single accepted set (or canon) of religious literature (as does Judaism, Christianity, or Islam), there are many holy teachings, called sutras, which express various facets of Buddhism.  We will examine five of these in class in detail.
 
Purpose:
This project is an intensive analysis of five Buddhist sutras.  Students will work independently to absorb the meaning of each of the sutras and then express them through varying artistic means as well as demonstrating reading comprehension through a quiz on the sutras. The project will be worth 50 points in all.
 
Materials and Set-Up (What you will need to get ready):
  
 A. The Five Sutras  - (see the link below)
You can use other copies of these sutras, other translations.  I have found that the ones I provide are very accessible to students.  Use this link to download them.  The five sutras are: The Eightfold Awakening, Emptiness, the World as Illusion, Nirvana, and Looking Without Words.

B. The Glossary:                                                                       Many of the terms in the readings have been preserved in the original sanskrit. Some of them have been provided in the glossary at this link.  Additionally each of the five readings has some focus questions to help guide you in understanding the material.

The Process (what you need to do):

     The Eightfold Awakening - Read through "The Eightfold Awakening."  For each of the eight sections, you need to write a Haiku which captures the essence of the section.  A Haiku is a traditional Japanese poem (you don't have to write it in Japanese though - I don't care what language you write it in).  The structure of a Haiku is simple: 5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables.  The following is an example of a Haiku: 

  Note the structure:  three lines of 5/7/5 syllables each.  Your task thus: write eight Haikus which capture the essence of the Eightfold Path, section by section. (10 points)

     Emptiness - This poem is a meditation on the nature of existence.  Select several images (at least three) from the poem and create a picture or illustration (you can cut out images, do photocollage, paint, draw, etc.) which captures the essence of the poem.  A Blank sheet of paper will not be accepted for this assignment.  You may create an abstract image, if you do so, you need to attach an explanation of what it has to do with the poem.  Bottom line: make a work of art for this piece. (15 pts.)

     The World As Illusion - This incredibly brief essay is divided into five paragraphs.  Write a summary sentence of each paragraph. (5 pts.)

     Nirvana - Create a tree diagram for this complex essay on Nirvana.  Find what you think is the core concept (a word/phrase/sentence/quote etc.) and make that the "trunk" of your tree.  That trunk will then have four main branches.  Identify what those branches are (again by writing out a word or phrase, a full sentence or quote from the text).  Each of the branches has smaller branches.  Identify those smaller branches (there are at least 10 of them) the same way.  Obviously, for the author, some of these branches bear fruit, while others are fruitless, leafless and barren, or even dead.  Either through color-coding or graphical illustration (making the diagram into a picture) indicate which are which.  At the top or bottom of your diagram, explain (define) Nirvana. (15 pts.)

      Looking Without Words - The author uses the expressions: "a tortoise's hair" and "a barren woman's child" to indicate the danger of using words to describe something beyond words.  Create 5 other similar expressions which match the author's intention/purpose. (5 pts.)

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Buddhist Sutra FAQ’s:

Question: I did the reading but I don't understand the project.  Can you explain it better?

Answer:  Sure - post your specific questions on the message board.  That way I will turn them into FAQ's for next year's class.

Question:  Will this stuff be on the test?
 
Answer: Of course.  Life is the test.  (A smart-assed teacher retort to that inevitable and weary question.)  On the other hand, if you are asking if you will need to know information about each sutra for the test the answer is: yep.  There will be quote identifications taken from the sutras.

Question: If I'm not a Buddhist and don't believe in any of this stuff, will that count against me in this class?
 
Answer:  Use whichever one you want.  Mix and match.  Whatever you do, get modern translations and don't stick yourself with some ungodly early 19th century British translation which deliberately uses archaic expressions to invoke the sensation of being with Socrates in Classical Athens (which would mean you were probably drunk).   

Question: You're not answering the question.  Aren't these just answers from the last project we did, the Greek Plays one?

Answer: I sell Bibles, not Greek plays.  What do you think I AM?

Question: Is this some sort of Buddhist Zen trick to get us to see the nothingness of existence and the falsity of words?

Answer: Do what you want.... just remember - your parents are all invited, so, with that in mind, don't do anything that would (a) embarrass you in front of your parents and (b) will get me in trouble with the school administration (who are also invited, kinda like *my* parents).  It's okay to be crude and tasteless, just don't be tastelessly tasteless.  If you have specific questions, check with me and I'll be happy to play the Morality Adjudicator for your presentations.

Question: Are you really a Buddhist?

Answer: Absolutely.  And if you don't, I simply deduct 20 points from the possible 100 for the project.  You're responsible for teaching your friends and classmates through that playbill.  Do it any way you want, beautiful work often gets extra credit - but remember, you need a copy for everyone in class - and you will pass them out in the 3 minutes set-up time you have.