Buddhist doctrine teaches that there are six organs of sense: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. It is through these sense organs that we engage the world and experience pleasure and pain. The colloquium will explore contemporary culture in China and Japan with specific reference to traditional religious and philosophical taxonomies associated with the six senses. Topics include: art and visual culture; music and ritual; fragrance and intoxication; taste and appetite; and fashion, gender and sexual identity. The above categories and topics will be used to distinguish between mundane and enlightened responses to experience. By studying artifacts, documents, literary and cinematic works the colloquium will explore ways in which deeply personal experiences such as desire, bliss and loss are given meaning in a broader social and cultural context. Enrollment limit: 30. Professors: Caddeau and Zamperini

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Required texts and course readers
The course packet is available at the Asian Languages and Civilizations office in Webster 110. The following texts are available at the Jeffrey Amherst College Store:

Dong Yue, The Tower of Myriad Mirrors
The Holy Teaching of Vimalak¯irti. A Mah¯ay¯ana Scripture, tr. Robert Thurman
Ibuse Masuji, Black Rain
Li Yu, The Carnal Prayer Mat
Mishima Yukio, Temple of the Golden Pavilion


Screening schedule
All films will be screened at 7:30 pm on Sunday, in 115 Fayerweather. The films are also on reserve in the Library.

1/30 Little Buddha
2/13 Why Has Bodhidharma left for the East?
2/20 Ghost in the Shell
2/27 Temptation of a Chinese Monk
3/ 6 Rikyu
4/3 Black Rain
4/10 Eat Drink Man Woman
4/17 Conflagration
4/24 Maboroshi
5/1 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring


Schedule and reading assignments

Week 1
1/25 Introduction to the course.
1/27 The Heart of the Matter
Readings: The Heart Sutra, from Ways with Words, in Reader
1/30 Screening: Little Buddha

Week 2
2/1 The Life of the Buddha
2/3 Food, Perfume and the Work of the Buddha
Readings: The Holy Teaching of Vimalak¯irti, Chapters 1 through 6

Week 3
2/ 8 Food, Perfume and the Work of the Buddha 2
Readings: The Holy Teaching of Vimalak¯irti, Chapters 7 through 12
2/10 Guest Lecture: Professor Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago
2/13 Screening : Why has Bodhidharma left for the East?

Week 4
2/15 Dharma Journeys. The Case of China
Readings: T. H. Barrett, “Religious Traditions in Chinese Civilization: Buddhism and Taoism”; Tu Weiming, “The Confucian Tradition in Chinese History," in Reader Part 1
2/17 Dharma Journeys. The Case of China, cont.
Readings: “The Great Maudagalyayana rescues His Mother from Hell”; “The World Inside a Pillow”, in Reader Part 1
2/22 Screening : Ghost in the Shell

Week 5
2/22 Dharma Journeys. The Case of Japan, cont.
Readings: Shiga Naoya, “Night Fires” and Murakami Haruki, “Second Bakery Attack” in Reader Part 2
2/ 24 A Carnal Prayer Mat
Readings: Li Yu, The Carnal Prayer Mat, 3-237
2/27 Screening : Temptation of a Chinese Monk

Week 6
3/1 A Carnal Prayer Mat
Readings: Li Yu, The Carnal Prayer Mat, 238-317
3/3 The Dao of Incense/Koh-do
Readings: The Book of Incense, 13-16; 31-49; 67-73, in Reader 2
3/ 6 Screening: Rikyu

Week 7
3/ 8 Guest lecture by Rev. Issho Fujita, Valley Zendo
3/ 10 The Dao of Tea
Readings: Lu You, The Classic of Tea; John Kieschnick, “Tea”, 262-275 in Reader 2

Week 8
March 12-20 Spring Recess

Week 9
3/22 A Monkey Dream
Readings: Dong, Yue, The Tower of Myriad Mirrors. Chapters 1 through 7
3/24 A Monkey Dream 2
Readings: Dong, Yue, The Tower of Myriad Mirrors. Chapters 8 through 16

Tea ceremony at Mt. Holyoke M-Th evenings this week 7:30-8:30

Week 10
3/29 Readings: Ibuse, Black Rain chs. 1-11
3/31 CLASS CANCELED DUE TO ASIAN STUDIES CONFERENCE
4/3 Screening of Black rain

Week 11
Experiencing the Unexplainable
4/5 Special lecture: Professor Wendy Doniger on "Gender in the Kamasutra" location TBA
4/7 Reading: Ibuse, Black Rain
4/10 Screening of Eat Drink Man Woman

Week 12
Experiencing Madness
4/12 Cannibalism and Madness in China.
Readings: Lu Xun, “Diary of a Madman”, in Selected Stories of Lu Hsun, 7-18; Mo Yan, 38-52; 314-323, The Republic of Wine, in Reader 2
4/14 Heart Sutra recitation in class ***One page proposals for final project due in class***
4/17 Screening: Conflagration

Week 13
4/19 Reading : Mishima, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, chpts. 1-5
4/21 Reading : Mishima, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, chpts. 6-10
4/24 Screening : Maboroshi

Week 14

4/26 Sensing Enlightenment: Visual representations of the Buddhist path
4/28 Presentation of final projects, each presentation approx. 7 mins.
5/1 Screening : Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring

Week 15
5/3 Presentation of final projects, each presentation approx. 7 mins.
5/5 Presentation of final projects, each presentation approx. 7 mins.


FINAL PROJECTS DUE IN 103/106 Webster by noon on 5/12