Yoga and Tantra in Hinduism and Buddhism
(Religious Studies 340: Inquiries in World Religion)

Notes on the Course Schedule:
(a) This course is being offered for the first time this quarter, and so there may be some rearrangements and alterations of topics, learning activities and readings. We are trying to schedule some lecture/demonstrations from practitioners which are not yet in the syllabus, but which will be announced as they are finalized.
(b) Note on the design of the course: Even though today we may see Hinduism and Buddhism as entirely separate traditions, they have common origins, having co-existed on the Indian subcontinent (including the Himalayan regions) for about a thousand years. Although the affiliational divide between the two seemed to harden as time went on, from the point of view of yoga and tantra, themes and practices, even deity types were shared. The organization of this course, therefore, though emphasizing Hinduism in the beginning and shifting more toward Buddhism later on, is in the form of a spiral. A number of readings will cover the same or related areas from different points of view, and all the themes will interact with each other. (c) Great reading, and lots of it, too! Pace yourself through the week.

Week One
Thu Sept 9
Introduction to the South Asian Religious Context
Introduction to the themes of yoga and tantra
Pictures: images of yogis, tantrikas, yantras and mandalas

Week Two
Thu Sept 16
(a) Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Forward, Chap. One, "The Doctrines of Yoga," pp. xiii-46. Note: Follow the discussion of the Samkhya evolutes with the aid of the chart on ERes from Larson's Classical Samkhya.
(b) ERes Vedic Hymns: The Sacrifice of the Primal Man, The Long Haired Ascetic (Doniger trans.)
(c) ERes Svetasvatara Upanisad (Olivelle trans.)
(d) ERes White, The Alchemical Body, Foreword, Chapter One

Week Three
Thu Sept 23
(a) [M-E #1] Eliade, Chap. Two, "Techniques of Autonomy," pp. 47-100.
(b) Miller, Yoga: Discipline of Freedom; Preface, Introduction, Text, pp. ix-83.
Peer Teaching intentions must be communicated by today.

Week Four
Thu Sept 30
(a) Eliade, Chap. Three, "Yoga and Brahmanism" and Chapter Four, "The Triumph of Yoga," pp. 101-161.
(b) Feuerstein, Tantra: the Path of Ecstasy, Preface, Introduction, Chaps. 1-5, pp. ix-84.
(c) Jung, The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, Appendix 4, Sat-cakra-nirupana ("Description of the Six Cakras"). Pp. 111-121.

Week Five
Thu Oct 7
(a) Eliade, Chap. Five, "Yoga Techniques in Buddhism," and [M-E #2] Chap. Six, "Yoga and Tantrism," pp. 162-273.
(b) Feuerstein, pp. 85-183.

Week Six
Tue Oct 12: Research Reports due in the box next to my office, 448 SAC, by 4 PM
Thu Oct 14
(a) Feuerstein, pp. 184-273.
(b) Brauen, The Mandala, Foreword through p. 31. Pictures and captions must be studied carefully.
Deadline for stating intentions to do choose the research option for the final paper.

Week Seven
Thu Oct 21
(a) [M-E #3] Brauen, The Mandala, pp. 32-59.
(b) Thurman, The Tibetan Book of the Dead [Really: "The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between"--!], Foreword, Preface, and pp. 1-81.
(c) Video, "The Palace of Supreme Bliss."

Week Eight
Thu Oct 28
(a) Brauen, The Mandala, 60-79; text continues 104-124. Study pictures, diagrams, pp. 80-103.
(b) Shaw, Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism, Chapters 1-3, pp. 1-73.
(c) [M-E #4] Thurman, pp. 83-199.

Week Nine
Thu Nov 4
(a) [M-E #5] Shaw, Chapters 4-5, pp. 74-139.
(b) Eliade, Chap. Seven, "Yoga and Alchemy," pp. 274-292.

Week Ten
Thu Nov 11
(a) Eliade, Chap. Eight and Nine, "Yoga and Aboriginal India" and "Conclusion," pp. 293-364.
(b) Jung, The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, Preface, Introduction, Lecture One, pp. xi-22.

Week Eleven
Thu, Nov 18
(a) Shaw, Chapters 6-8, pp. 140-205.
(b) Jung, Lectures Two, Three Four, pp. 23-70.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 4 PM
Final Integrating Project, Extra Credit work, rewrites, etc., due in the mailbox next to my office door, 448 SAC