Awakening

Patrick Bresnan is a professor at DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA.

PART ONE: HINDUISM AND RELATED INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS OF SOUTH ASIA

 

CHAPTER ONE: INDIA BEFORE THE VEDAS

The Lay of the Land

South Asia Before the Vedic Age

The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate

Varna: The Caste System

The Brahmin Caste
Study Questions

 

CHAPTER TWO: VEDA AND THE VEDAS

Yagna: The Vedic Sacrifice

The Vedic Pantheon

An Overview of Vedic Cosmology
Study Questions



 

CHAPTER THREE: INTRODUCTION TO THE UPANISHADS

The Sanyasin Tradition

Key Elements of the Upanishads

An Overview of Vedanta Cosmology

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER FOUR: THE BHAGAVAD GITA

The Bhagavad Gita and the Mahabharata

Development of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita as Metaphor

The Awakened Person

Karma Yoga

Raja Yoga

Bhakti Yoga

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER FIVE: DARSHANA

The Orthodox Darshanas
The Heterodox Darshanas
Study Questions

 

CHAPTER SIX: THE DEVOTIONAL MOVEMENT

The Trimurti
Ramanuja

The Hindu Temple

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER SEVEN: A MILLENIUM OF STRIFE

The Muslim Era
The Modern Era
Study Questions

 

PART TWO: SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM

 

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA

The Palace Youth

The Sadhu Years

The Awakening

The Teaching Years

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER NINE: BASIC TEACHING OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA

The Doctrine of Anatman

The Four Noble Truths
The Noble Eightfold Path

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER TEN: THERAVADA BUDDHISM

The Early Centuries

Ashoka

Theravada Buddhism

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN: MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

Diversity and Religious Elements in Mahayana

The Nature of Buddha

Madhyamaka

Yogacara

The Bodhisattva

Artistic Expression in Early Mahayana

Study Questions

 

PART THREE: NON-BUDDHIST TRADITIONS OF EAST ASIA

 

CHAPTER TWELVE: CONFUCIUS AND CONFUCIANISM

Confucius

Mencius

Other Voices from the Period of a Hundred Philosophers
Later Developments in the Evolution of Confucianism

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DAOISM

The Dao De Jing
Zhuang Zi

Religious Daoism

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SHINTO

The Shinto Creation Story

The Shinto Shrine and Festival

Historical Development of Shinto

Study Questions

 

 

PART FOUR: BUDDHISM IN CHINA AND JAPAN

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: EARLY BUDDHISM IN CHINA

Buddhism in the Tarim Basin

Tiantai Buddhism

Huayan Buddhism

Pure Land Buddhism

Persecution and Recovery

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: TIBETAN BUDDHISM

The Establishment of Buddhism in Tibet

The General Character of Buddhism in Tibet

A Historical Overview of Buddhism in Tibet
Study Questions

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: CHAN BUDDHISM

Bodhidharma

Huineng

After Huineng

Study Questions

 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: ZEN BUDDHISM

Japan Before Zen

Rinzai and Soto Zen
The Zen Monastery

Zen and the Arts

Study Questions