12/22: F and G Blocks: Take out the list you made yesterday of concepts you understand and questions you have. Keep these next to you, refer to them and add to them as you make your way through the Tao Te Ching chapters you haven’t read in the packet. See if you can clear up some of your questions while reading. When Mrs. McTigue tells you to, please move into small groups (groups of 4, please). Together, share concepts you understand and work to clarify questions. Each group should make me a list of concepts you understand (and tell me briefly what you understand and where that understanding comes from) and questions you still have (try to be specific and tell me where in the packets the questions come from). If there is time, revisit the Chinese art through the lens of your Tao understanding and tell me what you see in them that’s new. Have a wonderful, restful, restorative break!
12/21: Revisiting packet 2: concepts you understand and questions and confusions you still have about Tao Te Ching.
12/20: Students wrote on slips of paper: 1 idea from the Tao Te Ching they could teach and one that confused them. We worked on chapters 1-11 in the Tao Te Ching. We paid close attention to chapter 11 - following through the metaphors to their conclusion. HOMEWORK: Read packet 2, applying the knowledge gained from class discussion to the reading. Take notes and choose one chapter to respond to in a reflective paragraph.
12/19: Before you get started, please read through the Taoism notes. Read them carefully, and think about how they connect with what you read this weekend in the packet, how they might give you insight into the Chinese art you looked at, etc. Then, meet in groups of 4. Share what you wrote about on your notecards for today (everybody share at least two ideas), go back over the chapters that you read and help each other think through what each section says. Take this work seriously and take good notes. Your Hinduism papers show that a good number of you did not take seriously the work of understanding the material and it is hurting you on the assessment. Together, make a list of similarities between what you see in Taoism and what we studied in Confucianism. Then. make a list of differences (hand the lists in along with the notecards). Tonight read chapters 28-37. Choose one of these chapters that you think most illustrates your understanding of Taoism from today’s discussion and write a paragraph about WHY.
12/16: HOMEWORK: Lao-Tzu, who is recognized as the author of the Tao-Te Ching probably lived a hundred or so years after Confucius and saw Confucianism in practice. Some scholars call Confucianism the wisdom of Chinese culture and Taoism the beauty or the spirit. Like Confucius, Lao-Tzu wanted to understand how to live a life of harmony in a discordant world.
This weekend, please read through the first section of the packet (through chapter 11) to get a sense of the Tao. The very first chapter tells you that the Tao cannot be named – and that the tao that can is only a manifestation (think about this idea as akin to small “t” truth and big “T” truth). If it cannot be named, then Lao-tzu has to rely on poetry to convey understanding, so be looking for analogies, metaphors, symbols and other imagery that can help you get a handle on this.
As you read, bullet ideas that strike you as important – look for similarities to what we’ve already read, images and other language that helps to give you insight, etc. On the front of the notecard, make a list of these (you should have a list of at least 10 ideas). On the back of the notecard, reflect on what you read. Tell me what you think you understand and why, what imagery stuck out to you and why , what chapter particularly struck you and why. Remember that our goal is to better understand the Tao so let me see some of that. Fill the back of the card.
(I will post some notes about Taoism on the website if you get stuck this weekend when reading, but I’d like to try reading some of the Tao-Te Ching with just that idea of harmony in a discordant world).
12/15: Work on the IChing and Confucius. We started by looking at Chinese art (attached below). In small groups, students discussed the Analects and the inspiration from the IChing. See my I Ching board notes (attached).
12/14: F BLOCK: Cleary’s introduction to his translation of I Ching (Book of Change) and Confucius’ Analects gives an overview of the ideas that form the foundation of Confucian thought. My hope is that the introduction will help you to think about Confucianism, its principles, and how these might allow greater insight into Confucius’ writing. I am going to ask you to read through it twice. The first time through, mark where you are confused. Try to clear up the confusion as you read but whatever still confuses you, let’s talk. HOMEWORK: The second time through, focus on pulling out and making sense of the important ideas about Confucian thought. Take notes on these and make connections to what we’ve already read (“What Confucius Thought”) and to the religions and philosophy that we’ve already studied.
G Block: HOMEWORK: Tonight, please read the book review “Empire of Tolerance.” I read it this past weekend and thought it might be interesting for us to talk about. Winchester is reviewing a new book about Ghengis Khan’s rule in Ancient Mongolia (which eventually became part of China). As you read, on the front of the notecard: take notes about the main ideas presented in the book and how these ideas challenge previous historical views. On the back: react and reflect. If you have been taught about the Khans and their rule, how does this mesh with or contradict those teachings and why might that matter? If you don’t, think about why this new way of seeing the world and particularly our own ideals might matter. What does it suggest about the influence of the East on the West and WHY might that matter? How does is push your thinking further about the study of history (and/or work of historians), about who tells the story, about the importance of courses like Eastern Lit and exposing yourself to new ways of seeing, etc. Fill the back of the notecard.
Cleary’s introduction to his translation of I Ching (Book of Change) and Confucius’ Analects gives an overview of the ideas that form the foundation of Confucian thought. My hope is that the introduction will help you to think about Confucianism, its principles, and how these might allow greater insight into Confucius’ writing. I am going to ask you to read through it twice. The first time through, mark where you are confused. Try to clear up the confusion as you read but whatever still confuses you, let’s talk. The second time through, focus on pulling out and making sense of the important ideas about Confucian thought. Take notes on these and make connections to what we’ve already read (“What Confucius Thought”) and to the religions and philosophy that we’ve already studied.
Then, please read the excerpt from Cleary’s translation of the IChing and Cunfucius’ Analects. Confucius studied the I Ching (a piece of classic Chinese literature) as a way to form his ideas about virtue and humanity. On the left hand side of each page is the excerpt from the IChing, on the right, Confucius’ ideas developed after much study. For each page, choose 2 of Confucius’ ideas to wrestle with. Your task is to understand Confucian philosophy (keeping in mind its goals) and to see how the Analects align with the various ideas of virtue. On a separate piece of paper write down the page number, the Analects and your thoughts as applied to both aspects of the task.
12/13: Start by looking over the ideas from the Analects that particularly interested you. I’d like you to do what we did with Krishnamurti. Take a piece of paper and choose 3 different teachings (make sure you are choosing one of the Analects, NOT Lorenz’s commentary) to reflect on (at least a paragraph for each. Make sure that you are digging beneath the surface (don’t just write about what it says) to get to insight and challenge and understanding. Here’s how to choose: you need one teaching that strikes you as insightful AND makes you think in new ways about your own life, one insight that has been proven true in your life, your experience, your understanding of history, etc. and one that challenges you (you feel yourself “pushing back” or arguing with what Confucius taught) and WHY. If there’s time, pair up, talk about “What Confucius Thought,” help each other clear up any questions you had, and share your insights. Turn in the paragraphs at the end of the period.
12/9: HOMEWORK: Read "What Confucius Thought" (attached below). The assignment is attached as well "What Confucius thought homework". In class: I handed out the Honors film project (see the link to "honors film project" page on the "eastern Literature" page. We also talked through concepts of Middle Way and karma (see "reteaching Middle Way" attached below).
12/8: Please spend a little time reviewing the Buddha readings that you did last week (look at the notecard). These are the symbols you listed (as a class): white elephant, flower, forest, fire, light, trees (Bodhi tree and others), rain, gold, palace, riches, wheel tambourine, 4 sights (age, disease, coffin, ascetic), crossed legs. We’ll look for these and more when we look at Buddhist art.
Now, we need to regroup: please read pages 5 -7 in the Buddhist packet. Take notes (you will need to know these concepts and ideas). Read closely and carefully to make sure you understand the ideas. Remember that Buddhism develops out of Hinduism, so bring with you what you know and understand about Hinduism. Once you’ve read, pair up. Help each other understand what you are confused about. Talk about the 8 fold path AND that the eightfold path IS the middle way, and what each “right” means (look at “Right Action, ” “The Five Precepts” and “The Nature of Right Speech” for help. Talk too about “karma” and how it is similar to and different from Hinduism. REMEMBER that Siddhartha learned from his own life experiences, so THINK about how he was influenced by them. THINK too about dharma and its similarities and differences. Then, reread “The Seed” AND reapply Buddhist teachings to the story (do NOT think about the caste and her marriage – focus instead on the story of her son and his death and what she does afterwards.
12/7: G Block: see "Gita Reflection + The Seed" (attached below).
12/6: F Block: Please spend a little time reviewing the Buddha readings that you did last week (look at the notecard). These are the symbols you listed (as a class): white elephant, flower, forest, fire, light, trees (Bodhi tree and others), rain, gold, palace, riches, wheel tambourine, 4 sights (age, disease, coffin, ascetic), crossed legs. We’ll look for these and more when we look at Buddhist art.
Today, please read pages 5 -7 in the Buddhist packet. Take notes (you will need to know these concepts and ideas). Once you’ve read, pair up. Help each other understand what you are confused about. Talk about the 8 fold path and what each “right”means (look at “Right Action, ” “The Five Precepts” and “The Nature of Right Speech” for help. Talk too about “The Middle Way” (page5) and karma and how it is similar to and different from Hinduism. THINK too about dharma and its similarities and differences. For each pair, write down any ideas that confuse you and tell me why you are confused (what don’t you understand). Then, Make a list of 4- 6 ways you can see the influence of Buddha’s life experiences (pages 1-5) in his teachings. Finally, tell me 5 more of your best ideas/most brilliant insights from the discussion (make sure both names are on the paper you hand in). Work on your papers – due Thursday.
12/5: G Block We spent a little time reviewing the Buddha readings that you did last week (look at the notecard). These are the symbols you listed (as a class): white elephant, flower, forest, fire, light, trees (Bodhi tree and others), rain, gold, palace, riches, wheel tambourine, 4 sights (age, disease, coffin, ascetic), crossed legs. We’ll look for these and more when we look at Buddhist art.
Today, we read pieces of 5-8 and took notes (you will need to know these concepts and ideas) - 4 Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Five Precepts.Work on your papers – due Wednesday.