The Sacred Journey:
Religions of the World

Core Discovery Course 116 

Scheduled of Class Topics, Assignments,
Readings, and Evening and Extra Sessions

Tentative, Subject to Change

August 26 thru September 2 - Class Topic: Equipping Ourselves for the Journey

• Topics: Starting point for your journey: re-telling your own journey.  

  • The Questions: 

    • A. Who are you? Where did you come from?  Why are you here?  Where are you going? 

    • B. What do we seek to understand?   How should we approach that which we seek to know?   What should we do with that which we come to know? 

  • "Eye Juggling" skills, for critically interpreting religious symbols, values and scared texts; issues of ethnocentrism and bias; an appreciation of another's point of view, and the example of the Burnt Face Story Text; and the difference between a theological and academic approach to the Journey.   Literal, Metaphoric, and Anagogic Ways of Knowing: Issues of theological/spiritual and academic/scientific epistemologies.  Nature of Religious Stories - as "Texts": art and design, architecture, ritual behavior, narrative, speech, song, etc.; sacred boundaries and transcendence.

• Readings: 

  1. Pilgrimage Edicts  Begin immediately

  2. Eye Juggling - A Methodology for Interpreting Religious Texts (ol)   Begin immediately

  3. Smith Preface and ch. 1, pp 6-15  Begin immediately

  4. "Burnt Face," as told by Tom Yellowtail in Frey's Stories That Make the World, pp 108-22 (ol)   By September 2

• Activity:

  1. First Reflective Write  Due during the second class session, August 28

• You will need an Adobe Reader to access PDF printable files,

• Along with the user ID and password provided in class, you will need a reliable high-speed Internet connection (suggested at 10 Mbps, as clips are streamed at 450 Kbps) and a RealPlayer to access class videos.  Remember, videos can be enlarged by dragging your mouse on the bottom right corner.  For a free version, .  

  Win an I-Pod.  If you participated in the One Dead in Attic  conversation, by completing the survey below, you will be eligible.  Since respondents are not identifiable, we’re counting on honesty for respondent-only lists for the drawings. Jean Henscheid

  • Student survey: www.webs.uidaho.edu/ira/snap/UI_DS/ui_1dead_student_survey.htm

September 4 thru 30 - Class Topic: The Schitsu'umsh (the Coeur d'Alene, a Plateau American Indian People) and the Apsaalooke (the Crow, a Plains American Indian People): examples of Indigenous Primal Religion

• Topics: The Texts: Oral Traditions.  Creation and the Animal Peoples.  The Gifts and key religious teachings.  The Spiritual Goal and Means to reach it - rites of passage.  The Sun Dance and Vision Quest.  The "wagon wheel" and the many paths to the Creator.  Medicine, its efficacy and the power of story, and its applications - Burnt Face Revisited.  

• Readings:  

  1. Frey's Stories That Make the World, pp. 5-37 (Introduction, "Four Smokes" and "Couple Befriended by the Moon"), pp. 39-45, 52-61 and 63-75, (Text: Themes, Motifs, "Coyote and Swallowing Monster" and "Coyote and the Rock"), pp. 141-158 and 162-167 (Texture and "Coyote and the Green Spot"), pp. 169-177 and 179-182 (Context and "Elk and the Young Man"), pp. 214-216 (Conclusion).  Begin immediately

  2. Spiritual Values of the North American Indian Begin immediately

  3. Rites of Passage (ol) and Rites of Passage Diagram  By September 11

• Videos: 

  1. The Living Stone (32 min., this 1958 National Film Board of Canada classic illustrates key Indigenous religious values, told in narrative form)

  2. Sun Dance Way and Vision Quest (57 min. and 4 min., great overview of this key ceremony, as told by Tom Yellowtail; filmed during the June 1989, in honor of Tom Yellowtail) (Elements of the Dance 22 min, from many photos 1974 and others.) 

  3. Billy Yellow (18 min., intimate look into the Navajo Healing Ceremony; introduced by anthropologist David Mayberry-Lewis, as part of his Millennium Project, 1992)

• Supplemental Materials: 

  1. Salmon Always Goes Up River (narrative text)

  2. Sedna and Soul Food (narrative text)

  3. Nimíipuu Landscape 

  4. Crow Sundance (still images)

  5. Shoshone Sundance Song

  6. Tom Yellowtail (Crow elder; background on)

  7. "Heart Knowledge" (discussion with Cliff SiJohn; Coeur d'Alene elder) (TEMPORARILY DOWN)

  8. Smith ch. 9 

  9. Outline of Lectures and Key Terms

• Out-of-class Activities:

  1. September 11 - Evening Session: Introduction to the Sacred by your Instructors-  TLC 40 at 6:00 pm Thursday (originally scheduled for the Sept 3)

  2. September TBA - Tipi raising on the lawn just east of the Commons at 9:00 am and again at 12 noon  Tipi Background

  3. September 17 - Evening Session: Cliff SiJohn on Indigenous Religions -  TLC 40 at 6:00 pm Wednesday  Some additional thoughts from Cliff, recorded in 2002, as part of the L3 project.

September 1 - Labor Day - No Classes

September College Success Series

September Honors Program Events and Activities

September 14 - Last Day to Drop a Class, avoiding a W (withdrawal) placed on your transcript

September 30 - First Exam  - See Study Guide  

October 2 thru 30- Class Topic: Hinduism 

• Topics:  The Texts: the Bhagavad Gita (story) and the Upanishads. The Goals: The Paths of Desire - kama and artha, and the Paths of Renunciation - dharma and moksha.  The Landscape: divinity, the cosmos, and the self.  The Process - Karma and Samsara.  The Means: Yogas - raja (way of meditation), jnana (way of knowledge), karma (way of action), and bhakti (way of devotion).   The Gods and Goddesses.  The Pilgrimage.   

• Readings:  

  1. Shri Swami's Bhagavad Gita - Introductions (pp. ix-xxii), and Chapters 1 and 2 and Exercise  Begin immediately - and Chapters 3 - 13 Begin by October 2

  2. Smith ch. 2 Begin immediately

  3. The Upanishads (selected writings) Begin by October 7

  4. Pilgrimage Notes and the Pilgrim's Journey Diagram  By October 16

• Activity:

  1. Four Orientations

• Videos: 

  1. Soul of a People (29 min., a 1971 film by Huston Smith and Elda Hartly on the central themes of Hinduism, and the paradoxes found in Indian and in the notion of the "Infinite Mind")

  2. Hinduism: Faith, Festivals and Rituals (50 min., nice overview of Hinduism and its ritual life; 1995 Films Media Group)

  3. Ganges: River to Heaven (52 min., an insightful look into Hinduism and the role the Ganges River plays within it, full of powerful images and authentic situations.  This award-winning 2003 film follows the journey of four families as they prepare for the death and cremation of loved ones at Kashi, also known as Varanasi or Benares, on the Ganges River.  It presents the rituals, realities, and challenges associated with this key rite of passage.)

  4. Benares: Steps to Heaven (30 min., a 1984 film introducing this sacred city of Benares, also known as Varanasi or Kashi, and the pilgrimages associated with it.)

  5. Three Worlds of Bali (58 min., this 1979 film introduces to the arts and religions of Bali, with particular reference to Wayang Shadow Puppets [8 min.] and the world renewal ceremony of Eka Dasa Rudra)

• Supplemental Materials:  

  1. Shri Swami's Bhagavad Gita - Chapters 14 - 18

  2. Raja Yoga - the way of meditation (Nadi Pathways)

  3. Aum image and sound - Om Asato Ma Sad Gamaya chant (from yogaclass.com) - examples

  4. Dhrupad Music

  5. Jnana Yoga - the way of knowledge

  6. Karma Yoga - the way of action

  7. Bhakti Yoga - the way of devotion, pilgrimage, and the Gods and Goddesses

  8. The Cow

  9. Balinese Time

• Guest Speaker: October 21 - Sayantani Dasgupta

• Out-of-class Activities:

  1. October 16 - Evening Session:  Sayantani Dasgupta on Hindu Temples - TLC 40 at 6:00 pm Thursday

October  College Success Series

October Honors Program Events and Activities

October 7 - Visit the Librarian, Rochelle Smith, at 11:20, and explore research options

October 13 - Tipi Raising: on the lawn just east of the Commons at 11:00 am  Honoring Columbus Day

October 13  "Meaning of Columbus Day."  Charmaine White Face 7:00 pm Aurora Room of the Commons

October 20 - Midterm Grades Submitted

October 15 - Academic Advising Begins for Spring Semester

October 30 - Second Exam and the Yoga Adherents

November 4 thru 20 - Class Topic: Buddhism

• Topics:  The Texts: the Dhammapada and Buddhist Doctrines.  Siddhartha, the Great Awakening, and the Buddha.  The Challenge and the Goal: the Four Noble Truths and nirvana/sunyata.  The Means: the Eight-fold Path.  The Landscape: at first glance, karma and samsara; and a second view, the yana - from anicca, skandhas, paticcasamuppada and bardos, through one of the Three Schools (Theravada, Mahayana and Vijrayana Buddhism) and the bodhisattvas, then arriving, nirvana/sunyata. But the questions continue: what is the nature of reality and of compassion, and what is the "great paradox"?

• Readings:  

  1. Maguire and Muller's Dhammapada - Introductions (pp. ix-xxii) and Chapters 1-3, 7, 9, 12-16, 19-20, 24-26  Begin immediately

  2. Smith ch. 3  Begin immediately

  3. Buddhist Doctrines (selected writings)  Begin immediately

• Videos:  

  1. Requiem for a Faith (27 min., a 1971 film by Huston Smith and Elda Hartly on Tibetan Buddhism)

  2. Buddhism: the Great Wheel of Being (52 min., presenting the tenets and history of Buddhism, including discussion of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path; 1995 Films Media Group)

  3. The Great Liberation: Tibetan Book of the Dead (45 min., death as a "rite of passage"; this 1994 film examines the history, rites and liturgies associated with death and the afterlife, follows a young novice monk and his teacher who guide a villager into the afterlife and rebirth.)  Study Guide

  4. Life of Buddha, in two parts Part 1 and Part 2 (45 and 45 min., a 2003 Martin Meissonnier film about the historic life and awakening, as well as key teachings of the Buddha.)

  5. 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (85 min., this awarding winning 2006 Rick Ray film provides a rich background on the history of Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama, capped with a wonderful interview with the Dalai Lama himself.  A great segment on the Mandala.)

• Supplemental Material: 

  1. the Chenrezig Bodhisatta

  2. Tibetan Bhavacakra

  3. Tibetan Hymns, Wheels and Mantras of the Vajrayana Tradition

  4. Lotus and Hand Gestures 

  5. Mandala

  6. Zen Buddhism

  7. Maguire and Muller's Dhammapada - chapters not assigned above

• Guest Speaker:  Jay Feldman - November TBA

• Out-of-class Activities:

  1. November 12 - Evening Session: TBA in TLC 40 at 6:00 Wednesday 

November  College Success Series

November Honors Program Events and Activities

November 4 - Proposal due for your Personal Quest - Participatory Paper

November 10 - Spring Registration Begins

November 20 - Third Exam  - See Study Guide  

November 20 - Outline draft due for your Personal Quest - Participatory Paper

November 24 - 27 - Fall Recess - No Classes

December 2 thru  11 - Class Topic: Taoism

• Topics: The Texts: Tao Te Ching, and writings of  Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.  The Goal, Means and Landscape: The Tao - Character,  The Landscape: Chapter 1 and Yin Yang, Hexagram and Wu Xing.   The Aligning: the Ch'i, Wu Wei and Te, and the Three Jewels.   The Examples of Expressions: music, landscape paintings, poetry, calligraphy, medicine, mediation, symbolism, and Wuxia

• Readings: 

  1. Lin's Tao Te Ching - Introductions (pp vii-xxxi) and Chapters 1-81  Begin immediately

  2. Smith ch. 5 Begin immediately

  3. Chuang Tzu (selected writings) Begin by December 9 

• Videos:   

  1. "Calligraphy" (25 min., set in Ancient China, it is a time in which rival kingdoms seek to kill the King of Qin, the most powerful of the kingdoms.  In this scene, the King of Qin wants to know how his agent, Nameless, killed two powerful assassins, Broken Sword and Flying Snow.  How are words more powerful than arrows, and how is the essence of calligraphy and swordsmanship the same?  Speculate on the meaning of how color is used in various scenes and in the clothing worn. Illustrative of wuxia genre and application of ch'i.  From Hero, a Zhang Yimou 2002 film.  See URL link) 

  2. "Echo Game" (8 min., set in 859 AD, the once great Tang Dynasty is in decline.  In this scene, a police officer "tests" a "blind" dancer, suspecting her to be a rebel.  Illustrative of wuxia genre and application of ch'i.   From House of Flying Daggers, a Zhang Yimou 2004 film.  See URL link)

• Supplemental Materials:

  1. Introduction to key concepts

  2. I Ching

  3. Gods and Goddesses

  4. Wu Xing - Five Elements

• Guest Speaker: TBA

• Out-of-class Activities:

  • December 4 - Evening Session: TBA - TLC 40 at 6:00 Thursday

  • December TBA - Review Session - food court of Commons at 6:00

December Honors Program Events and Activities

December 11 - Personal Quest - Participatory Paper is due

December TBA - Course Evaluation is due

December 18 - Final Exam - See Study Guide  Day: Thursday   Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon  Place: TLC 23