Outline

Overview

This unit provides a survey of the major issues and core ideas of Buddhism from its beginnings to subsequent developments in others parts of Asia. Students will be introduced to Buddhist understanding of liberation, existence, and knowledge, with a focus on exploring how Buddhist thought and practices, such as ritual and meditation, shape each other in larger socio-cultural contexts.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level from any combination of Ancient Greek, Ancient History, Anthropology, Arabic Language and Cultures, Archaeology, Art History, Asian Studies, Biblical Studies and Classical Hebrew, Chinese Studies, Cultural Studies, Education, European Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Gender Studies, Germanic Studies, Hebrew, History, Indonesian Studies, International and Comparative Literary Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture, Korean Studies, Latin, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Sanskrit, Sociology, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Studies in Religion, Visual Arts
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	BDST1602
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Chiew Hui Hui Ho, chiewhui.ho@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Mark Allon, mark.allon@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Tutorial Leadership In-Class presentation and leadership	15%	-	750wd equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 2 Essay	30%	Formal exam period	1500wd
Outcomes assessed:
Small continuous assessment	Quiz Short-answers quizzes	15%	Multiple weeks	750wd equivalent
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Participation In-class performance	10%	Ongoing	N/A
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 1 Essay	30%	Week 09	1500wd
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Participation: This will be based on student’s preparation and participation in lectures and tutorials.

Tutorial Leadership: Each student will lead a tutorial discussion by presenting on the week’s tutorial readings in relation to tutorial questions provided, asking relevant questions, drawing responses from your tutorial mates, and answering them. No more than two students should lead in any one week. You may discuss relevant questions other than those provided. Presenters of the week will submit a handout consisting on a summary of their presentation/the readings as an email attachment the day before the tutorial. Please sign up for a tutorial presentation in the first tutorial (week 2).

Quiz: Students will take a quiz during lecture (week 3-13).

Essay 1: Students will write an essay (approx. 1500 words) to be submitted in CANVAS. The questions (on topics covered from lectures 1–6 /tutorials from weeks 2–7; to be will be provided later) must be on a topic other than the topic of tutorial leadership. Your essay must be fully referenced with footnotes and a full bibliography including publisher, date and year of publication. If you draw on tutorial readings, use full publication details.

Essay 2: Students will write an essay (approx. 1500 words) to be submitted in CANVAS. The questions (on topics covered from lectures 7–12 /tutorials from weeks 8–13; to be will be provided later) must be on a topic other than the topic of tutorial leadership. Your essay must be fully referenced with footnotes and a full bibliography including publisher, date and year of publication. If you draw on tutorial readings, use full publication details.

Assessment criteria

Result name	Mark Range	Description
High distinction	85–100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75–84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65–74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50–64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0–49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.
Absent Fail	0–49	When you haven’t completed all assessment tasks or met the attendance requirements.
Cancelled	No mark	When your enrolment has been cancelled.
Discontinued not to count as failure	No mark	When you discontinue a unit after the relevant census date but before the DC deadline.
Discontinue-fail	No mark	When you discontinue a unit after the DC deadline but before the DF deadline
Withdrawn	No mark	When you discontinue a unit before the relevant census date. WD grades do not appear on your academic transcript

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

As per university/faculty policy.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Overview of the course and the discipline of Buddhist Studies	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	The discipline of Buddhist Studies	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 02	Buddhism: what are we dealing with? Sources for the study of Buddhism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Sources for the study of Buddhism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	The Buddha and his world	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	The Buddha and his world	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	What the Buddha Taught	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	The Buddha’s teaching	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	The Institutionalization and Spread of Buddhism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	The Buddhist community (Sangha)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	The Buddha’s teaching through text and art	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	The Buddha’s teaching through text and art	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Mahayana Buddhism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	The Great Vehicle: Ideas & Texts	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Buddhist Philosophy	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	The Middle Path & Emptiness	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Buddhist Practices	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Styles of Meditation	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	Chan and Zen Buddhism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	How Chan became Zen	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Death and the Afterlife	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Afterlife Practices	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Buddhism in the Modern World	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Engaged Buddhism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Conclusion and Review	Lecture (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed in Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. - demonstrate foundational understanding of the development of Buddhism as a religion shaped by historical and cultural forces
LO2. - articulate the relationship and interaction between Buddhist thought and the different expressions of the religion
LO3. - demonstrate understanding of the historically and culturally bound contexts within which Buddhism developed in different regions
LO4. - analyse issues underlying Buddhist thought and culture, and their impact on contemporary life
LO5. - Analyse presuppositions that shape the self-understanding of Buddhist traditions and their developments in Asia

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Contents have changed to fit the modified unit.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

ASNS2011: Buddhist Thought and Culture

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect