Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of Religion

General Courses

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IA9991GCA1

2.00Credits

講義 (Lecture)

Spring semester 2026

(Spring semester)

大島 智靖

Part-time Lecturer

Japanese

4

In the classroom after class.

tak99heritage@gmail.com

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1-1◎／1-2〇

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The view of death and life that surrounds us today is based on diverse religious beliefs. Among them, Buddhism, which was born in India, has had a great influence on the spirituality of the Japanese. The purpose of this lecture is to read about the value of Buddhism in the 3,000-year history of Indian religions, while appreciating the original texts. By comparing the view of death and life that we casually accept in our daily lives with the view of death and life in the religions and values of other countries and peoples, we will be able to [re]check and [re]evaluate them, and ultimately apply them to our own "terminal" practice.

Subtitle: Introduction to Ancient Indian Religions: Where Did "I" Come From and Where Am "I" Going?
Keywords: religion, Indo-Aryan, Vedas, Brahmana, Upanishads, Hinduism, Jainism, Gautama Buddha, Pali Buddhism, Abhidharma Buddhism, logic, Mahayana Buddhism, sutra, Chinese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism, soul, life, self, Atman, Brahman.

Lecture Contents:
　What is Buddhism? The lecture will outline the Vedas (Brahmanism), the pre-Buddhist religion of ancient India, and its sister religion, Jainism, and explain the characteristics and values of Buddhism in the spiritual history of humankind. Next, we will examine how Buddhism was transformed and developed in Japan. Then, we will explain how Buddhism penetrated into Asian countries.

Lesson Plan
1. Guidance: Man and Religion
2. Ancient Indo-Aryan people and Indian religions (1)
Ancient Indo-Aryans and Indian religions (2)
4) Man and the World of Gods - Rigvedic Hymns (1)
5. The World of Man and Gods - Rigvedic Hymns (2)
6. The Universe Manipulated by Rituals - Hermeneutics of Rituals and Myths (1)
7) The Universe Manipulated by Rituals: Hermeneutics of Rituals and Myths (2)
8) Inquiry of Human Existence - Upanishadic Philosophy (1)
9) Inquiry of Human Existence: Philosophy of the Upanishads (2)
10. Jainism and Pali Buddhism (1)
11. Jainism and Pali Buddhism (2)
12. From Early Buddhism to Mahayana Buddhism
13. The Development of Mahayana Buddhism in India
14. Philosophy of Indian Mahayana Buddhism
15. Summary (Our Society and Religion) and instructions for report writing

Remote (Receiving Campus)

Online instruction only, while the same course is offered in-person at other campuses.
Subject to the upper limit on credits earned through online courses.

Fully permitted

Currently, AI cannot yet fully interpret Sanskrit texts. While progress in machine learning advances rapidly, substantial hallucinations remain frequent. For the foreseeable future, the critical evaluation of AI-generated content will remain essential.

PowerPoint slides (PDF format) and lecture materials (PDF format) presented in class are delivered on UNIPA each time.

Jan Gonda, A History of Indian Literature, Volume I, fasc. 1 and 2, Harrassowitz, 1975 and 1977.

[Preparation] Pre-reading of reading materials and background study: reading, web search (2h) x 15 weeks.
[Review] Research on topics and keywords covered in class: reading, web search (1h), writing comments and critiques on lecture content and reading materials (1h) x 15 weeks.

Not adopted.

Grading Criteria:
Credit will be awarded to those who have correctly understood the Vedas and the history of religious thought of Pali Buddhism, Jainism, and Indian Mahayana Buddhism in accordance with the lectures. Grades from S to C will be given according to the level of achievement of the content described in the lecture objectives and goals.

Grading Methods:
Overall evaluation will be based on a report summarizing the contents and impressions of the class (60%) and attitude and motivation (attitude or rather questions) (40%).

Critiques of the final report may be returned using the Universal Passport class profile feature for those that are particularly outstanding.

Students who are not interested should not take the course. The reading materials will be read and explained in detail, so be sure to print them out or prepare them on a tablet, etc., and take notes while listening to the lectures.
Since many of the materials are difficult to understand, it is recommended that students prepare for and review them carefully.

≪This is a remote class based on the special measures for the new coronavirus infection.
However, depending on the number of students enrolled in the course, the course may be divided into several classrooms and the classrooms may be connected online as a measure against new coronavirus infection, or face-to-face classes and online classes may be held every other week at home, etc. Students are required to have a telecommunication environment that allows them to view the online classes at home, etc. In some cases, a communication environment (PC, tablet, or other device, Wi-Fi environment) may be required to view the online classes at home. The final class method will be decided and announced after registration.

The enrollment capacity is set at 180 students. If this capacity is exceeded, spots will be allocated through random selection.

This course is simultaneously streamed from the Himeji Engineering Campus and projected on a monitor in the classroom. Therefore, students are generally not required to bring their own devices such as laptops. (However, if you need to bring your PC for specific activities such as accessing UNIPA during class, you will be notified in advance.)

Not applicable.

No attendance will be taken. Please feel free to look around.

PDFs of the class slides will be distributed each time. The reading materials will be distributed from the 3rd or 4th class.

The reading materials are Japanese translations of ancient Indian religious texts, but they are full of technical terms. Since the reading and explanations will be the main part of the lectures, please print out the reading material or prepare it on your tablet or other device, and follow it closely as you listen. Please take notes and take notes at all times to organize, review, and understand the material.