Description
For this assignment, you are asked to write an essay that brings together the perspectives of more than one discipline. You will be able to practise the skills of selecting and using information, communicating ideas clearly, and drawing appropriate conclusions based on different kinds of evidence and argument.
‘Buddhism in practice’ and ‘Philosophy and compassion’.
Your essay should be no more than 2000 words.
In this assignment you are asked to bring together the perspectives of more than one discipline. You may wish to review the study skills activity ‘Week 28: Bringing disciplines together’.
You will be asked to combine your skills in source analysis (which you practised in TMAs 01 and 02) with your essay-writing skills (which you practised in TMAs 03 and 04).
You should support your points with evidence, such as relevant examples from the module materials; or (in the case of Philosophy) with reasoned arguments, such as those presented in the module materials.
Remember that for this assignment, as with TMA 04, some marks will be awarded for the use of appropriate referencing.
Option 3 Buddhism in practice and Philosophy and compassion
Why did Schopenhauer describeas a pessimistic religion? Was he right?
Your answer should be no more than 2000 words.
Guidance for Option 3
Before answering this question, make sure you know what Schopenhauer meant by ‘pessimistic religion’ and explain this in your essay.
You will need to think about how far this is an accurate description of Buddhism, drawing on the perspective of Religious Studies to understand Buddhism.
To answer the question, you will need to draw upon material from both Chapters 6 and 7 in Book 3, Crossing boundaries, combining perspectives from Religious Studies and Philosophy.
You should not try to cover all the relevant material but focus on a small number of examples and discuss these in depth.
You might choose to agree with Schopenhauer’s view of Buddhism as pessimistic, to disagree with this assertion, or to argue for a middle position; any of these positions can produce a good essay if argued with reference to evidence.
You will find relevant material in the following places:
Book 3: Crossing boundaries, Chapter 6, particularly Section 2 ‘The birth of Buddhism’. You may find additional supporting material in all the sections of Chapter 6 which explore how Buddhism has been interpreted in particular contexts, including how Buddhism is interpreted in contemporary mindfulness contexts.
Book 3: Crossing boundaries, Chapter 7, particularly Section 5 ‘Schopenhauer and Buddhism: from suffering to salvation’ and specifically Section 5.2 within this section, and Section 7 ‘Shantideva: an alternative view’.
Online Block 3, Unit 6, particularly Section 5 ‘Buddhism as a lived religion’, Section 6 ‘Wat Buddhapadipa’ and Section 7 ‘Kagyu Samye Dzong’.
You may also find relevant material elsewhere, but make sure that you have reviewed the resources listed above.