Literature Discussion Questions

3. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna: “Your concern should be with action, never with action’s fruits.” Explain what you think Krishna means by this. Consider Laozi’s admonition that a person’s actions should abide in “the fruit, not in the flower.”

4. According to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, to whom does he reveal his cosmic self? What is required in order for this to take place? What actions do not help? Reference specific passages of the Bhagavad Gita in your response as evidence.

5. In the Myth of Er, man chooses not only his own destiny, but his place in life. The Bhagavad Gita suggests that a man’s place in life is dictated by his karma and as such he is bound to fulfill the duties of his position, his dharma. Compare and contrast these views, especially as it pertains to maintenance of a specific social structure.

II. Confucius and Laozi (50pts.)

1. In Book II of Analects, Confucius writes: “The three hundred Poems are summed up in one single phrase: ‘Think no evil.’” Explain what you think Confucius means by this. Connect this idea to “The Eightfold Path.”

2. In Book VI of Analects, Confucius writes: “When nature prevails over culture, you get a savage; when culture prevails over nature, you get a pedant. When nature and culture are in balance, you get a gentleman.” Explain this. How does this idea connect to “the middle way” as explained by the Buddha?

3. In Book XIV, Confucius writes: “In the old days, people studied to improve themselves. Now they study to impress others.” Compare this notion to Laozi’s when he writes: “the man of large mind abides in the thick not in the thin, in the fruit, not in the flower.”

4. According to Laozi, what are the characteristics of an effective leader? Reference the Daodejing in your response.

5. Explain “the way” as found in the Daodejing. What is meant by the phrase “take no action” (wu-wei)?

6. What does Laozi mean when he writes: “the hard and the strong are the comrades of death; the supple and the weak are comrades of life”? How does Laozi use grass to illustrate this concept? What is the lesson?

III. The Buddha (50 points)

1. In Buddhism, what is the “middle way”? How does it compare to Aristotle’s “Doctrine of the Mean”?

2. In the “Sermon at Benares,” The Buddha says, “Reading the Vedas, making offerings to priests, or sacrifices to the gods, self-mortification by heat or cold, and many such penances performed for the sake of immortality, these do not cleanse the man who is not free from delusions.” What is the Buddha suggesting about the method of “belief or obedience” versus the method of “right action and right thinking”?

3. Compare the Buddha’s “noble truth concerning the origin of suffering” to Laozi’s notion of wu-wei.

4. What is meant by “Right views, right aspirations, right speech, right behavior, right livelihood, right effort, right thoughts, and right contemplation”? Choose three to elaborate on. Directly reference the “Sermon at Benares” in your response.

IV. Devil’s Advocate (50 pts.)

1. Select a teaching from any work in this unit and argue against it.  Direct your criticism at one (1) specific passage from one (1) text.  Summarize and explain the teaching as you understand it, and then critique the logic, style, and/or substance of the teaching and offer a counter-point.  Demonstrate to your reader why your position is better than the text's.  Be sure to quote directly from the work you are addressing.

IV. Bonus (up to 15 points)

Choose any of the Chinese drinking poems (see the syllabus) and write a brief explication.