General Guide for Class Project & Final Paper

STEP 1: Choose an are of interest from the following (connected field trip in brackets):
1) Human Relationships I: Dying and Grieving (Kosei Vihara & Dr. Moichiro Hayashi)
2) Human Relationships II: Alienation & Suicide (suicide prevention priest Rev. Soin Fujio)
3) Development I: Economics, Alienation & Suicide (Hitosaji no Kai feeding homeless takidashi)
4) Development II: Economics, Energy, and Environment (Kenju-in Eco Temple)
5) Politics I: Nuclear Power and Peace (A) protest march with Nipponzan Myohoji OR (B) Kenju-in Eco Temple
6) Politics II: War and Peace (protest march with Nipponzan Myohoji)

STEP 2: Do all the reading both required and recommended for your topic (remember: the more reading you do, the more ideas and possibilities you will generate for the project!).

STEP 3: Participate in the specific field trip connected with the issue you are working on.

STEP 4: together in a group of students from the field trip, prepare to facilitate discussion on related themes from the field trip in the following class.

STEP 5: Write and submit a personal reflection on the both the reading, the class, and connected field trip experience (1 page single spaced) within one week of the class presentation (STEP 4)

STEP 6: End of Course Paper based on the above work:

• Length: 4-6 pages A4 size SINGLE SPACED (may be based on your personal reflection from Step 4)

• Format: Use the Buddhist 4 Noble Truths as a framework for your paper: 1) what is the issue and/or problem, 2) what are its causes and background; 3) what are the answers or new vision presented by Japanese Buddhists to this issue; 4) what activities are Japanese Buddhists engaged in to answer this problem and/or build their vision.

• Topic: You have a wide range of choices for topics on your paper which can even deal with issues not directly covered in class. BUT the paper must be connected to both Japanese Buddhism and Japanese society. Please feel free to contact me about your ideas and to get further advise!

The report is due on on Friday July 14th and should be sent by e-mail (no need for a hardcopy printout). If you finish the paper earlier, please feel free to send it to me so I can get a head start on grading! Thanks!