REL113 Asian Religions Final Oral Exam Study Guide
Overview
This 10-minute exam tests your Twice-Speak ability. You must be able to explain a tradition on its
own terms (internal/emic) while also critiquing it through a historical/academic lens (external/etic).
Key Concepts
1. China: Focus on the shift from philosophical Daoism to institutional/bureaucratic Daoism
(Bokenkamp) and the Confucian “Relational Self” (Nadeau).
2. India: Master the Atman (Hinduism) vs. Anatman (Buddhism) distinction, and the caste system
(varna).
3. Japan: Be ready to discuss the aesthetics of Zen vs. the faith of Pure Land, and the “this-worldly”
nature of Shinto.
4. Korea: Understand the role of the Mudang as a female religious authority and the logic of
managing emotions in spirits.
5. Global/Modern: Review Victorian values and McMahan/Braun (Mindfulness and Science).
6. List of terms:
1) Ren (仁): Co-humanity/Benevolence (Confucianism).
2) Li (禮): Ritual propriety/Ceremonial living (Confucianism).
3) Wuwei (無為): Non-action/Effortless action (Daoism).
4) Registers (Lu): Bureaucratic certificates of spiritual rank (Celestial Masters).
5) Sepulchral Plaints: Underworld lawsuits by the dead (Early Chinese Religion).
6) Atman: The eternal, unchanging Self (Hinduism).
7) Brahman: The ultimate, impersonal reality (Hinduism).
8) Dharma: Social duty (Hinduism) or Cosmic Truth/Teaching (Buddhism).
9) Karma: Causal law of action and mental “traces” (Hinduism/Buddhism).
10) Anatman (Anatta): The doctrine of “No-Self” (Buddhism).
11) Nirvana: The “extinction” of suffering and the ego (Buddhism).
12) Bodhisattva: One who vows to save all beings before entering Nirvana (Mahayana).
13) Upaya: Skillful means/Cultural translation (Mahayana/Dharmapala).
14) Kami: Sacred spirits/powers found in nature and ancestors (Shinto).
15) Torii: The gateway marking the transition to sacred space (Shinto).
16) Mudang: Female shamanic mediators between spirits and humans (Korean Shamanism).
17) Shinbyeong: “Spirit sickness” marking a shaman’s initiation (Korean Shamanism).
18) Nembutsu (Nianfo): Reciting Amida’s name to ensure rebirth (Pure Land).
19) Tariki (Other-Power): Reliance on Amida’s grace rather than self-effort (Pure Land).
20) Zazen: Seated meditation focused on “just sitting” (Zen).
21) Koan: Paradoxical riddles used to break rational thinking (Zen).
22) Satori: Sudden flash of insight or awakening (Zen).
23) Self-Reliance: The Victorian value applied to Buddhism (Tweed).
24) Optimism: The Victorian lens that filtered out pessimism (Tweed/Dharmapala).
25) Mindfulness: The modern, scientific rebranding of meditation (McMahan).
Key Reading Checkpoints
• Nadeau: “Ceremonial Living” and “Correlative Cosmology.”
• Tweed: Self-Reliance, Optimism, Activism, Rationality.
• Dharmapala: How he responded to the Victorian values.
• McMahan: The authority shift from Monastic Lineage to MRI/Brain-scans.