Posted: March 16th, 2023

Make sure to use the relevant readings/sources from our classes. Your exam answe

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Make sure to use the relevant readings/sources from our classes. Your exam answers should clearly reflect that you have read them by including in-text citations with page numbers (= paraphrasing the author’s ideas and providing a reference to where you read them). Since this is an exam, please keep direct quotations (using the authors exact words and placing them inside quotation marks) to a minimum, and do not use more than one per answer. You can find all the readings on eLearn. Any additional sources should be reliable academic sources (journal articles, book chapters, books, etc.). Most internet websites do not count as reliable academic material, and I would advise against using them. They usually bring grades down. Be careful to cite all the sources properly. You can use any citation style, as long as you use the same one throughout the exam. Make sure to add a short bibliography at the end of each answer. The bibliography does not count toward the required length of the answer to the exam question.
Exam Questions
I. (6 points)
Using the relevant sources from February 14, answer the following two questions: (sources fowler,mallinson,doniger)
1a. Explain the haṭha-yoga method of attaining supernatural powers and liberation. Make sure to follow the lecture and the relevant readings to answer this question, as information on the internet can be very misleading and has led students to answer incorrectly in the past. (3 points)
Required length: min. 200 words
1b. In what ways do Hindu Tantric rituals transgress the Brahminical understanding of impurity and power? (3 points)
Required length: min. 200 words

II. (5 points)
Open the following reading from February 16: Pashaura Singh, “Sikh Dharam,” in Religions of India, edited by Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, pp. 139–162. Based on this reading, particularly focusing on pages 139–142, explain the establishment of laṅgar, a common dining place for all, in Sikhism and discuss its significance. Additionally, compare it to at least one other method or effort of transcending one’s social status/caste that we discussed in the context of other Asian religious traditions. Make sure to respond to all parts of the question.
Required length: min. 250 words (source mittal)

III. (7 points)
This question has three parts. Please answer all of them, using the relevant sources from February 23. (source poceski)
3a. Describe how Confucius understands the two central virtues for perfecting human conduct (ritual and benevolence). (3 points)
Required length: min. 200 words
3b. On p. 42 of your reading for February 23, the author Mario Poceski states: [W]e can say that Confucius saw himself primarily as a restorer and transmitter of ancient values and traditions, not as a creator of a new system of thought, let alone a founder of a new religion.” Discuss why Confucius may be understood in this way. (2 points)
Required length: min. 150 words
3c. Explain in what ways Mencius’s and Xunzi’s understanding of human nature and the attainment of goodness differ? (3 points)
Required length: min. 200 words (source poceski)

IV. (6 points)
Using the relevant sources from February 28, explain the Daoist concepts of the Dao and wu-wei (non-action/effortless action).
Required length: min. 300 words (poceski)

V. (6 points)
Using the relevant sources from March 9, describe the main differences between Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen. (ellwood)
Required length: min. 300 words

Bonus question for 2 extra points
What is the meaning of kami in Shintoism? Describe at least two examples that represent a kami. Use the relevant sources from March 7.
Required length: min. 150 words (ellwood)

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