CCU classes

Ronald S. Green

ORCID ID 0000-0002-3872-7649

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Coastal Carolina University
P.O. Box 261954
Conway, SC 29526 USA

office: AOC2 332

office hours - Fall 2018:
T-Th 10:50 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. and Wednesday 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (US eastern)

rgreen@coastal.edu

(843) 349-2782

CCU Buddhism and Asian Religions classes

Asian Religions

RELG 104
Satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement

Buddhism

RELG 320
Intro to the history, theory, practice, and art

Shintō

RELG 491

Hinduism

RELG 324

Yōkai, Ghosts and Monsters of Japan

RELG 399

Advanced Topics in Religious Studies

RELG 600
MALS Graduate Course

Buddhism in Literature and Film

RELG 326

World Religions

RELG 103
Satisfies a Core Curriculum requirement

Hinduism in Literature and Film

RELG 326

Religion in Contemporary American Film

RELG 325

Lives of Hindu and Buddhist Saints

RELG 350

Meditation in Buddhism and Hinduism:
Classical and Modern Dhyāna and Yoga

RELG 399

Haruki Murakami and Religion

RELG 399

Japanese Literature and Visual Culture: religious and historical identity

RELG 491

Adventure Time, The Heroes Journey

RELG 499



Fall 2020 Meditation

Please contact me if you would like guidance or to do Insight Meditation together on Zoom.
rgreen@coastal.edu

Shintō in the History and Culture of Japan
By Ronald S. Green

published by Association for Asian Studies, Key Issues in Asian Studies
ISBN: 9780924304910

After Japanese emperor Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum throne in 2019, he preformed a secretive ritual funded by the state by offering newly harvested rice to the Shintō sun goddess Amaterasu, mythological progenitor of the imperial family, raising controversy and puzzlement both inside Japan and out. This book is a concise overview of Shintō through a survey of its key concepts, related archeological finds, central mythology, significant cultural sites, political dimensions, and historical developments. Its goal is to promote an understanding of Shintō as an enduring cultural phenomenon central to Japan past and present. Readers discover how Shintō honors nature, reveres mountains and rivers as living entities, why it famously asserts that eight million nature spirits, known as kami, surround the Japanese people in their homeland, and how politics have always been central to these positions.

Gyōnen’s Transmission of the Buddha Dharma in Three Countries
By Ronald S. Green and Chanju Mun

published by Brill, Numen Book Series, Volume: 159
ISBN: 978-90-04-37045-6

Gyōnen’s Transmission of the Buddha Dharma in Three Countries is the first English translation of this work and a new assessment of it. Gyōnen (1240-1321) has been recognized for establishing a methodology for the study of Buddhism that would come to dominate Japan. The three countries Gyōnen considers are India, China and Japan. Ronald S. Green and Chanju Mun describe Gyōnen’s innovative doctrinal classification system ( panjiao) for the first time and compare it to other panjiao systems. They argue that Gyōnen’s arrangement and what he chose to exclude served political purposes in the Kamakura period, and thus engage current scholarship on the construction of Japanese Buddhism.

Buddhism Goes to the Movies
Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice
By Ronald S. Green

published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 978-0-415-84148-1

Buddhism Goes to the Movies: Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice explains the basics of Buddhist philosophy and practice through a number of dramatic films from around the world. This book introduces readers in a dynamic way to the major traditions of Buddhism: the Theravāda, and various interrelated Mahāyāna divisions including Zen, Pure Land and Tantric Buddhism. Students can use Ronald Green’s book to gain insights into classic Buddhist themes, including Buddhist awakening, the importance of the theory of dependent origination, the notion of no-self, and Buddhist ideas about life, death and why we are here. Contemporary developments are also explored, including the Socially Engaged Buddhism demonstrated by such figures as the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other Buddhist activists. Finally, comparisons between filmic expressions of Buddhism and more traditional artistic expressions of Buddhism—such as mandala drawings—are also drawn.

Gyōki Bodhisattva (668–749) and Early Japanese Yogācāra

An in-progress biography of the life and legacy of the Bodhisattva Gyōki in light of early Japanese Yogācāra.

Kōbō Daishi Kūkai (774–835) Founder of Japanese Shingon Esoteric Buddhism

An in-progress biography of the life and legacy of Kūkai with a focus on his earlist biographies, subsuquent additions, and hagiographical representations of him as Japan's Buddha.

Kūkai's Poetry

An introduction to Kūkai's poetry with translations.

Henjō hokki shōryōshū (or Seireishū), Divining the Spiritual Nature of Henjō (Kūkai). Annotated translations from the 10th scroll:
  1. Kūkai on the founding of the Shugei Shuchiin School
  2. Kūkai on Master Gonzō
  3. Late Autumn Congratulation to the Great Virtuous Chief Executive of Gangō Temple, Gomyō
  4. Poem on an autumn day offering congratulations to the High Priest and Great Teacher with preface (秋日奉賀僧正大師詩并序)

    5. (in progress, check back later)

  5. Kūkai's Reply to the explanation from the High Priest of Eisan (Saichō)

    6. (in progress, check back later)

  6. Kūkai's Reply to the request of the Dharma Master of Eizan (Saichō) to borrow the Scripture that Transcends the Principle

    7. (in progress, check back later)

  7. Kūkai's Poem on listening to the “Buppōsō” (Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha) bird between midnight and dawn
  8. Kūkai's The Ten Illusions Poem with preface

    (complete but not yet uploaded. Check back soon.)

  9. Kūkai's Nine Aspects (of a decaying corpse) Poem
Towards a translation of all 10 scrolls of the Shōryōshū as a step in rendering the Complete Works of Kōbō Daishi Kūkai into English to exhaust karmic remainders and spread merit.

Buddhist Practices that are good for Mental and Physical Health

Ronald S. Green, PhD
Coastal Carolina University
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
P.O. Box 261954
Conway, SC 29528-6054 USA

"Work out your own salvation with diligence!"
- Buddha's last words to his followers