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Readiness Assessment Tests (="RPTs") & Excerpts
The readiness assessment tests are given every two weeks to assess your readiness for the more complex thinking required during team assignments. These tests measure recognition & basic comprehension of (1) essential terms, (2) primary sources, and (3) key images.
NOTE: each RAT takes place after an in-class study session, but before in-depth processing of the reading material in class. Therefore, doing well on RATs requires more than attending the in-class lectures/study sessions. Most students find themselves needing to allow more time than they are used to for reading assigned materials.
Students have an opportunity to raise their RAT score for a given unit after each test by submitting a summary of one of the OPTIONAL readings listed on syllabus, next to the date of the RAT for that unit. Each summary may add up to five (5) points to your RAT score. Any points earned are added directly to the the immediately preceding RAT, except for extra credit done during the introductory unit which is added to RAT #1a.
In order to receive full credit, these summaries must concisely and insightfully incorporate the following:
Other Requirements:
Excerpts (from required primary sources):
for RAT
#0 (Trial)
(based on EB (TBA) & on-line readings:"Dimensions
of Culture,"
"Land & People," and "Festivals: the Tsam Ceremony")
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"...seven concentric circles were drawn in chalk inside a clearly marked square. In the center of these circles, an open tent or canopy was erected in which was installed the zor, a pyramid made of dough and crowned by a skull. At the beginning of the ceremony, the lingka, a doll made of dough, was placed next to the zor. The dances started with a performance by two...figures wearing skull masks and skeleton costumes....through their dance rituals and the mantras they repeated, the pavilion and objects enshrined in it were transformed into a mystic Charnel Ground where the desire that is the root of rebirth is extinguished and where higher knowledge can be obtained.... Afterwards, other groups of characters wearing demonic masks appear and dance around the zor, banishing all evil by driving it into the lingka.
"'There are many Korean generals. General Kwa Nun Jan from China comes; many kinds of generals come, we worship Japanese generals too. Even the spirit of Genghis Khan is worshipped.' In her home, [she] keeps a special shrine dedicated to General Che Yong, who died as a national hero in 1388. His image on the wall overlooks the many costumes and traditional weapons the shaman uses to entertain her general's spirit during a ritual of possession called 'kut.' ...When shamans invite the spirits of Changun to possess them, they exhibit behaviors very different from those of their daily lives, including some traditionally considered masculine."
"The final character to appear in the Tsam square was Yama, God of the Realm of Death and Supreme Judge of the Dead whom the Mongols call Erlig Khan. He usually appeared wearing a Buffalo mask, with a lasso for catching souls in one hand and a skeleton-shaped scepter in the other. His arrival at the head of the possession constituted the climax of the ritual. Mongolian masks symbolizing the actual presence of a deity never have their eyes pierced. The performers therefore had to look through the mouths of the masks, adding extra height to the performer. As the temporary residence of gods and demons, masks are like statues and treated as sacred objects. When not in use, they were stored in monasteries and paid homage to in daily rituals."
[TOP]
for RAT #1a
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"Your glory shall exceed that of all ages. In your kingdom there will be the singing of hymns and preaching of the most exalted kind. Previously people performed austerities for a hundred thousand years in order to obtain liberation, but in your age if anyone meditates on the divine Name with undivided concentration for a few short minutes, that person will be liberated."
"Bronze
shines brightly, but rub it and it sheds an inky black.
Though I clean it a hundred times, polishing will never remove its stain.
O
heedless one! They are my real friends who accompany me now and who will
accompany me into the hereafter,
Who, where accounts are demanded, will stand and give an account of good
deeds done.
Houses, temples, and palaces may be colorful without,
But let them collapse and they are useless and empty."
"Fully
realizing that one's birth and lineage are ultimately without meaning,
he took birth in a lowly clan at the order of the Lord. If devotion toward
[that Lord] can occur in the lowest of classes, how much more the possibilities
among the self-consciously righteous, say all of the scriptures. If one
is born in to the highest ranks but does not worship [that Lord], what
can be done for his clan as he sinks into Hell? In order to bear direct
witness of all of these scriptural truths did [he] take birth in a lowly
lineage."
"...if he saw anyone going out in the rain in imminent danger of catching and perishing of pneumonia, he would let him face his fate rather than offer him the protection of his umbrella. He felt furious when people thought that they could ask for an umbrella. 'They will be asking for my skin next,' he often commented when his wife found fault with him for his attitude. Another argument he advanced was, 'Do people ask for each other's wives? Don't they manage to have one for themselves? Why shouldn't each person in the country buy his own umbrella?'"
"...the daughter-in-law said to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, 'Clean everything in the house and bathe and have the band play and put on good clothes and I also will dress in finery and pearls.' When all these preparations were complete, she told them to be seated together [as a couple would for a religious ritual or for their child's wedding]. Then she went and stood in front of the closed locked doors and prayed..."
"...it was the earliest house to be built in that area. [His] father was considered a hero for settling there in a lonely place where there was supposed to be no security for life or property. Moreover it was built on the fringe of a cremation ground, and often the glow of a burning pyre lit up its walls. After the death of the old man the brothers fell out, their wives fell out, and their children fell out. They could not tolerate the idea of even breathing the same air or being enclosed by the same walls.... Everything that could be cut in two with an axe or scissors or a knife was divided between them, and the other things were catalogued, numbered and then shared out."
[TOP]
for RAT #2a
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"Upon
hearing the bell,
Vexations are lightened'
Wisdom is strengthened,
Bodhi is produced;
We escape from hell,
Leaving the fiery pit.
May I attain buddhahood,
And save living beings."
"On the day of the new moon of this month of this year,...I...presume to report clearly to your honor...:The succession of atmospheric forces flows and changes. The time now is the middle of spring. When we think back with gratitude...we cannot overcome our long-term longings. We presume to take this pure offering of a soft-haired animal, a vessel of millet, and sweet wine, and respectfully present them.... Please enjoy them along with the associated spirits...' When finished, he rises...."
"When you hear the long sounding of the [signal] board, take down your bowls. When raising your body, get up straight and stand still. Only then may you turn your body, making sure to follow the person above you... [Gesture with] palms joined and then take your bowls. One hand holds the bowls while the other hand releases the hook: the left hand holds [the bowls]. With the left hand holding [the bowls], turn your body. Lower your body in a proper crouch, and set down the bowls. Avoid bumping into others with your hips back."
"By this time the tea was ready. The traveler filled a small cup and asked Zhou to drink. Zhou declined, saying, 'For many days I have not been able to consume even small amounts.' The traveler replied, 'This tea is not the same. Pleasee try it.' Zhou then drank two cups without any trouble. He felt his energy suddenly renewed. The traveler advised him, saying: 'When you return home, it is best to drink rice soup at first, then eat only diluted rice gruel. After seven days you can eat and drink normally.'"
"The three schools--Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism--are like the signboards hung outside three shops. In reality they are all sellers of mixed provisions; they all sell fuel, rice, oil, salt. But the shop belonging to the Confucian family is bigger; the Buddhist and Daoist shops are smaller. There is nothing they don't stock in all the shops.....All teachings have two layers: one can be called the surface teaching, one the inner teaching. The inner teachings are all the same: the surface teachings are all different. So Buddhist monks shave their heads; Taoist priests do their hair up in a coil; you can tell at a glance which is Buddhist and which is Taoist. If you ask the Buddhist monk to keep his hair and do it up in a coil and wear a feather-trimmed coat, and the Taoist preist to shave his hair and put on a gown of camlet, then people will call them by the opposite names."
"That night I went to the edge of the river to throw in a memorial to the Ear of the Sea on which I had written the name of the office which I held in my dreams, but my heart failed me and I was too embarassed to do it. Suddenly clouds converged swiftly from the four directions and wind and thunder roared. A clerk bowed before me, saying, 'The Judge of Fates should transfer his residence.' I said, 'That is not me. I am the son of old Mister Zhang, named Ya....' The clerk said, 'I have been commanded to speed you on your way.' I said, "What about the members of my family?' The clerk said, 'Let us first go to your headquarters.' I was confused and had not yet made up my mind. The clerk with a bow bade me mount a white donkey and I was gone."
[TOP]
for RAT #3a
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"O, housebuilder...! Before I was enlightened I traveled through many cycles of birth and death, and for an infinite number of lifetimes I experienced suffering. O, housebuilder! Now I have seen you. Hereafter you will not build a house.... Having broken the crossbeams and destroyed the peak of the roof of that house, I have attained to nirvana, and am freed from all conditions. I have attained to the transcendental state of the destruction of the intoxicants in which all grasping is destroyed."
"On the preparatory day, make a gold throne that supports the three white substances (curds, milk, butter). Doqq not eat from bronze vessels, leaves, or the palm of your hand. In the afternoon, take tea without sugar or honey. Apart from that do not eat suitable (foods for the morning, such as) curds, milk., or fruit. At dawn..., you being to observe silence."
"I
prostrate respectfully with my body, speech and mind...
I present all real and imagined offerings.
I confess all sins accumulated from beginningless time.
I rejoice at the virtues of ordinary and holy beings.
[I entreat you to] remain until cyclic existence is emptied.
I request you to turn every dharma wheel for the sake of beings.
I dedicate all my and others' virtues to the great enlightenment.
"
for RAT #3b
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"Toward the end of the war he had been drafted, but he fell ill after several days of labor at an airfield and came home at the end of the war....After her husband had been drafted, she stayed with her parents. They had left the city to avoid the bombings. Their household goods had long since been sent away. As the house where their married life began had been burned down, they had rented a room in the home of a friend..."
"Mencius's words are specific for one situation; how can you take them to be unchanging for all time? This is clear because when Mencius explained the five types of unfilial behavior, he did not include not having an heir as part of the list. It also is said that Mencius wished to explain how Shun did not inform his parents of his marriage because Shun feared his parents would stop his marriage, thus preventing him from having an heir. Even if that was not the reason for Mencius making the statement about having an heir, his words still must be viewed as conditional, because having a child is dependent upon causes and conditions."
"At the very beginning, Heaven and Earth were truly pure essences. Thus the age of the kami began from one single kami. Even when there were male and female kami it is said there were no sexual relations. It is clear that the interaction of yin and yang resulted in the pollution of Heaven and Earth as well as the birth of the myriad things and human beings."
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