[clay dube here - i logged in using a test ID to test some things about the system]

Jennifer - thanks for these great ideas. I think other possibilities include exploring how representations of the Buddha vary, including how the Alexander the Greek invasion may have influenced facial features. See this: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/research/undergrads/jivan_kandola_completed_poster_urss.pdf

There is also a change in an important bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, as the faith and representations traveled to East Asia. Here's a book on the subject:
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/becoming-guanyin/9780231548731  A short blog entry by the author: https://cupblog.org/2020/03/03/yuhang-li-on-becoming-guanyin/  And a 10 minute video by the author: https://eastasianarthistory.org/2020/08/10/becoming-guanyin/

The Met has a short comparison of the Virgin Mary and Guanyin as figures of compassion. https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/articles/2021/5/virgin-mary-guanyin
 

The Univ. of Washington web companion to the Ebrey text has images and description of Guanyin.
 

I know I always make the comparisons but that is what we typically do in AP World. Buddhism is a great example to look at religious syncretism and how it shifts to fit the population like Zen Buddhism. That is usually a conversation we have in my class about the warrior culture in Japan and Buddhism also being prevalent. I always like to look at how the Buddha is depicted in different cultures and how temples are structured. We also discuss the blending of Shintoism and Buddhism. I know today we can see this in Japan with places like the Asakusa temple complex in Tokyo which has both a Buddhist temple but also a Shinto shrine. Professor Dube pointed out that blending in our discussion with some people adhering to Shinto rituals sometimes in their life but Buddhist at other times.  

In our discussion I thought it was interesting in our discussion about ‘unclean’ professions and the difference with China about if a son is born to a prostitute that the son is still an heir. I think that is an interesting comparison to make with the adopted children as heirs in Japan but also how very stuck to a ‘blood line’ Europeans are. Going back to our discussion on Korea, that emphasis on status over gender could kind of fit in that conversation.

One question I do have that might not fit this time period… Buddhism and transgender? There was a book I read that focused on transgender and part of it was set in Thailand, where it kind of explained because of the nature of the soul in Buddhism there isn’t technically a gender for the soul. Is that a thing? It wasn’t a historic book. When students ask me about this I know there are some Indigenous American societies where transgender people were ‘of two spirits’. How do these non-western religions deal with that concept.

As I was reading the replies I was going to ask abut the Uyghurs. I teach about the current situation with the Uyghur population in western China. My students and I discuss how when you remove the modern boundaries the Uyghurs aren't an oddity in that geographic region. Was that a region that was conquored under the Qing? I'll definetly check out that link!

Something this session made me think about was the emphasis on SEL - social-emotional learning in our schools, especially in response to the trauma and isolation students have experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I know that one buddhist practice is meditation. Many teachers engage their students in some sort of meditation/mindfulness -- I know I do! I imagine there might be some ways to introduce concepts about religions of east asia as we teach our kids about meditation and where it comes from. Of course the way we practice mediation and mindfulness in elementary schools is very different from how its practiced by actual buddhists and it's very much disconnected from the history of organized religion in east asia but I wonder if sharing some images of meditation, some buddhist texts about mindfulness etc. to root our social-emotional learning in the cultural and religious practices of people throughout time and around the world!

I noticed that we didn’t really discuss Shintoism. I think the continuity of Shintoism in Japan combined with the evolution of Zen Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism is super interesting; how they have all three intertwined in Japanese history. Having visited Japan now it is very visibly apparent that Buddhism and Shintoism coexist, some people consider themselves followers of both. There are Buddhist temples with Shinto shrines on the temple grounds like Asakusa in Tokyo. Walking through neighborhoods, we found small Shinto shrines, that had protectorate shrines for that neighborhood. Culturally I think it is fascinating that these things have continued and still play a role in peoples’ lives. Are there any other places in the world where such things are like that? I’m wracking my brain trying to think of comparable examples…the only thing I can think of are some Native American tribes who still maintain traditions but then might also consider themselves Christian but not having really studied that I’m not sure that would be a coexisting example.

Then politically, the emperor, a descendent of the Shinto deity Amaterasu. I know Hirohito had to give up his claim of divinity after WWII and I’m sure the Japanese people don’t really look at Emperor Nurohito and think he is divine. Today the royal family kind of has a similar role to the British royal family. It is still impressive to have a dynastic line that old. Is Japan as attached to the royal family as some Brits are? (excluding the Scots…)

How do other teachers teach about World Religions? Especially some of the ethnic religions?

I watched the speech on Youtube and understand how Muslim issues in Xinjiang nowadays. Machus were good at conquering areas around China, and Xinjiang is such a challenging issue because of religion and ethnicity. Chinese are much afraid of violence, so creating a safe public space is the priority issue. After watching the lecture on Youtube, I searched for what happened in Tiananmen Square in the year 2013. It was such an awful terrorist attack, but I didn't know until I watched the lecture today. I don't know if any other way is better than re-education to prevent the terrorist. In my opinion, this is a helpful way to save lives and prevent more violent accidents in the future.