Oral Presentation Assignment (Mid-Term): The Yoga of Response

 

This is a pretty easy assignment, and is more or less a ‘mid-term exam’ without writing—just plenty of thinking. Think of it as practicing the ‘yoga’ of response and conversation. You can prepare as much as you want before hand, make notes, etc., but during the presentation in my office, I don’t want you to bring any notes or papers or even your book. It’s just you and what you know.

PART ONE: (preparation) Choose ONE of the following passages from the Tao te Ching to respond to using a similar passage (your choice) from The Bhagavad Gita: 

P1: "My teachings are very easy to understand/and very easy to practice/Yet so few in this world understand/and so few are able to practice" (Verse 70)

P2: "The pieces of a chariot are useless/unless they work in accordance with the whole/A man's life brings nothing/unless he lives in accordance with the whole universe/Playing one's part/in accordance with the universe/is true humility" (Verse 39)

P3: "So the Sages say,/fulfill even the lowest position/love even the weakest creature/Then you will be called/"Lord of every offering"/"King of all below Heaven" (Verse 78)

P4: "Without going outside/one can know the world world/Without looking out the window/one can see the ways of Heaven/The farther one goes/the less one knows" (Verse 47)

P5: "He walks about without making footprints in this world/Going about, he does not fear the rhinoceros or the tiger/Entering a battlefield, he does not fear sharp weapons/For in him the rhino can find no place to pitch its horn/The tiger no place to fix its claw/The soldier no place to thrust his blade" (Verse 50)

Your passage could either confirm that the two share the same basic idea about God, Faith, Truth, Desire, Love, etc., or you could use your passage to refute it, and show that the Gita has a different idea or notion about the same thing. Just make sure you use a passage that can respond to the Tao te Ching passage in a way that you can explain and articulate.

PART TWO: (execution) You will schedule a time to come to my office and explain the passage and its connection to the Tao te Ching. However, you MUST memorize the short passage you plan to use from the Bhagavad Gita. This passage should be at least 3 lines long, because that will give you enough to use in your response. I’ll ask you to briefly recite your passage to me before you begin, and then let you explain it however you like. You DO NOT have to memorize the passage from the Tao te Ching, since I’ll have it with me in the office.

After your explanation, I’ll ask you a few follow-up questions to test how well you know the passage and have considered the implications of both texts. I won’t grade you on whether I think you’re right or wrong, just how well you can respond to the ideas. Also, by memorizing the passage, you will ‘see’ it much clearer than if you merely read it once and start writing about it. The more you know it, the easier it will be to talk about.

NOTE: You can use anything we discuss in class or that you write about in your responses for this presentation. Even connections we make in class are valid.

DUE: Anytime the Week of the 20^th, either during class time (I’ll cancel our Wednesday and Friday classes) or during my office hours. I’ll send around a sign-up sheet next Friday.