The Book of Joy chronicles a series of conversations and interactions between two of the world's great spiritual leaders. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the world's most recognizable spiritual icons. Desmond Tutu was the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa. He won a Nobel Peace Prize and played an integral role in helping the people of South Africa move past the era of apartheid. In the book, Archbishop Tutu visits the Dalai Lama's private residence in Dharamsala, India, and they spend about a week together talking about joy. Author Douglas Abrams is responsible for mediating and guiding these conversations, and he has a prominent role in compiling the narrative of the book. Assignment: Students are asked to read The Book of Joy throughout the semester. A suggested reading schedule is given in the syllabus. Alter reading the book, students will write a series of journals responding to the prompts below. In their responses students are expected to quote passages from the book to support their answers. Please use parenthetical citations in MLA format for all direct quotes or paraphrases. Joumal Questions: There are six prompts below. Your response to each prompt should be 200-300 words. This means that the total length of your paper should be 1200-1800 words. Please include your word count at the end of your document Introduction and Day 1: The True Nature of Joy 1. Explain the connection between suffering and a joyful life. 2. Tell me about one or two instances in your personal life when some form of suffering had a positive impact on your life. Days 2 & 3: The Obstacles to Joy 1. Choose two of the obstacles to joy and explain why those things make it difficult to live a happy and fulfilling life. 2. Tell me about one or two instances in your personal life when you had to overcome one or both of the obstacles you discussed above. Days 4 & 5: The Eight Pillars of Joy 1. Choose two of the pillars of joy and explain how those attitudes and actions support a more joyful life. 2. Describe ways you might incorporate the two pillars you discussed above into your daily life in order to help you be more happy, joyful, and fulfilled. Grading Rubric: Uses quotations effectively (10 points) Grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation (10 points) Appropriate word length (10 points) Clear response to each prompt (10 points) Connects book topics to personal experience (10 points)
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