State Pariyatti Sasana University of Mandalay (SPSU), one of the first two Buddhist Universities, is a Buddhist institution, founded by Mingun Sayadaw Bhaddanta Viccittasarabhivamsa under the instruction of State Samgha Mahanayaka Committee with the aim of emergence of monks who are able to do missionary work at home and abroad, and it was opened on 21, August, 1986. This University under the guidance of Bhaddanta Jotikabhivamsa as the first Rector, and Bhaddanta Sitthila the registrar, commenced Sasanatakkasila Mahadhammacariya (M.A, Buddhism) Degree programme joined with the 3 faculties - Vinaya, Suttanta and Abhidhamma - and including 19 teachers administrative personnel and 37 student-monks, who had to study the subjects for 2 years fixed with writing thesis within 3 years.
In 1989 (1351 ME), Sasanatakksila Dhammacariya (B.A, Buddhism) Degree programme was started to change for the students who had passed the Pathamagyi-level examination. To them, 4 years for the academic learning are fixed with term paper of pages 50 to 100 and meditation practice for ten days after their final examination. Apart from the three faculties as the main subjects, Departments of Pāli Literature, Myanmar Literature, English and Propagation of Buddhist Desana were extended as the minor subjects. The University now offers Sasanatakksila Dhammacariya (B.A, Buddhism), Sasanatakksila Mahadhammacariya (M.A, Buddhism) and Ph.D. (Sasanatakkasila Dhamma Paragu) Degree.
More than that, the University provides a month course on traditional medicine for the fourth-year students and third-year students and, encourages the development of religious spirits to the monks, having passed the final examination, who are going to work in the missionary work at the border and remote areas and before presenting a thesis, sends them to practice meditation under the guidance of meditators at Mahasi Meditation Centre.
The International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, founded in 1996, is still a relatively new and small institution, but it provides an ideal educational and research environment for the philological study of Buddhism.
This is firmly anchored in the study of the classical languages in which the Buddhist texts have been transmitted: Sanskrit and Pali in South Asia, various Central Asian languages and Tibetan in Inner Asia, Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, and Japanese in East Asia.
This site constitutes a bibliography of the philosophical literature of India during its classical phase and the secondary material on this literature that is available (for the most part) in English.
Book by T. W. Rhys Davids.
| Compiled by Patrick S. O'Donnell (Adjunct Instructor, Dept. of Philosophy, Santa Barbara City College 2003). |
| 1. General; |
| 2. The Theravada Tradition; |
| 3. The Mahayana Tradition; |
| 4. Ch'an/Zen Buddhism; |
| 5. Tibetan Buddhism; |
| 6. Buddhism in Asia; |
| 7. Buddhism outside Asia; |
| 8. Social & Political Topics; |
| 9. Buddhism and the Arts; |
| 10. Autobiographies, Dictionaries. |
The Buddhist Scholars Information Network (H-Buddhism) serves as a medium for the exchange of information regarding academic resources, new research projects, scholarly publications, university job listings, and so forth, for specialists in Buddhist Studies who are currently affiliated with academic institutions. It is not a list intended for general discussions of issues regarding Buddhism as a religion, philosophy, practice, or lifestyle (there is a wide variety of lists on the Internet that already serve this purpose), nor a list where non-specialists may pose queries. People who are not specialists in Buddhist Studies can access messages from H-Buddhism through this web site, but they can neither subscribe nor post their own messages.
Compiled by Mikael Aktor from the results of a query placed on H-Buddhism.
An article by David McMahan.
The doctrinal differences between the sutras of the Pali canon and the Mahayana sutras composed in South Asia have been widely commented on and debated by scholars, but seldom has attention been given to what the strikingly contrasting literary styles of the Pali and Mahayana sutras themselves might reveal about Buddhism in South Asia.
Article by T. W. Rhys Davids on the early Buddhist schools.
A bibliography of the Sri Lankan form of Theravada, from the Journal of Buddhist Ethics.
A scholastic article by Rhys Davids, published in The Buddhist Review 1:1 1909. It examines various acpects of Buddhism with the dispassionate eye of Science, and compares that with Christianity and other ancient beliefs.
This Map of India gives some perspective to the life of the Buddha and the monks as they wandered throughout the Ganges valley, or even further afield, to spread the teaching about the path to nibb?na.
Aims:
* To study and describe the history of the Buddhist literature of South-East Asia;
* To collect information about and to prepare catalogues of manuscripts, inscriptions, ancient documents, and mural paintings related to Buddhism;
* To edit and publish texts in Pali or vernaculars that have not yet been published;
* To translate texts from Pali or vernaculars into English, Thai, and other languages;
* To coordinate and exchange information regionally and internationally.
This bibliography is meant to serve as a preliminary guide to the main scholarly accounts on the history, development and state of affairs of Buddhism in the U.S.A. and Canada.
The Internet Guide to Buddhism and Buddhist Studies.
Article by Gil Fronsdal.
Among the various and varied Buddhist meditative disciplines taught in the United States, Insight Meditation, or vipassana, has been, since the early 1980s, one of the fastest growing in popularity. To a great extent this can be attributed to the practice being offered independent of much of its traditional Theravada Buddhist religious context. This autonomy has allowed the American vipassana teachers and students to adapt and present the meditation practice in forms and language that are much more thoroughly Westernized than most other forms of Buddhism in America. As the number of people participating in the mindfulness practices of Insight Meditation has increased, a loose-knit lay Buddhist movement, uniquely Western, that is sometimes known as the "vipassana movement," has evolved.
The resplendent and ever beautiful isle we know as Sri Lanka has a rich historical record. The Short history of Ceylon by H. W. Codrington, B.A. (Oxon.) F.R.N.S. of the Ceylon Civil Service published in 1926, gives the history till 1833 in about 50,000 words.
First, it is an exceptionally comprehensive discussion of Indian Buddhism, treating its history, doctrine, and bibliography with an admirable degree of completeness. Most of the significant topics in Indian Buddhism are discussed in some detail. Second, it is a very clearly written text. Because Hirakawa wrote it with students as the intended audience, he composed it in a style that could be readily understood by students and informed general readers.
The study aims to examine two issues: first the formation, development, and social impact of Buddhadasa's movement; and second the implications of modernization in Thai society. These two issues will be treated as closely interrelated. The main questions are the following:
(1)Why and under what conditions did Buddhadasa's movement come about?
(2)What type of movement is it?
(3)How did the movement develop and what were the factors which promoted and inhibited its development?
(4)What is its function for the members, and why does it appear to be most meaningful for the intellectuals?
(5)What is the social impact of the movement?
The particular hypothesis of this study is that Buddhadasa's movement has had and will continue to have a significant social impact on Thai society.
By James J. Hughes (Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago) and Damien Keown (Goldsmiths, University of London).
This article provides an introduction to some contemporary issues in medical ethics and the literature which addresses them from a Buddhist perspective.
