Lecturer:
Head of dept.: Prof. Geshe Jampa Kunchog.
Co-lecturer: Geshe Jamyang Tashi
Practice: classmates
Languages:
Lectures: Tibetan and English
Debates: Tibetan and English (primarily Tibetan)
Prerequisites for study:
- Completing preliminary alphabet/ reading class when necessary.
- Registration to the first year of the 1st-cycle program in Tibetan language and grammar.
- Recommended donation fee or comparable compensation must be arranged.
Content (Syllabus outline):
Concepts and values of the Buddhist heritage and in particular of the
bsdus-grwa study:
- The importance of understanding Buddhist fundamental philosophical concepts as they are presented in the bsdus-grwa literature for study of extensive and profound Buddhist canonical scriptural literature.
- The importance of in-depth understanding of fundamental Buddhist concepts for the purpose of philosophical translations and preservation of Tibetan Buddhist heritage.
- The importance of good understanding of fundamental Buddhist concepts for one’s personal Tibetan Buddhist practice in everyday life – integral aspect of Buddhist philosophy.
- The value and importance of debate as a means of gaining insight through education as well as means of sharpening one’s mental capabilities.
Methods of Tibetan Buddhists study, reasons for it and the need for preservation of the methodology, not only the scriptural artifacts. The trinity of listening, reflecting on it (including through debates) and meditation (internalization). Learning the structure and fundamental principles of Buddhist debate.
Developing a template for disseminating and preserving classical Tibetan Buddhist University study in the West.
Resources:
- ཡངས་འཛིན་བྱམས་པ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྒྱལ་མཚོས་: སྡུས་གྲྭའྲི་རྣམ་བཞག་རྲིགས་ལམ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་ལྡེ་མྱིག་ཅྡེས་བྱ་བ་. སེར་བྱེས་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁོངས་ནས། ༡༩༧༩་
- Other practice material that a teacher might provide
- Oral transmissions and explanations
- Debate sessions under supervision of teachers
- Debate sessions among students
Objectives and competences:
Main objectives:
- Acquisition of basic knowledge in the fields of comprehending, debating and meditating on the fundamental concepts of Tibetan Buddhism.
- Learning definitions, division, classifications, synonyms and antonyms utilized in (Tibetan) Buddhist philosophy.
- Learning the structure, methods, principles and objectives of debate.
- Practicing sharpening one’s mind through debates and both types of meditation (analytical and stabilizing).
- Developing a foundation for further study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and science of mind.
- Developing a basic overview of Buddhist principles, crucial for contemplative practice in accordance with Tibetan Buddhism.
- Connecting and utilizing traditional Buddhist knowledge with the needs of contemporary world.
- The foundations of conservation movable and immovable heritage of Tibetan Buddhism and presenting its value to different audiences, scholarly and non-scholarly alike.
- Building the foundation for further research into these fields of study.
Subject specific competences:
- Leaning Tibetan philosophical terminology related to the subject (required for ordained students, voluntary but recommended to lay students),
- The ability to debate the subject matter and to participate in such debates with the students at Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Universities,
- The ability to recognize and assert heritage protection values, along with the current social potential of Tibetan Buddhist philosophical heritage and to participate in the projects of their protection and preservation.
Learning and teaching methods:
Lectures with the presentation of the written material and oral transmission and commentary (explanation) on each section. Guided debates under supervision of a teacher. Debate practice sessions among students. Individual learning. Interactive learning / teaching, access to recorded video material when needed.
Assessment:
Until SICGU is accredited, students can receive certificates. Yet, in accordance with the monastic tradition, this is not done for each singular year, but for a series of years to ensure consistency and dedication. Nevertheless, criteria are already established:
