Religious Studies Indo-Tibetan Buddhism - Naropa University

Religious Studies Indo-Tibetan Buddhism from Naropa University is a Campus Master Religious Studies degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. The Indo-Tibetan Buddhism concentration is a 45-credit degree with an in-depth study of Tibetan Buddhism and its Indian roots, and a balance between study and the practice of meditation. These students seek personal enrichment and career enhancement through systematic study of Buddhism and applied meditation. Completion of this degree provides a foundation for further academic work in Buddhism and in the humanities, in general, as well as preparation for careers in nonprofit agencies, dharma centers, secondary school teaching and social service, and as adjunct faculty in religious studies at colleges and universities The Indo-Tibetan Buddhism concentration spans two years involving the broad, in-depth study of Buddhism as a spiritual, theological and cultural tradition. Course work emphasizes Indian and Tibetan Buddhism . Selective attention is also given to Buddhism in Southeast and East Asia, and the contemporary West. Tibet played a central role in the development of Buddhism in Asia, preserving the scholastic traditions and texts from its Indian progenitors while deepening the meditative practices and insights from the Indian oral traditions. This Concentration surveys Indian and Tibetan Buddhism with emphasis on textual and meditative lineages, integrating study and practice approaches each semester. The faculty includes Western-trained academics and Acharyas (master teachers) who are steeped in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist practice as well as English-speaking Tibetan lamas extensively trained in their own traditions. The approach of these programs is nonsectarian, scholarly and critical, relying on the best of contemporary Western and traditional Buddhist scholarship. At the same time, they are also informed and nourished by students? ?hands-on? exploration of the major Buddhist meditative traditions and by contact with the living lineages of Asian and Western teachers. The study of Buddhism is carried out within a context of respect for the tradition and appreciation for its humane values and profound spiritual perspectives. The MA Indo-Tibetan Buddhism concentration combines a western-style History of Religions approach and a classic Tibetan Tradition approach to the study of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism in their first year of study. The History of Religions approach includes cultural, social, artistic, historical, phenomenological, and religious perspectives that has been developed over more than twenty-five years of teaching Buddhism to westerners at Naropa University . The Tibetan Tradition approach presents the in-depth foundational material of the traditional educational system of a Tibetan monastic college (shedra), based on the Western-style classes and materials developed at Nitartha Institute since 1995 when it was founded by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. (The Tibetan Tradition Emphasis fulfills the core and intermediate curriculum of Nirtartha Institute.) By the end of their first year, students chose either a History of Religions Emphasis or a Tibetan Tradition Emphasis for their remaining courses in Buddhism . The curriculum of both emphases is arranged according to the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. View more details on Naropa University . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Religious Studies courses.