MAITRIPA COLLEGE MASTERS OF ARTS IN BUDDHIST STUDIES: LEARNING OUTCOMES (Rv. August 2009)
Philosophy & Language
Students will have a sophisticated understanding of the fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy, the issues at stake for Buddhist philosophers, and the approaches Tibetan and Western scholars take toward understanding this body of work. Students will be familiar with the history, authors, and texts significant in the development of Buddhist thought in
India
and Tibet.
Students will be qualified members of the community of Buddhist scholars, and able to understand, participate in, and contribute to ongoing dialogue with their peers in the field of Buddhist Studies. Students will be knowledgeable of and comfortable using current methodologies in Buddhist Studies.
In keeping with Maitripa’s broad aim of making Tibetan knowledge available to Western world, students will have basic proficiency in Classical Tibetan and, if they choose to pursue advanced Tibetan studies, be able to read, understand, and work within a wide range of classical genres from the tradition. Students will have the ability to refer directly to sources written in Classical Tibetan, and will have familiarity with philosophical, historical, and literary genres. Students will also possess mastery of the fundamentals of translation methodology.
Meditation
Students will have solid awareness and fluency in the terminology of the vast corpus of techniques and practices of Buddhist meditation. Students will be able to identify appropriate meditation practices to combat specific psychological problems and apply them to their own minds.
Social Service
Students will be able to assess community needs, develop strategies for meeting those needs, and actively work to bring concrete benefit to their communities through the practice of social service. Students will be able to integrate Buddhist concepts of compassion, patience, joyous effort, and so forth into their work in the world.