Master in Mahayana Buddhism

Masters in Mahāyāna Buddhism is a 60-credit hour degree program divisible into four semesters. It features the combination of both theoretical and practical instructions. This syllabus meets the requirements of the studies on Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the semester model by concentrating on the Mahāyāna (both Sūtra and Tantra) Buddhist philosophy and Newar Buddhism of Nepalmaṇḍala, it also includes Buddhist history, Buddhist Arts, Iconography, Epigraphy, Architecture, Archaeology etc. It lays a special emphasis on indepth study on Sanskrit Buddhist Literature. Furthermore, it also includes the subjects like world religion and its philosophy, Buddhism in East Asia etc. For the study of Buddhist Sanskrit literature, it features the study of Sanskrit language. It enhances student’s serious understanding and study on those subjects and offers skills, knowledge, and competency in academic research and practical assimilation and prepare them for further studies in Ph.D.

Course Objectives:

• To introduce the students to the Śākyamuni Buddha’s life, his three dharmacakra Pravartana including Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna councils
• To impart a sound knowledge on the origin of Nepalmaṇḍala and the significant development of Newar Buddhism in Nepalmaṇḍala, Buddhism of Northern and Western Nepal
• To enable the students to undertake an indepth study of Buddhist Sanskrit Literature
• To provide fundamental ideas, meaning, techniques and philosophy in Buddhist Art, Iconography and Rituals
• To provide knowledge of Buddhism of East Asia and World Religion and Philosophy
• To introduce the students on Buddhist Archaeology, Astrology, Museulogy and Buddhist Tourism in Nepal
• To equip the students with the methods on Buddhist Research in Nepal

Admission Criteria:

Students from any discipline having passed a Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent from any recognized university are eligible to apply for admission to a Master’s degree program. Eligible candidates may apply to LBU by filling out an online application form available online. Admission to the program will take place on a Semester basis. To be eligible for the program, the candidate needs to appear for a written entrance examination followed by an interview. The maximum number of candidates for the Master’s degree program in Buddhism is set to 35 students per class.

Teaching Methods:

The teaching methods consist of lectures, discussion sessions, oral and written presentations, audio-visual, term papers, seminar papers, book reviews and field visits. Each professor will follow a method of teaching and provide appropriate material at hand.

Assessment Methods:

Each course will be evaluated against 50 marks. Its marks are divided into 60:40 percent. The students should appear in the term-end examination to be held by the University for 60 percent Marks. The internal evaluation will be based on constant monitoring of the supervisor and the teachers using specified tools. The class professor will be responsible for conducting the internal assessment. The pass marks in each subject will be 50 percent.

Fee Structure:  According to related campus