Buddhist-Based Universities in the United States
Searching for a New Model in Higher Education
By (author) Tanya Storch
Not available to order
Publication date:
05 May 2015Length of book:
136 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9780739184097
Buddhist-Based Universities in the United States: Searching for a New Model in Higher Education investigates in depth four American Buddhist universities, namely, the Dharma Realm Buddhist University, the University of the West, the Soka University of America, and the Naropa University, all of which offer degrees in liberal arts and professional fields, and at the same time educate their students in the philosophy and practices of Buddhism. Buddhist universities in the United States are unique because there are no comparable universities based on the philosophy and practices of other Asian religions also popular in the United States, such as Hinduism, Confucianism, or Sikhism. Even the Jewish community has created only two universities in which professional skills and liberal arts are taught from the position of the moral-philosophical principles of Judaism. This book presents the institutional history and academic programs of four Buddhist universities in America and analyzes Buddhist-based pedagogical principles, as well as teaching and learning techniques, which can be very useful for other colleges and universities in the United States.
This groundbreaking book is of the utmost importance for American academia. In an era marked by constant distraction and the commodification of knowledge, Buddhist Universities in the United States have found ways to imbue education with the values of mindfulness, interrelatedness of all life, and right motivation for education. Through an extensive examination of four Buddhist universities and input from other major institutions such as the GTU Institute of Buddhist Studies, Professor Storch shows how this pedagogical shift is achieved, why it is successful, and how it functions in the student life. This important work does, in fact, offer a 'New Model in Higher Education.'