Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Monastic Education and Its Contemporary Adaptations Since 1959

Abstract

This article surveys the academic literature on Tibetan Buddhist monastic education, covering both its development inside Tibet prior to 1959, when the fourteenth Dalai Lama fled into exile, and its revival and adaptations since that time. Academic works on monastic education before 1959 examine important landmarks from the 11th until the 20th centuries, including the innovative approaches pioneered at Sangpu Neutok, the contributions of Sakya Paṇḍita, the rise of Geluk monastic education, and the later development of non‐Geluk shedras in the Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu orders. There are also notable academic debates concerning the valid application of the category of ‘scholasticism’ to traditional Tibetan Buddhist educational contexts. In general, traditional Geluk monastic education has been more thoroughly researched than the monastic education of the other orders, though recent studies have started to correct this imbalance. The literature on contemporary monastic education discusses several adaptations to traditional approaches, including the award of degrees modelled on those at secular universities, the expansion of curricula to include modern subjects such as science, and the establishment of unprecedented educational programmes for nuns. Contemporary developments in the subcontinental nations of India, Nepal and Bhutan have, however, received greater academic attention those in the Tibetan regions of China. Thus, while the academic field is quite vibrant, with a wide range of publications on several important topics, a number of research gaps remain that could be fruitfully filled by subsequent research.