The Karmapa International Buddhist Institute and its Buddhist Studies Program, KIBI Part 2

The Buddhist Studies Program of the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute

In my last post, I started to present the Buddhist Studies program at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi. Having already introduced the institute's history, its location and infrastructure, I will now turn to the academic program itself.

Karma Kagyu headquarter: KIBI, New Delhi (source: www.kibsociety.org)

Academic Program of the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute

Each academic year consists of two semesters: a fall semester from October to December, and a spring semester from January to March. The full diploma program covers a wide range of topics over a three-year period. These include Buddhist languages (e.g. Tibetan and Sanskrit), history and culture, Buddhist religion, meditation and philosophy.

„Way beyond words!“

Sophie

KIBI’s academic staff combines the expertise of renowned scholars trained in both traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastic institutions and modern universities in India and abroad, representing the state-of-the-art in Buddhist studies. 

Some of the courses, particularly those which cover various Buddhist philosophical treatises, are offered by Tibetan Khenpos (either in English or Tibetan with English interpretation). Intellectually, they can be very demanding as this wonderful illustration by Katja shows.

A typcial KIBI student?

“This drawing perfectly represents the state of mind I experienced studying Tsema (Buddhist Epistemology) and the Madhyamaka Alankara during my second year in KIBI, when I painted this. Those were indeed ‘Golden Years’.”

Katja

Under the guidance of the institute's director Professor Sempa Dorje and the principal, Professor Lara Braitstein, a rich and interesting introduction to Buddhist studies is offered. The curriculum is designed so that students will gain a deep understanding of both Buddhist religious practice and the academic study of Buddhism. The following chart is an overview over the KIBI curriculum of 2013/2014.

Buddhist Studies at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI), New Delhi - Buddhist Studies Part 3

Studying Buddhism at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi - Buddhist Studies Part 3

Introduction

KIBI, main building

This post is the third in a series on Buddhist Studies and aims at giving you some idea what it’s like to engage in Buddhist Studies at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI) in New Delhi, India. After attempting in my first post on Buddhist Studies to answer the question of why one would engage at all in Buddhist Studies, I recently presented several good reasons for doing Buddhist Studies at the Universityof Vienna. 

Thus, having already given you an example of an esteemed Western academic institution offering a program in Buddhist Studies, this article will now present a corresponding program at a private Buddhist institute: the KIBI in New Delhi. This program might be particularly interesting for practicing Buddhists who want to study under the guidance of Buddhist masters and in close contact with the living Buddhist tradition.

I have chosen to introduce this particular institute for the simple reason that I’ve studied there myself. Therefore, the institute is quite familiar to me, and I feel comfortable telling you about the program. Instead of merely presenting my own personal view, I asked some of my former co-students and friends to contribute by sharing some of their experiences and feelings about the program.

“One learns true words of wisdom that are still applicable in one’s life years after.”

Sabrina

Karmapa Award for Buddhist Studies

Karmapa Award for Buddhist Studies

 

Karmapa Award, a Great opportunity

Karmapa International Buddhist Society recently announced the introduction of the "Karmapa Award for Buddhist Studies". Since I am unaware how many people actually noticed it, I decided to bring it up here. It is a great opportunity for graduate students in the field of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies.

Awarded on an annual basis

This annual prize is awarded on behalf of the newly formed KIBS Europe e. V. in cooperation with the Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna (read about the institute here). It primarily honors excellent PhD theses, but outstanding MA theses will also be considered.

©Maria Maysova

A valuable prize

The laureate will not only receive a substantial prize money worth 1000€, but can also stay one month free of cost (including room and board, excluding airfare) at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi, to engage in further research or study.

 

If you finished your MA or PhD thesis not more than 2 years ago, you are eligible. Deadline for the Karmapa Award 2014 is March 31st.

Further details of the award (can also be downloaded here):

Karmapa Award for Buddhist Studies

Karmapa International Buddhist Society (KIBS) announces the establishment of a yearly “Karmapa Award for Buddhist Studies” in cooperation with the Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna. The prize is awarded on behalf of KIBS Europe e.V. to honor excellent PhD theses in the field of Buddhist studies, particularly works focusing on topics related to the Kagyu (bka’ brgyud) traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and Mahāmudrā doctrine. Outstanding MA theses may also be considered.

Eligible dissertations contain original research that advances the field, and need to be based on relevant primary language(s). Please note that no more than two years should have elapsed since the awarding of the PhD(/MA) degree at the time of the submission deadline. 

The award consists of a prize worth 1000 € as well as a four week stay free of cost (including room and board, but excluding transportation/air travel) for research and study at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, New Delhi.

Young researchers of the international scientific community are invited to apply by email to award@kibseurope.org. Please attach the following documents:

-          Motivation letter

-          Short CV (including full contact information)

-          Short summary of the dissertation (around 1000 words)

-          Digital copy of the dissertation

Further details:

-          The dissertation may be written in English, German or French

-          Submission deadline: March 31^st

Eight good reasons for engaging in Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in Vienna

Eight good reasons for engaging in

Tibetan and Buddhist Studies in Vienna - Buddhist Studies, Part 2

 

Introduction

This post will give you a good idea what it’s like to engage in Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. In an earlier post on Buddhist Studies I tried to answer the question why one would at all engage in Buddhist Studies. So, in case you still take that into consideration, you might wonder what would be a good place for doing so. 

Suppose you want to dedicate yourself full-time to studies, you basically have two options: you can either enroll in a Buddhist Studies program at a Western university or enter a private institution run by a Buddhist society. Both approaches do have their pros and cons, but I am planning to dedicate a separate post to this subject at a later time.

ISTB, Vienna

Let’s say for the moment you consider studying at a Western university. There are of course a lot of Buddhist Studies programs worldwide to choose from, but only a few of them belong to the circle of leading institutions of the field. I will not make any judgment, stating which University belongs to this group and which doesn’t. Still, the program of the Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (ISTB) of the University of Vienna is certainly among them.

I have chosen to introduce this particular institute simply for the reason that I’ve spent a large part of my studies there. Therefore, I really do have an idea how the program is like. No doubt, other institutes might have an equally good offer, and I am very interested to learn about that.  

Please, feel free to share your own experiences, either about the program in Vienna or your own institute! You can do so by commenting at the end of this post, but you can also send me a short article about your institute by Email. I will do my best to publish it here in near future.

Eight good reasons for choosing Vienna

 

1. The location

If you have never visited Vienna before, you really should. It is for good reason that Mercer has ranked Vienna for the fourth time in a row as the number one most livable city in the world.  

Not much to add, it is really a wonderful place to be. You can get some impressions here. If you do not come here for your studies, you should at least come for some sight-seeing once. 

Buddhism is also a state-recognized religion in Austria which goes along with a lot of benefits. It for example means that schools are obliged to offer Buddhist religious classes upon demand. Hence, some students may already have a good knowledge of the subject prior to their studies.

Buddhist studies, Part 1 - Why Buddhist Studies?

Taking the decision to engage in Buddhist studies is a step with far-reaching consequences. If you happen to live in a Western country without a traditional Buddhist background, you should be prepared for the following question: 

“Buddhist studies – Wow! But what do you do with that once you are finished! Can you live from that”

You might want to have some good responses at hand, because you will be confronted with this question as soon as you inform your relatives and friends about your decision to engage in Buddhist studies. Here is my favorit suggestion:

“True. There is not much jobs out there for Buddhologists. Luckily, there isn’t that many of us either and so it is a fair match. “

The following answer is of course possible as well:

“There is no answer to this, because the question is already wrong. There is actually no end to Buddhist studies, because they go on and on.”

That is very true indeed. Buddhist studies are a life-long enterprise, but isn’t that great? Anyway, here’s another possible answer: