Buddhist-Based Universities in the United States: Searching for a New Model in Higher Education

Tanya Storch

doi:10.5771/9780739184097

Summary

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.