Buddhist University Research Articles

Mentoring LGBT Students: Perspectives from Volunteers at a Taiwanese Buddhist University

ABSTRACT An increasing number of studies related to LGBT inclusion on university campuses have emerged over the past few years. While a number of these studies address complex challenges encountered in Western religious universities, very little research has investigated religious universities in Eastern, Sinophone communities. This study sheds light on a mentor system at a prominent Buddhist university in Taiwan to investigate mentors’ understandings of and interactions with LGBT students. Through the use of both qualitative and quantitative measures, the researchers found very few mentors were even aware of interactions with LGBT students. A thematic analysis of focus group data found the mentors’ understandings and attitudes could be classified into three distinct categories ranging from very supportive to unintentionally discriminatory. Overall, it seems Confucian values, rather than Buddhist doctrines, is a far more influential factor on mentors’ understandings and attitudes toward LGBT individuals. In particular, conflicts between Confucian thought and LGBT inclusive practices may arise when individuals concurrently display a strong desire to help, Confucian understandings of “family,” and very little understanding of gender or sexuality. Finally, this study offers recommendations for future research and universities.

The History of the Myeongjin School (1906–1910): A Critical Examination of Korean Buddhism’s First Modern Educational Institution within the Pre-Colonial Context

During the operation of the Myeongjin School, it not only employed many leading Buddhist progressives, but graduated key Buddhist reformers. Overcoming conservative opposition within the Korean Buddhist community, during its brief operation the Myeongjin School would open dozens of branches at temples throughout Korea, prompting a proliferating modern education throughout its Buddhist community. Over the century, the institute founded as the Myeongjin School suffered repeated closures during Korea’s Japanese Annexation only to emerge from the Korean War as Dongguk University Seoul. As Korea’s oldest and largest Buddhist university, Dongguk has produced over 350,000 graduates and, despite transitioning to a more secular approach to education, it remains a leading center for monastic education, Buddhist studies, and intellectual culture. This article examines, in detail, the origins, founding, and operation of the Myeongjin School within the dynamic political and religious context of Korea’s early modern period, in addition to the school’s impact, subsequent history, and legacy.

Ancient Taxila University: Dispelling Myths and Misconceptions

The bell of the world's first university in Taxila has been ringing incessantly. However, concrete evidence and historical impacts are yet to be found. Nevertheless, references to a prestigious educational institution in Taxila are frequently encountered in texts. The Buddhist storytellers of South India have selected distant Taxila as the "University Town" to fulfill the demands of the story. After the decline of Taxila and other Buddhist cities at the hands of Mehrkula in the sixth century A.D., the organization and structuring of Hindu literature began to be carried out with great zeal and enthusiasm. Taxila was presented as an ancient Vedic city through the mythical events of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Vayu Purana. During the British era, archaeological excavations were carried out in Taxila, but no traces of a Buddhist university or Vedic era were found. When English historians expressed their reservations about Indian history, nationalist Hindu historians became active in glorifying the greatness of ancient India. The mythical Buddhist University was presented as an ancient Vedic university. Characters such as Panini and Chanakya were introduced as teachers. With the resurgence of Hindutva in India, Taxila's Vedic university has also been given a new life. Indian history is being rewritten once again to establish the historical reality of Deva Mala. This article will not only dispel misconceptions about Taxila University but also reveal the fact that the tradition of formulating Vedic doctrine, which began after Christ, continued until the 20th century, and the ancient Taxila University was an important part of this continuum.

Enhancing Teachers' Learning to Develop Students to Become Successful Students

The aim of this research is to enhance teachers' learning towards developing successful students. It is a research project based on advancements in digital technology and the knowledge-based society of the 21st century. Various international perspectives on developing successful students proposed by experts on the internet have gone under the process for this research and development to create educational innovations that could be used to empower teachers and strengthen their students' learning aligned with the concept of “knowledge and action is power”. It is believed that if teachers have learned something, they can bring the knowledge into practice that empowers students’ learning effectively. The results of this research led to educational innovation called “Online Self – Training Program to Enhance Teachers' Learning to Develop Students to Become Successful Students”. This innovation was evaluated by teachers who had a stake in it, and after experimental research was conducted, it was found to be effective according to the established criteria. This evaluation indicated that the innovation can be disseminated to develop teachers, who aim to develop students’ learning, at Mahamakut Buddhist University, which is the target population for this research project, both in the central and regional campuses.

Empowering Teachers' Learning to Enhance Students' Change Leadership Skills

The experimental study, which was conducted under the research project entitled "Empowering Teachers' Learning to Enhance Students' Change Leadership Skills," is part of a series of research projects that focuses on 21st century skills that have been supported by the Doctoral Program in Educational Administration at the Isan campus of Mahamakut Buddhist University. This study emphasizes the utilization of opportunities that are being presented by knowledge-based and digital societies in the contemporary era. The development of Change Leadership Skills was approached by utilizing a Research & Development (R&D) methodology that employed various perspectives available on the internet. This approach aimed at creating innovative educational practices to enhance the teachers' learning and, subsequently, at empowering them to transfer their knowledge to develop their students. It is believed that if teachers acquire knowledge and are stimulated to put it into practice, it will create the power that can enhance the effectiveness of student development, which is in accordance with the concept of "Knowledge and Action are power." Based on this idea, a research and development (R&D) methodology was employed to incorporate various perspectives on developing Change Leadership Skills, which had been found on the internet, and incorporating them into an innovative educational program designed to strengthen teacher learning. The program called the "Online Self-Training Program to Empower Teachers' Learning to Enhance Students' Change Leadership Skills," was evaluated by teachers, who had been involved with the program and had found the program to be effective in accordance with the established criteria. Therefore, the program could be disseminated to benefit teacher development and the development of undergraduate students, who are majoring in teaching the Thai language, the English language, and Social Studies at the Faculty of Education at both the central and branch campuses Mahamakut Buddhist University. This target group can rapidly, efficiently, and effectively disseminate the research findings.

The Collaborative Power of Teachers to Strengthen Student’s Global Leadership Skills

This research was a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology to implement the project “The Collaborative Power of Teachers to Strengthen Student's Global Leadership Skills in Na-ngiw Wittayasan School”, which is part of the Doctoral Program in Educational Administration's research program on 21st-century education, Mahamakut Buddhist University, Isan Campus with the concept of "Cooperative Action for Better Change". From the Planning, Acting, Observing, and Reflecting (PAOR) 2 cycles. Cycle one for each semester in the academic year 2022, with 25 teachers as research participants and 640 students in the development target group and the objectives were: 1) To change the level of practice of the research participants and The Global Leadership Skills of students to improve. From the comparison of 3 phases: before and after the practice in the 1st cycle and after the 2nd cycle practice. 2) To create learning from practice and 3) to gain knowledge from practice. The results of the research revealed that 1) there was a change for improvement, respectively, for the teachers who were research participants, the average scores from the performance assessment results were higher, respectively, from 2.92 to 3.06 and 4.00. As for the students who are the target group for development, the Global Leadership Skills assessment was also at a higher level, respectively, from 2.47 to 3.17 and 3.59. 2) The research team, the research participants, and Na-ngiw Wittayasan School gained much proficiency. 3) Generate knowledge from practice that demonstrates the cause-and-effect relationship of the applied driving force that results in a change. Including, resistance to change and how to overcome resistance to change which in this research is called “Na-ngiw Wittayasan School Model: The Collaborative Power of Teachers to Strengthen Student’s Global Leadership Skills”

Corporate Religion and Spiritual Tourism at a Luxury Tibetan Buddhist Resort

ABSTRACT This article analyses how spiritual tourism and the corporate form of religion are contributing to the rapid spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Vietnam. Specifically, we place the newly established Samten Hills, a Buddhist luxury resort, in two scholarly contexts. First: ecological discourses about Đà Lạt. Once a French hill station, Đà Lạt in the Central Highlands is famous for natural beauty and spiritual possibilities. Samten Hills is dedicated as a Drikung Kagyu spiritual area, and many of the resident monks are from Ladakh (North India). We highlight the transposition of Ladakhi Buddhist branding to a novel Vietnamese context. Through tour packages, advertising, spiritual practices, camping, and discourses about Buddhist mountain hierophanies, we consider this new iteration of spiritual tourism. Second: a spiritual business model that blurs the distinction between economic and religious activity and negotiates state surveillance. With Vietnam Federation of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Associations (VFUA) and Guinness recognition and plans to construct a 2000-person Buddhist university, Samten Hills is the most public-facing, large-scale Vajrayana site in Southeast Asia. We analyse Samten Hills’ operational model – a for-profit business licence allied with discourses of heritage preservation and regional tourism initiatives but concealing Tibetan Buddhist practices – as an increasingly popular strategy for navigating state surveillance of religious activity.

The Model of Good Governance Application Toward Human Resource Management in Buddhist University

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine a relationship between good governance application and human resource management and propose the model of good governance application for human resource management of Mahamakut Buddhist University. Theoretical framework: Recent literature indicated that good governance application can increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness and help the organization to achieve sustainable growth and development (Burikul, 2003). However, there was a lack of studies that explore how good governance can be applied to improve the processes of human resource management in the university. Design/methodology/approach: We distributed the research questionnaires to 350 employees who work in Mahamakut Buddhist University during May 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021, and received 321 questionnaires. We applied both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the collected data. Findings: The results of the study illustrated that good governance application was positively related to human resource management and had an effect on human resource management of Mahamakut Buddhist University. Research, Practical & Social implications: The study indicated that good governance can be implemented in human resource management to gain qualified employees, to improve career advancement, employee satisfaction, life quality of employees, and create organizational justice and sustainable growth of the university. Originality/value: The value of the study is that good governance can improve the processes of human resource management to be transparent, fair, effective and acceptable. An application of good governance leads to sustainable growth and development of the university as a whole.

THE EVALUATION OF ENHANCING CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM

This research aims to find efforts and strategies to improve the character education strengthening program by producing recommendations for the continuation of the next character education strengthening program. This research uses the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) method with the samples in this research are Lecturers, Rector/Director of Higher Education and Higher Education Officials of the Ministry of Education and Culture related to the Character Education Strengthening Program at Buddhist Universities in Banten. The results of character education strengthening program at the Buddhist Colleges in Banten takes the form of outputs and outcomes in order to form graduates of Buddhist Colleges with national character. Based on the results of the CIPP analysis, in the Context component, the character education strengthening program at Buddhist Colleges in Banten includes aspects of requirements analysis, the objectives, targets and policies getting "Good" evaluation results, in the Input component which includes aspects of resources, organization and infrastructure after going through the evaluation getting a range of "Good", the Process component of the character education strengthening program at Buddhist Colleges in Banten includes work procedures, activity schedules and implementation processes, based on the results of the evaluation getting "Adequate", the Product component which includes Output and Outcomes based on the results of the evaluation getting "Adequate." The assessment of the effectiveness of the character education strengthening program in the scope of education in general, is quite effective because this character education strengthening program refers to the priority of certain values that will be the focus of learning, understanding, understanding, and practice in order for character education to change the behavior, way of thinking, and way of acting of the entire Indonesian nation to be better and have integrity.

Collaborative Practices to Empower Teachers’ Capacities for the 21st Century

The objective of this research is to conduct an operation within the project entitled "Collaborative Practices for Empowering Teachers' Capabilities for the 21st Century in Benjamitra Wittaya School," which is one of the research project series related to the 21st century education under the Doctoral Program in Educational Administration, Mahamakut Buddhist University, Isan Campus. It employed Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and consisted of two cycles of Planning, Acting, Observing, and Reflecting (PAOR) in each academic semester in the 2022 academic year. The expected outcomes of this study included changes in learning and knowledge acquisition resulting from the practical application of the research findings. Moreover, 12 teachers participated both as co-researchers and as the target group for development in this study. The results of the study were evaluated and compared across three phases: before and after the first cycle of PAOR and after the second cycle of PAOR. The findings revealed the followings: 1) a positive change had occurred where a teacher-researcher practiced self-empowerment to develop greater capabilities for the 21st century and both the teacher and their students demonstrated an increased ability to meet the demands of the 21st century. 2) the researcher, co-researchers, and school personnel gained an understanding of the benefits of utilizing the principle of collaborative work, which resulted in more effective outcomes compared to individualistic approaches. This confirmed the significance of the Participative Leadership Theory, which is founded on the idea that combining the thoughts of multiple individuals leads to better decision-making compared to relying solely on an individual's perspective. 3) a grounded theory emerged from practical experience referred to as the "Collaborative Practices Model for Empowering Teachers' Capabilities for the 21st Century in Benjamitra Wittaya School" in this research work.

Conduct a Collaborative Effort of Teachers to Strengthen Students’ Creative Thinking Skills

This research aimed at developing the creative thinking skills of students by using Participative Action Research methodology. The research was done in two cycles, one semester each in the Academic Year of 2021. The expected results of the study should result in changes in learning and the knowledge gained from action in the specific context of the Faculty of Education of Mahamakut Buddhist University (MBU). The research participants were 15 professors, who were responsible for bachelor's degree programs in the fields of teaching the Thai language, the English language, and Social Studies. In addition, 258 students were the group targeted for development. The results showed the following expected changes. Firstly, a comparison of the mean of the participants' performance assessment and the assessment of the creative thinking skills of the students was conducted in 3 phases (before and after the first cycle and after the second cycle). For both cases, the means were higher. Secondly, the research team, co-researchers, and educational institutions learned by taking an action, especially with regard to the benefits of using participatory principles and teamwork principles, both of which make work more efficient than when individuals take an action alone. Thirdly, knowledge was gained by utilizing the conceptual framework of Force-Field Analysis, which is a model called the Driving Forces that Affect the Success of the Project entitled ‘Conduct a Collaborative Effort of Teachers to Strengthen Students’ Creative Thinking Skills at MBU.’

Online Program to Develop Teachers to Enhance Students’ Adaptability Skills

This research aimed to develop an online program for the development of the teachers' skills to enhance the students' adaptability. The research materials consisted of the teacher's learning manuals and teacher guidelines for student development. Based on the Research and Development (R&D) methodology, the implication of the R1&D1 and the R4&D4 steps, six sets of teacher's learning manuals, and one workshop manual were obtained. Then the R5&D5, the one group pretest-posttest experimental research methodology, was used with 15 teachers and 324 students in the Faculty of Education of Mahamakut Buddhist University, Isan Campus. These groups of samples were randomized to adequately represent the population of the main campus of Mahamakut Buddhist University and its other campuses. It was observed that the online lessons developed for this research could significantly increase the teacher's post-test scores that meet the reference criteria of 90/90. As for the students, their post-test scores on adaptability skills were significantly higher than the scores observed in the pre-test. This showed that the online programs developed in this research are effective educational innovations. This result ascertains that the findings from this research can be disseminated for the benefit of the target population from all campuses of Mahamakut Buddhist University.

An Online Program to Empower Teachers' Learning to Develop Students' Critical Thinking Skills

The aim of this study was to develop an educational innovation called “An Online Program to Empower Teachers' Learning to Develop Students' Critical Thinking Skills.” The study recognized the importance of social changes (i.e., becoming a knowledge-based society and a digital society) in the 21st century by examining knowledge from good quality resources that are related to a variety of concepts of 21st-century skills development. The information, which has been widely published on the Internet, was used to develop a system and to create efficient educational innovations, which hopefully will be beneficial to the development of teachers and students in the future. Based upon the concepts of: “Successful teachers, successful students” and “Knowledge and Action are power,” online programs are used as media so that the target population can access them quickly and efficiently and with lower costs and with the availability of “Anywhere and Anytime.” As a result, the effective innovation of “An Online Program to Empower Teachers' Learning to Develop Students' Critical Thinking Skills” has been developed in accordance with the criteria. Moreover, the innovation will be utilized at the Faculty of Education at the main campus of Mahamakut Buddhist University and at every other campus, which offers Thai, English, and Social Teaching curriculums.

Teaching Buddhist Vocabulary to the Undergraduates of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka

Learning Buddhist terms in English is one of the main challenges that the English medium undergraduates of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka face. As the majority of the undergraduates start English medium education for the first time in the university they struggle a lot to learn the Buddhist terms necessary for their studies in English medium. Moreover, the students need a wide range of productive vocabulary in preaching the Buddha’s Dhamma worldwide which is one of the prime objectives of the university. Traditionally, vocabulary teaching has been paid less attention and the most common way is giving vocabulary lists for students to memorize. However, the current study as one of its objectives proves that this traditional approach to vocabulary teaching is less effective as well as less interesting. As the second objective, the study introduces a task-based integrated approach to teach Buddhist terminology. Being mixed research the study has employed instruments like vocabulary tests, questionnaires and interviews with the students as well as the lecturers in addition to classroom observation. The study finds that an integrated approach through tasks as material followed by an eclectic teaching method based on the post method is more effective than teaching through vocabulary lists.

Learning management emphasizing desirable characteristics of students in Buddhist university

This paper aims to study the learning management emphasizing desirable characteristics (LMDC) of students in Buddhist university in Thailand based on documentary research methodology. The finding reveals that LMDC in Buddhist University is carried out according to the qualifications-framework including 1) ethical and moral development, 2) knowledge, 3) cognitive skills, 4) interpersonal skills and responsibility, 5) numerical analysis skills, communication and information technology skills, and 6) learning management science methodology (added in teaching profession curriculum) by integrating with digital competency and 9 characteristics.

GIÁO DỤC KĨ NĂNG MỀM CHO TĂNG NI SINH VIÊN HỌC VIỆN PHẬT GIÁO VIỆT NAM TRONG GIAI ĐOẠN HIỆN NAY

The value of Buddhism persists for more than twenty-five centuries and has a strong place in the hearts of the public. Modern Buddhism will continue the achievements that have been achieved when each monastic student cultivates the qualities and competencies to carry out the mission of spreading the Dharma Propagation. The socio-economic changes and the strong development of science, engineering and technology in the current period have brought a new breath of life to the path of religious practice, contributing to overcoming limitations. of traditional propaganda in the direction of one-way message transmission. In addition to acquiring knowledge of Buddhist teachings, scriptures, etc., to fulfill the spread of the Dharma Propagation to meet requirements of the new context, monastic students of Vietnam Buddhist Universities need to be equipped with essential soft skills. Although the meaning and type of soft skills of Buddhist preachers have been studied, the theoretical basis of soft skills education for monastic students in Vietnam Buddhist Universities is still little mentioned. The article focuses on analyzing theoretical issues about soft skills education for monastic students, such as the concept of monastic student, types of soft skills that need to be equipped for monastic students, content and form for soft skills education for monastic students. The analytical results of the article contribute to enriching the scientific basis of soft skills education for monastic students in Vietnam Buddhist Universities.

Development of Learning by E-Learning System: A Case of Mahamakut Buddhist University, Mahavajiralongkorn Rajaviyalaya Campus

This research aimed to develop learning by e-learning system in Mahamakut Buddhist University, Mahavajiralongkorn Rajaviyalaya Campus. The method used in this study was Participatory Action Research that consisted of two cycles of planning, practice, observation, and reflection during two semesters in the academic year 2020. Twenty-one teachers and forty students were voluntarily involved with the desired development and participated in this research. The three expectations from the development outcomes were: 1) the improvement under the identified indicators, 2) the researcher, the research participants, and the campus learned from practice, and 3) knowledge gained from practice will benefit continuous improvement in the future. The research findings illustrated three following aspects. Firstly, in both Cycles 1 and 2, the means of post-practice evaluations were higher than the means of pre-practice evaluations in the following programs; e-learning system development, meditation practice learning development, and teacher's skill enhancement for creating online media. Secondly, the researcher, the research participants, and the campus learned the following common aspects: an awareness of the importance of participation, being an all-the-time learner, and transcribing lessons from practice which was previously often neglected. Finally, the knowledge gained correlates with Kurt Lewin's Force-Field Analysis which consists of the following concepts: 1) Expected change, 2) Driving factors for change, 3) Resistance to change and 4) Overcoming resistance. Each component defines a set of thoughts and beliefs that Mahamakut Buddhist University, Mahavajiralongkorn Rajaviyalaya Campus, will implement as a basis for reviewing and strengthening an additional set of ideas and beliefs.

Mission of buddhist university: cultural and anthropological foundations

The fundamental problem of a modern university is its identity, its self-determination, its design of its mission. Cardinal changes in the external environment, new social demands, the emergence of a global knowledge society, tough economic competition have also affected the higher education system. Determining the mission of the university has always been one of the most important epistemological tasks of the philosophy of science and education. Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy are characterized by a holistic teaching about the world and man, their deep relationship. At all stages of its historical and cultural development, the values ​​and truths of Buddhism were transmitted primarily through educational institutions, forming a unique educational tradition. The educational tradition as a basic component of Buddhist culture is one of the main transmission mechanisms for the philosophical teachings of Buddhism. The tradition of understanding Buddhism as an education continued, and a type of Buddhist monastery-universities as educational centers was formed in Ancient India. The Buddhist education system is based on the centuries-old history of Buddhism, peoples traditionally professing Buddhism. Deeply anthropocentric in its content, Buddhist culture has made the question of the nature of man and his place in the world the main problem of its philosophical teachings. The mission of the Buddhist University has remained unchanged to this day - spiritual, moral, intellectual perfection of a person, leading to Awakening; promoting the spread of the ideas of Buddhism throughout the world. The systems and methods of the Buddhist educational tradition correlate with the scientific and theoretical approaches adopted in modern secular science and education, have heuristic value for creating new educational programs based on the dialogue between science and religion, faith and knowledge, West and East. Buddhist educational programs at universities fulfill another important mission - as centers for the training of qualified specialists in the history and philosophy of Buddhism, they act as special channels of communication between the Buddhist world and other regions of the world, forming a space for interstate and intercultural dialogue. Key words: University, mission, Buddhism, Buddhist University, cultural anthropology.

The Politicians’ Buddhist Morality on Students’ Opinions at Mahamakut Buddhist University: Lanna Campus, Chiang Mai, Thailand

The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the students' opinions on Politicians' Buddhist morality; 2) to analyze personal factors affecting students' opinions on politicians' Buddhist morality; and 3) To study recommendations on politicians' Buddhist morality. The samples were 269 students at Mahamakut Buddhist University: Lanna campus, Chiang Mai, Thailand to whom questionnaires were distributed for collecting of data which were analyzed through frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and 2-test by setting the statistical significance at 0.05. The research Results were found that: 1) The overall level of Buddhist morality of Thai politicians as perceived by students in all three aspects was low with a mean of 2.12 and a standard deviation of 1.216. The aspect with highest mean was the principles of building the righteousness, followed by the principles of building the unity, and the principles of building the solutions of conflicts. 2) The test of hypothesis revealed that the gender does not affect the students' opinions towards politicians' Buddhist morality, which does not meet the defined hypothesis, while the age and educational year affect the students' opinions towards politicians' Buddhist morality, which meets the defined hypothesis at 0.05, and 3) The students provided their recommendations on the political problems of Thai politicians in terms of the Buddhist morality that “Politicians always think of oneself, self-centered, do not listen to the opinions of others, one’s own ideas are dominant, different ideas and other aspects cause disturbance and dissatisfaction of money gained, political conflicts, and divided groups of citizens”. In addition, they provided their recommendations on the development of Buddhist morality for politicians that “Listen to each other, reliance on rightness rather than pleasure, adhesion to the teachings as main practices and way of life, recognition of causes and effects, do not listen to only one side, leaders should follow Buddhist concepts, no selflessness or hurting to others, politicians should have the precepts, meditation and wisdom, should more concentrate during talking, building of love to the family, and teaching of children for the future of nation”.

Educational practices in urban spaces of Ancient India

The urbanization of Ancient India dates back to the middle of the first millennium BCE. In the early days, urban culture was influenced by unorthodox religious movements from the East of India, and by social practices adopted from western Hellenistic states. Urban culture contributed to the genesis and spread of scripts and literacy in India. It was in urban spaces and at royal courts that Sanskrit evolved from the oral language of Brahmanic ritualism to the written language of the cosmopolis, the language of literature and philosophy. By the beginning of CE, urban spaces in India became the place of modernization of Brahmanism. Arts and theoretical disciplines blossomed in towns and at royal courts. Urban educational practices were focused on practical disciplines and on skills connected with aesthetic pleasure. The basis of education was reading and writing. Urban culture in the 1st millennium CE was multireligious. Buddhist universities at the monasteries were leading educational centers supported by kings, including the non-Buddhist ones. Buddhist philosophy was taught there along with traditional Brahmanic and lay disciplines (grammar, normative poetics, etc.). Therefore, the urban space in ancient India was the place of mutual interaction between Brahmanical, Buddhist, and secular scholarship as well as educational traditions. It was in towns, at Buddhist monasteries and royal courts that written culture and the corresponding educational practices were established.