DHARAMSHALA, December 18: Twenty Tibetan college graduates were awarded certificates on completion of a six month rigorous course in Tibetan Buddhism, culture and language at Gyudmed Tantric College in Hunsur.
A modest convocation on Wednesday was attended, among others, by the Jhangtse Choeje as the chief guest, abbot of Gyudmed monastery, Tsering Youdon, member of the Tibetan parliament, and a representative of the Department of Religion and Culture.
The students also carried out short sessions of monastic debate during the convocation. The Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama advices Tibetans and his followers to study the Tibetan Buddhism as a branch of science and not out of religious faith. The system of monastic debate, His Holiness believes, can be used for studying other subjects in schools as an effective tool of learning.
During the course of six months, students were taught the various branches of Tibetan traditional sciences including the Tibetan grammar, prose and poetry. Textbooks specially designed for the course were used to ensure swift learning for the students. The students also were introduced to the five major treatises of Tibetan Buddhism (shung chen kaboe nga).
13 boys and 7 girls, including one from Switzerland, had signed up for the course that Department of Religion and Culture says is one of the important activities being carried out as per the suggestions and guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“The kind of learning and education at Gyudmed school was very effective. And I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that every Tibetan graduates took part in this workshop. I am really grateful to the organising committee at Department of religion and Culture, and Gyudmed Tantric University,” said Tenzin Saldon Naga, a graduate in Mass Communication from Bangalore.
The Department says it will continue the course in the future and make efforts to improve the quality of the course for the Tibetan youth.
The students will travel to Mundgod to attend the teachings on Lamrim by His Holiness from 23 – 29 December, 2014.
