• Lectures: 1
• Duration: 10 weeks

Course Context: 

Lumbini Buddhist University (LBU) was established in 2004 based on proposal passed by the First World Buddhist Summit of 1998, which was held in Lumbini. LBU is an autonomous and public institution of higher learning committed to the mission to educate the people of Nepal and to enrich the global learning community through the application of core Buddhist values while promoting world peace. Main objectives of the university are to impart the insights of core Buddhism from the birth place of the Buddha. In order to meet its objectives, LBU has launched Buddhist Academic programs in Core Buddhism and Applied Buddhism. Core Buddhism contains core subjects of Buddhism such as Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism etc. whereas Applied Buddhism includes Buddhist principals and its related subjects. Program of Theravada Buddhism had been launched by LBU first in 2012 and is recently converted its syllabus into Semester System. Theravada literature is based on Pāli Language. Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism. There is an important role of Pāli language specialist to propagate Theravada Buddhism in Nepal. To meet the increasing demand of Pāli specialist the 12th General Assembly of LBU Council has decided to run the Master’s Degree in Pāli Buddhist Studies (MPBS). The four semester course for this program has been approved by LBU.

Course Objectives:  

Following are the main objectives of this curriculum 1. To introduce the students the principle of Theravada Buddhism and intensive knowledge of Pāli Buddhist Studies. 2. To provide in deft knowledge in Pāli language and literature. 3. To impart the intensive knowledge about translation skill of Pāli Tipitaka and its commentary literature.

Duration of Program: 

The course extends over a period of two years and it runs on a semester system. There are two semesters in a year. In total, Master in Pāli Buddhism (MPBS) consists of 4 semesters of class work and research work.

Graduation: 

To get a pass from the MPBS program, students must complete a minimum number of required courses with a total of 60 credits, with not less than 50 marks (or a B-) in each course. A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least (B) i,e, 3.0 is required for graduation. The University shall convert all numerical grades into letter grades based on an approved conversion method.