Shedra
Encyclopedia
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. After completing a shedra, some monks continue with further scholastic training toward a Khenpo
Khenpo
The term khenpo is a spiritual degree given in Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Sakya traditions, the title is awarded usually after a period of 3 years of intensive study after secondary school level studies, and is considered much like a spiritual Bachelor's. Similar titles of lower...
or Geshe
Geshe
Geshe is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks...
degree, and other monks instead pursue training in ritual practices.
Curriculum
The curriculum varies with the lineage and monastery but most cover the main foundational texts in the Tibetan Buddhist canonTibetan Buddhist canon
The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist and Mahayana sources, the Tibetan canon includes tantric texts...
such as the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
Mulamadhyamakakarika
The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā , or Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, is a key text by Nagarjuna, one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.-Competing interpretations:...
(The Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way) by Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
and the Madhyamakavatara
Madhyamakāvatāra
Madhyamakāvatāra is a text by Candrakirti on the Middle Way school . It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and also the Daśabhūmikasūtra-śāstra...
(Entering the Middle Way) by Candrakīrti
Candrakīrti
Candrakīrti , was an Indian scholar and a khenpo of Nālandā Mahāvihāra. He was a disciple of and a commentator on his works and those of his main disciple, Āryadeva...
. Some non-Buddhist courses like grammar, poetry, history, and arts may be included. The initial years focus on the Buddhist sutras and the remaining years on tantras. Care is taken to introduce foundational topics first, building key concepts and vocabulary for later study.
Compared to western educational systems, the shedra places much greater emphasis on memorization. Some traditions require monks memorize complete texts before studying them. They may be required to recite in class the new sections they've memorized each day. In some lineages, debate becomes a major focus and practice for refining one's understanding. In those lineages students may spend a major portion of the day in debate with each other.
There are also differing views on the importance of shedra. Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
and Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
lineages consider the shedra training essential, whereas in the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
and Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
lineages this is less the case.
Five Topics
Tsongkhapa standardized the Buddhist sutra curriculum into five major topics, and this was later adopted by many other schools.- ParamitaParamitaPāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...
s - study of mahayana - MadhyamakaMadhyamakaMadhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
- philosophy - PramanaPramanaPramana is an epistemological term in Hindu and Buddhist dialectic, debate and discourse.Pramāṇavāda and Hetuvidya can be glossed in English as Indian and Buddhist Epistemology and Logic, respectively.-In Hinduism:...
- logic and epistemology - AbhidharmaAbhidharmaAbhidharma or Abhidhamma are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic and scientific reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist Sutras, according to schematic classifications...
- psychology - VinayaVinayaThe Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
- monastic rules
Gelug Lineage
The shedra system at Sera MonasterySera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in...
, now relocated to southern India from Tibet, has a twelve to twenty year curriculum organized in the five topics. The first five years are foundational and cover logic, epistemology, vinaya, and the terms and distinctions built upon in later philosophic study. The next four years then study specific texts including Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara, Maitreya's Abhisamayalankara, and Dharmakirti's Pramanavarttika. The remaining four to eight years then continues with Vasubandu's Treasury of Manifest Knowledge and Gunaprabha's Vinayamula Sutra, and for some students study of Guhyasamaja tantra.
Nyingma Lineage
Khenpo Shenga
Khenpo Shenga Rinpoche was a prominent scholar in the Nyingma and Sakya traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.-Life:...
(Shenpen Chökyi Nangwa) may be used with each text. The phases and texts include:
- First year
- Training on the PratimokshaPratimokshaThe Pratimoksha is a Buddhist moral discipline. A loose translation of the term is "personal liberation", and thus the discipline is concerned with the Buddhist's quest for personal liberation, and originated with the Pratimoksha Vows given by the Buddha to his followers. "Prati" means 'towards' or...
, BodhisattvaBodhisattva vowsThe Sanskrit term Bodhisattva is the name given to anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhichitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. What makes someone a Bodhisattva is her or his dedication to the ultimate welfare of...
, and SamayaSamayaThe samaya , is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.According Keown, et al., Samaya may be defined as:*A particular system of teaching or...
vows using Treatise Ascertaining the Three Vows by Pema Wangyal - Bodhicharyavatara by ShantidevaShantidevaShantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
- Grammar, Poetry, and History
- Training on the Pratimoksha
- Second through fifth years
- Psychology using Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandu, Abhidharmasamuccaya by AsangaAsangaAsaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
, and Pramanavarttika by DharmakirtiDharmakirtiDharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,... - MadhyamakaMadhyamakaMadhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
philosophy texts including MūlamadhyamakakārikāMulamadhyamakakarikaThe Mūlamadhyamakakārikā , or Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, is a key text by Nagarjuna, one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.-Competing interpretations:...
, Chatuhshataka-shastrakarika (The Four Hundred Verses on the Middle Way) of AryadevaAryadevaAryadeva , was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. He is also known as Kanadeva the 15th patriarch in the Zen tradition and Bodhisattva Deva in Sri Lanka where he was born as the son of a king. Some Chinese sources however, suggest he was...
, MadhyamakavataraMadhyamakāvatāraMadhyamakāvatāra is a text by Candrakirti on the Middle Way school . It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and also the Daśabhūmikasūtra-śāstra...
, and Madhyamakalankara
- Psychology using Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandu, Abhidharmasamuccaya by Asanga
- Upper phase
- YogacaraYogacaraYogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
philosophy using the five treatises of Maitreya via Asanga, including Gyulama (Mahayanottaratantrashastra or RatnagotravibhagaRatna-gotra-vibhagaRatnagotravibhāga and its vyākhyā commentary are important Buddhist texts of the tathāgatagarbha literature which expound the Buddhist philosophy doctrine known as Buddha-nature which is generally understood as belonging to the Third Turning of the Dharmacakra...
), Abhisamayalankara, MahayanasutralankaraMahayana-sutra-alamkara-karikaMahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā is a major work of Buddhist philosophy attributed to Maitreya-nātha as dictated to Asanga. The text, written in verse, presents the Mahāyāna path from the Yogācāra perspective...
, MadhyantavibhangaMadhyanta-vibhaga-karikaMadhyānta-vibhāga-kārikā is a key work in Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy, which was written by Maitreya-nātha...
(Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes), and DharmadharmatavibhagaDharma-dharmata-vibhagaDharma-dharmatā-vibhāga is a short Yogācāra work, attributed to Maitreya-nātha, which discusses the distinction and correlation between phenomena and reality ; the work exists in both a prose and a verse version and survives only in Tibetan translation...
(Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being) - Additional study on the vows and monastic discipline
- Yogacara
- Tantra phase for two or three years
- Specific tantras like the Guhyagarbha tantraGuhyagarbha tantraThe Guhyagarbha Tantra is the main tantra of the Mahayoga class and the primary Tantric text studied in the Nyingma tradition as a key to understanding empowerment, samaya, mantras, mandalas and other Vajrayana topics....
- DzogchenDzogchenAccording to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
commentaries like Yonten Dzod by Jigme LingpaJigme LingpaJigme Lingpa was one of the most important tertöns of Tibet. He was the promulgator of the Longchen Nyingthik, the Heart Essence teachings of Longchenpa, from whom, according to tradition, he received a vision in which the teachings were revealed...
, Rangdrol Korsum (Trilogy of Self Liberation), and Ngelso Korsum (Trilogy of Resting) - Additional study on the eight precepts of practice and related topics
- Specific tantras like the Guhyagarbha tantra
Kagyu Lineage
The following texts were recommended by the 16th KarmapaKarmapa
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
as the basis for study in the shedra at Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek , also called the Dharmachakra Centre, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok...
:
- Vinaya, Abhidharma and Epistemology
- Vinayamula Sutra by Gunaprabha with a commentary by Mikyö DorjeMikyö DorjeMikyö Dorje , also Mikyo Dorje, was the eighth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Mikyö Dorje was born in Satam, Kham. According to the legend, he said after being born: "I am Karmapa." and was recognized by Tai Situpa. In this case there was another child from Amdo who...
(8th Karmapa) - Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu with a commentary by Mikyö Dorje
- Pramanavarttika by Dharmakirti with a commentary by Chödrak GyatsoChödrak GyatsoChödrak Gyatso , also Chödrag Gyamtso, was the seventh Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Chödrak Gyatso was born in Chida in the north of Tibet...
(7th Karmapa)
- Vinayamula Sutra by Gunaprabha with a commentary by Mikyö Dorje
- Madhyamaka
- Madhyamakavatara by Chandrakirti with a commentary by Mikyö Dorje and another by Wangchuk DorjeWangchuk DorjeWangchuk Dorje was the ninth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Wangchuk Dorje was born in Treshod, Kham...
(9th Karmapa) - Abhisamayalankara by Maitreya-Asanga with a commentary by Mikyö Dorje which includes commentary by Indian scholar HaribhadraHaribhadraHaribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader and author.-History:There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. These include 459, 478, and 529. However, given his familiarity with Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650...
.
- Madhyamakavatara by Chandrakirti with a commentary by Mikyö Dorje and another by Wangchuk Dorje
- Tantra
- Uttaratantra Shastra by Maitreya-Asanga with commentaries by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and another by Gölo Shönu Pal as a basis for studying buddha nature
- Zabmo Nangdön by Rangjung DorjeRangjung DorjeRangjung Dorje was the third Karmapa, an important figure in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. He reportedly produced a spontaneous black crown at the age of three and declared himself to be the mindstream reimbodiment of Karma Pakshi...
(3rd Karmapa) with commentaries by Rangjung Dorje and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye as a basis for tantra - Hevajra Tantra with commentaries by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and Dakpo Tashi NamgyalDakpo Tashi NamgyalDakpo Tashi Namgyal was a lineage holder of the Dagpo Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also trained in the Sakya lineage....
History
Monastic education and a tradition of scholarship was not unique to Tibet, but was imported when Buddhism was brought from India initially by ShantarakshitaShantarakshita
' was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, the Yogacara tradition of Asanga and the logical and epistemological...
. Major Buddhist universities such as Nalanda
Nalanda
Nālandā is the name of an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from the fifth or sixth century CE to 1197 CE. It has been called "one of the...
University existed as places for advanced studies in India up until the twelfth century.
See also
- BhiksuBhiksuBhiksu can refer to:* Bhikṣu - a Buddhist monk* Name of a Sannyasi or a monk who accepted Sannyasa, a Hindu renunciate...
- Buddhist monasticismBuddhist monasticismMonasticism is one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns are responsible for preserving and teaching Buddhist teachings and guiding Buddhist lay followers. Earlier Buddhist monks were enlightened...
- Greco-Buddhist monasticismGreco-Buddhist monasticismThe role of Greek Buddhist monks in the development of the Buddhist faith under the patronage of emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE, and then during the reign of Menander is described in the Mahavamsa, an important non-canonical Theravada Buddhist historical text compiled in Sri Lanka in the 6th century...
- Tibetan Buddhist canonTibetan Buddhist canonThe Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist and Mahayana sources, the Tibetan canon includes tantric texts...