法身寺的教育系统

法身寺的教育系统
　　作者：泰国法身寺开放大学 塔那悟陀法师
　　寺院简介 :在1970，法身寺建立于泰国巴统他尼府得一块大约一千英亩的土地上,以静坐为主。
　　-寺众有1,100位法师和 500为沙弥 , 也包括 900 为男女在家众 , 至少拥有大学学士学位 (这些男女在家众都须持守八关斋戒)。他们都在各方面的寺院事务上给予终身的协助
　　我们在全球二十个国家 拥有五十个道场。
　　教育理念：“佛教经典，静坐，理解和弘法”。这表示大学生必须学习佛教经典和真
　　正地应用这些知识在静坐上，为了能证得真正的佛法和将佛陀的教诲弘扬到全世界。
　　课程 ：
　　1．训练新的出家比丘 ：那是段为期两年的课程。他们主要是学习静坐，基本佛法，寺院纪律和寺院生活。
　　2. 巴利佛典学院在1986年成立。南传佛教的三藏经典都是以巴利文记载的。根据泰国的僧团课程记录里，我们的学院拥有最多巴利文考试及格的学生。
　　3．迪霖布达萨学校在2000年开放。我们的学生都是沙弥，他们通常都根据一般的小学和中学的学习课程，也同时学习巴利文和基本佛法,使他们能成为佛教未来的继承人。
　　4.法身学院成立于1998年。它提供大学学位者和有学士学位者的佛学课程。这是为了那些比丘在出家前已拥有学士学位，也包括那些还没获得学士学位的比丘。男女在家众也可以申请，或那些已从迪霖布达萨学校毕业且能够进入法身学院的沙弥。我们的课程跟其它的佛学院的佛学课程是相当一致的，除了那些比丘特别注重于弘法。我们会训练他们成为指导法师。这些学术也可以应用在每年夏季所主办的各种训练青年的训练活动上。
　　5．美国加利福尼亚- 法身开放大学，于2004年成立。它是一所开放大学提供远程学习。我们的目标是那些有兴趣学习佛法的人士。课程是设计给各种生活繁忙的社会人士，能让他们在空闲的时间学习。现在课程已拥有两种语文，泰文和英文。其它的语文，如：华文、西班牙文、法文和日文也会在将来提供。目前我们已有了1，800位注册的学生。
　　THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AT WAT PHRA DHAMMAKAYA
　　Temple Profile : In 1970, Wat Phra Dhammakaya established on a site approx. 1,000 acres at Pathumthani Province, Thailand and mainly emphasizes on meditation.
　　- Resident community of 1,100 Buddhist Monks and 500 monk novices as well as 900 laymen and laywomen with the minimum university graduate (laymen/women must observe 8 precepts) help in all aspects of temple work throughout their lives.
　　- 51 worldwide branches in 20 countries
　　Education Philosophy : “Buddhist Scripture, Meditation, Comprehension and
　　Preaching” means university students need to learn the Buddhist Scriptures and truly apply this knowledge into practice in meditation in order to attain the true Dhamma and then propagate the Lord Buddha’s Teaching to the world.
　　Curriculum:
　　1. Training of Newly Ordained Monks: a two-year course. Mainly they learn about meditation, fundamentals of Buddhism, monastic discipline, and monastic life.
　　2. Pali Institute has been established since 1986. Pali language was inscribed Three Pitakas (Tripitakas or Pali canon) in Theravada Buddhist Scriptures. According to the Sangha Curriculum in Thailand, our institute has got the highest numbers of students passing the Pali examination.
　　3. Trium Buddhasart School has been opened since year 2000. Our students are novices and they usually follow the junior and senior high-school curriculums and also learn Pali language and fundamentals of Buddhism so that they can become heirs of Buddhism in the future.
　　4. Dhammakaya Institute started in 1998. It provides undergraduate and graduate degrees in Buddhist Studies. This is designed for monks who have already obtained degrees before ordaining and those who have yet to attain one. Laymen and laywomen may also apply to study and novices that have passed Trium Buddhasart School are suitable for the
　　Dhammakaya Institute. Our curriculums are quite similar to the Buddhist Studies in other institutes except that for Monks we emphasize on preaching skills, training them to become Teaching Monks. These skills can then be applied in training youths throughout the various training programs held yearly during the summer months.
　　5. Dhammakaya Open University of California, U.S.A. has been established since 2004. It is an Open University providing distant education. Our target students are people who are interested in learning Buddhism. The courses are designed for people from all walks of life, even those with a hectic daily schedule can learn when they have spare time. Presently, the curriculums are available in two languages, Thai and English. Other languages such as Chinese, Spanish, French and Japanese will be available in the near future. Currently there are about 1,800 registered students.