MA in Buddhism and Peace

BP 501: Academic Writing

This module emphasizes the development of the students' academic writing skills through critical engagement with academic texts and a focus on various writing techniques like summary, descriptive, comparison, cause and effect, argument, etc. By using step-by-step approaches, this course will prepare students with the necessary tools to read, analyze, and produce academic texts with clarity, coherence, and critical insight. Through three writing assignments and two tutorials, students will practice a variety of writing academic texts.

• Read and analyze academic texts critically, identifying main arguments, assumptions, and evidence.
• Evaluate and review scholarly articles, assessing their methodologies, findings, and contributions to the field, and presenting constructive critiques.
• Summarize complex academic texts, capturing the central ideas and essential details while maintaining clarity and coherence.
• Construct cause and effect writings, analyzing relationships between events.
• Compare multiple academic concepts, theories, or texts, highlighting similarities and differences.
• Write clear, coherent, and persuasive argumentative writings with appropriate evidences, logical reasons, and counterarguments.

BP 502: Theravada Buddhist Meditation

This module offers an in-depth exploration of concentration (Samādhi) as presented in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition, emphasizing its foundational role in the path to liberation and inner peace. Particular emphasis is placed on the Sutta Piṭaka, especially discourses directly pertaining to the cultivation of concentration. Primary sources are examined alongside traditional commentaries (Aṭṭhakathā) and sub-commentaries (Ṭīkā), with special attention to the Visuddhimagga and Visuddhimagga-Mahāṭīkā. Modern academic scholarship is incorporated to facilitate nuanced understanding suitable for higher-level academic inquiry.

By the end of the module, students will understand how Samādhi from academic perspective, when correctly cultivated, becomes the stable and clear foundation necessary for the arising Insight (Vipassanā) leading to Wisdom (Paññā). The course highlights the indispensable role of concentration in personal liberation and the cultivation of peace within society.

BP 503: Foundations of Peace Studies

Foundation of Peace studies will provide a starting point for grasping the concept of peace while familiarizing with relevant frameworks and approaches oriented towards achieving peace through interreligious dialogues. It deals with concepts encompassing positive and negative peace, Carthaginian peace, balance of power, and democratic/liberal peace. The course explores factors of conflicts including grievances, environment, natural resources, and religion. It also examines identity's role in conflict and aims to develop sustainable solutions for long-term peace preservation.

• Understand the different types of peace.
• Appreciate factors leading to different types of peace.
• Identify possible links between religion, peace, and conflicts.
• Develop informed and balanced point of views through multiple perspectives.

BP 504: Critical Concepts in Buddhist Ethics

Examines the philosophical foundations of Buddhist ethics, focusing on intention (cetana), action (karma), and the path to moral perfection. The module analyzes the Precepts and Paramis as frameworks for individual virtue and social harmony, addressing how these concepts apply to modern global dilemmas and peacebuilding.

• Analyze core Buddhist ethical theories and their scriptural bases.
• Apply Buddhist ethical reasoning to contemporary social and environmental issues.

BP 505: Religion and Peace

This course explores the dual role of religion in both fostering conflict and promoting peace. Students critically engage with religious texts, traditions, and case studies analyzed analyzing the intersections between religion, culture, gender, and identity. It identifying identifies complementary relations between diverse faiths and maps religious boundaries to understand their impacts on peacebuilding. The module also examines the role of peacemakers in bringing harmony among different believers.

• Understand the dual role of religion in conflict and peacebuilding.
• Analyze religious texts and traditions from a peace studies perspective.
• Explore interconnections of religion with culture, gender, and identity.
• Engage in interreligious dialogue for reconciliation processes.
• Develop skills for critical thinking and dialogue facilitation.

BP 506: Buddhist Philosophy

This course combines lectures and interactive discussions to analyze key aspects of Buddhist philosophy in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Topics include Buddhist Ontology (Impermanence, Five Aggregates, Non-Self, Nibbana), Epistemology (Perception, Illusion, Inference, Exclusion Theory), and Ethics (Law of Karma, Dependent Origination, Moral Philosophy).

• Understand fundamental concepts of philosophy and its major branches.
• Gain knowledge of Indian philosophical traditions.
• Analyze and evaluate metaphysical and ethical theories in Buddhism.

BP 507: Applied Sutta Studies

This course engages students in the close study of selected Buddhist scriptures (suttas) focusing on practical application to personal development and social harmony. Drawing on "The Buddha’s Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony," students analyze and apply these in contemporary contexts and compare them with Western philosophical traditions. Participants strengthen critical thinking and collaborative research skills in an active learning environment.

• Interpret suttas to understand core teachings on social harmony.
• Apply Buddhist concepts to contemporary social issues.
• Compare Buddhist perspectives with Western philosophical traditions.
• Collaborate to produce co-authored research essays.
• Synthesize insights into a nuanced account of Buddhist social harmony.

BP 508: Contemporary Issues in Peace Building

The module covers theoretical debates and practices of contemporary issues regarding conflicts and peacebuilding globally, focusing on the Asian context. It aims to understand the historical context of Authoritarianism traditions (monarchy, colonialism, militarism) and how these influence moral virtue, political values, and social justice. The course provides methodological frameworks for research and uses participatory learning seminars.

• Understand traditions of authoritarianism and native democracy in SE Asia.
• Acquire analytical and ethical reasoning skills for handling conflict situations.
• Cultivate peace attitudes: mettā, samagga (unity), and non-violence.

BP 509: Mindfulness Practice for Peace

This course examines the cultivation of Buddhist wisdom (paññā) through the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna): body, feelings, mind, and Phenomena. It integrates doctrinal study, philosophical analysis, and practical application (Breathing, Body Scanning, Walking Meditation) to demonstrate how mindfulness matures into liberating wisdom. It explores how satipaṭṭhāna is a systematic teaching program for developing Sīla, Samādhi, and Paññā.

• Demonstrate scholarly understanding of mindfulness and wisdom.
• Analyze Satipaṭṭhāna as a teaching framework for the three trainings.
• Apply Buddhist insight practices to broader psychological contexts.
• Articulate how mindfulness supports liberation.

BP 510: Research Paper Writing

Designed to equip students with essential skills for crafting well-structured and academically sound research papers. Covers the research process, proposal writing, methodology development, and citation mastery. Consists of lectures, interactive discussions, and analysis of sample proposals. Students receive personalized feedback on their work and own research proposals.

• Recognize the importance of research and its key features.
• Identify main components of research and master citation styles.
• Write a comprehensive research proposal of their own.
• Acquire practical skills to construct research paper components.

BP 414: Research Progress Report and Seminar

A dedicated module for the ongoing research phase of the degree. Students present periodic progress reports and deliver seminars to faculty and peers. This stage facilitates critical feedback and ensures the research project remains academically rigorous and on schedule (9 Credits).

• Present research progress clearly to faculty and peers.
• Respond constructively to academic feedback and refine the research direction.
• Maintain a disciplined research timetable within the thesis phase.
• Demonstrate readiness for final thesis submission and viva preparation.

• Approved thesis proposal and supervisor guidance notes.
• Program research handbook and thesis formatting requirements.
• Student's developing research bibliography.

BP 415: Research Thesis and Viva Voce

The final capstone requirement of the MA program. Students submit a substantial original research thesis (min. 20,000 words) and defend their findings in an oral examination (Viva Voce) before a board of examiners (9 Credits).

• Produce an original thesis with sound academic argumentation and research method.
• Demonstrate command of primary and secondary sources relevant to the thesis topic.
• Defend the thesis orally before examiners with clarity and scholarly confidence.
• Incorporate corrections required after the viva voce process.

• Thesis handbook and approved university formatting guide.
• Supervisor-approved bibliography and research sources.
• Program requirement note: minimum 20,000 words in English or 100 pages in Myanmar or Pali.