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Education in Bhutan pp 39–55Cite as

The History and Development of Monastic Education in Bhutan

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Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 36))

Abstract

Monasteries were the only centres of learning in Bhutan until the advent of Western-styled ‘modern’ education in the late 1950s, although the first modern school was opened in 1914. Down the centuries, monastic education had been responsible for the culture and spiritualization of the Bhutanese. Until recently, all the laws of Bhutan such as the Chayichhenmo – the Great Laws – were based on Buddhist principles and precepts drawn from the Vinaya, one of the three pitakas, or canonical texts of Buddhism. However, the introduction of ‘modern’ education has added tension and forever altered the previous dominant and prestigious position of monastic education. This chapter, therefore, will provide a glimpse of monastic education in Bhutan through an historical lens drawing examples from the Buddhist education system of ancient India.

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Acknowledgments

The author started to work on this paper as one chapter of his thesis on “History of education and its indication to establish a university in Bhutan” for the award of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in Australia. In February 1997, he was appointed as the Governor of Chhukha Dzongkhag and had to discontinue his doctoral programme due to this complicated and heavy responsibility. He is still indebted to his late supervisor, Dr. Susan Davies of the University of New England, for her guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Assembly of Bhutan (Retired), Thimphu, Bhutan

    Zangley Dukpa

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  1. Zangley Dukpa
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Correspondence to Zangley Dukpa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom

    Matthew J. Schuelka

  2. School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

    T.W. Maxwell

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Dukpa, Z. (2016). The History and Development of Monastic Education in Bhutan. In: Schuelka, M., Maxwell, T. (eds) Education in Bhutan. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 36. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1649-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1649-3_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1647-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1649-3

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