The History and Development of Monastic Education in Bhutan

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects book series (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.

Keywords

Eighth Century Modern Education Modern School Buddhist Education Religious Rite 
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Notes

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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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.National Assembly of Bhutan (Retired)ThimphuBhutan

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