TITLE: Principles and Practices of Buddhist Education

ii Arya Asanga was one of Indian Buddhism's leading scholars in the middle Mahayana period, fourth- sixth centuries C.E.. His encyclopedic Bodhisattvabhumi is considered to be one of Buddhism's foremost expositions of bodhisattva doctrine. The Bodhisattvabhumi contains a systematic description of the bodhisattva path of practice (bodhisattva-sik~timiirga) that emphasises broad knowledge and general education in the pursuit of enlightenment and liberation. The subjects of that education are the "five sciences " (paficavidytisthtintini) which range from Buddhist textual scholarship to the study of non-Buddhist religious literature and secular subjects, including works on grammar, logic, medicine and crafts. The historical accounts of the seventh century Chinese pilgrim travellers Hsiian-Tsang and 1-Tsing confirm that these five sciences were the basis for the curriculum at Nalanda Mahavihara, India's most renowned monastic university. Corroborating information indicates that the Bodhisattvabhumi was studied at Nalanda Mahavihara an