Online Certificate Course
on
Bodhgaya and Buddhism

Course

Unit 1 | PHILOSOPHY AND TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM

  • Buddhist Scriptures and Schools
  • Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
  • Anatman (No-Self) and Pratityasamutpada (Dependent Arising)
  • Abhidharma (Higher Teaching) and Meditation
  • Mahayana and Vajrayana: Emptiness

Confucius Teaching
Photo Credit: Sharwan Raj

Chanting-Mahabodhi-Temple

Monks Chanting in Mahabodhi Temple
Photo Credit: Sharwan Raj

UNIT 2 | Multi RELIGIOUS SITES OF BODHGAYA

  • Introduction to Sanatan Dharma
  • Bodhgaya and Buddhism as well as Jainism

Photo Credit: Rajat Sanyal

Photo Credit: Rajat Sanyal

Photo Credit: Rajat Sanyal

UNIT 3 | ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

  • Understanding Mahabodhi Temple Complex: Layers of the temple
  • Specific Aspects:
      a. Images
      b. Temple Architecture
      c. Pillars
      d. Site Museums: What it consists of and the relevance
  • Outside the temple and the museums: Stupas and other excavations
  • Sanatan Dharmic Sites (Gaya)
  • Sculptures and Other sites

Stucco images on the west exterior wall of Mahabodhi Temple before restoration
Book Name: Bodhgaya, The Site Of Enlightenment by Janice Leoshko

Votive stupas on the second floor of the Mahabodhi Temple
Book Name: Bodhgaya,  The Site Of Enlightenment by Janice Leoshko

UNIT 4 | HERITAGE and Sustainable Development

  • How people engage with Bodhgaya
  • Prominent features in the area:
    a. A living heritages like Bodhgaya
    b. Dead Heritage sites like Nalanda
    c. Tensions between the dead and living heritage sites
    d. Livelihood and people: Water
  • Specific developments held on an annual basis:
    a. The Tibetan connection
    b. 19th-century monasteries:
      i. Mahabodhi Society
      ii. The Burmese Vihara
      iii. Shaivite Monastery
      iv. Vishnupad
  • Explaining the heritagization of Buddhism – Historical Aspects
  • Current Activities at Bodhgaya

Mahabodhi Society, Bodhgaya
Photo Credit: Piyush Ranjan

Royal Bhutanese Moneastery Bodhgaya
Photo Credit: Piyush Ranjan

Burmese Vihar, Bodhgaya
Photo Credit: Piyush Ranjan