Student Manual

The Learning from Buddha College and Seminary is an on-line learning platform that enables us to provide interactive courses anywhere in the world.  We want to make the preliminary translations of discourses by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III available to English speakers so they can benefit from the correct and practical teachings on the Dharma as originally expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha. Our Immediate effort is primarily focuses on this, but we will also offer courses on the Sutras, Suttas, and commentaries recommended by our Buddha Master as well as biographies of patriarchs and other holy beings who can serve as role models for our own practice.

ENROLLMENT OPTIONS:

You have several options:

AUDITING STUDENT: This is like auditing a course. The courses offered in the “Catalog of Courses” that will be available for the Auditing Student are marked with an (A) to indicate their audit status and that they are available to all the membership options. Since we want as many people as possible to understand the teachings of the Buddhas, we also want to make the courses available to as many people as possible. Therefore, these courses are tuition-free and require no credentials as to previous education or background. If you find you would like to switch to one of the degree or certificate programs, you can  enroll in either of the two paid membership programs (Buddhist Studies or Xiuxing Seminary). When you satisfactorily complete the those courses, you will receive appropriate credit toward a degree or certificate. Mentor services will not be available to the Auditing Student, nor can he or she take exams, receive feedback from class facilitators, or take certain classes that are only available for those enrolled in either the Buddhist Studies or the Xiuxing Seminary Program. 

COLLEGE OR SEMINARY: LFBCS offers two Master’s degree or certificate programs: The Buddhist Studies Program and the Xiuxing Seminary Program. Both are predominately on-line programs except for courses that cannot, at present, be offered on-line. The seminary option does require a 30-day solitary meditation retreat and offers certain courses designed to help the student to become a master and have his or her own temple or dharma center. The core courses are the same for both. These programs do require a paid membership.

DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE: As far as course requirements and content, they are the same. The certificate program is for those who do not wish to have another degree or to enable those who do not have undergraduate degrees from accredited colleges or universities to participate.

ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES:

Go to the Membership tab in the main menu bar at the top of the website to enroll in one of the three programs offered. Even without enrolling, you can use “guest access” to review the various courses offered at LFBSC. The ones that are currently or will be available will be listed under COURSES tab on top menu. All certificate and degree courses require that you complete  a special course, “G02-Spiritual Autobiography”, and the Dharma Discourse courses require you complete “D01-Buddhism for Beginners, Listening to the Supreme and Magnificent Dharma” before enrolling in other courses. There are a few other prerequisites that are noted with the individual courses. CLICK to see the courses that are required for the Buddhist Studies Program and CLICK for those required in the Xiuxing Seminary Program.