Pali and Buddhist Studies

Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies

The Department of Pali and Buddhist studies offers study programs leading to Bachelor of Arts, General and Special degrees in Buddhist Culture, Buddhist Philosophy and Pali. It is the mission of the Department to develop internal disciplines of learners by bringing out cultural and ethical values found in Buddhism, giving a philosophical and intellectual understanding of humans, society, environment and the universe.

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News & Events

International Conference on Buddhist Studies (29th October 2021)

Launching of the Gnanagawesi

The launching ceremony of the Reverend Professor Wilegoda Ariyadewa commemoration volume, Gnanagawesi, was held on January 10, 2017 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Auditorium. This event was organized by the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies and the chief guest was the Vice Chancellor.

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Academic Staff

Non Academic Staff

Contact Info

Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies
University of Ruhuna
Matara
Sri Lanka

Tel : +94 412222681/82 Ext: 3601
Fax : +94 412227010
Email : pali@hss.ruh.ac.lk

Head's Message

Heenbanda, A.H.M. (Mr.)

At the outset, the Unit of Pali and Buddhist Culture was started under the Department of Sinhala. In 1992, it was established as a separate Department and it has a history of almost three decades. Ever since, we have disseminated knowledge pertaining to Buddhism and Pali language. Our Department offers three independent subjects: Pali, Buddhist Culture, and Buddhist Philosophy for General and Special degree programmes with the help of a well-qualified staff. The department annually organizes field trips related to ancient Buddhist Archaeological monuments in Sri Lanka and also publishes an annual journal titled, ‘Gnanagavesi’.

Today, there is a tendency towards studying early Buddhism both in the Eastern and the Western countries. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study these subjects in order to do a commendable service to mankind. Our subjects determinedly pave the way for creating good citizens with sound and ethical qualities.

Course Units

Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Buddhist Studies in Buddhist Culture
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	BST11613 History of Buddhism in India	Core	03
	ELG11612 Elements of English Grammar	Core	02
	ITS11613 Computer Literacy & Basic ICT Skills	Core	03
	SES11612 Ethics, Values and Vision of Life	Core	02
2^ndSemester	BST12613 Basic Teachings of Early Buddhism	Core	03
	ELG12612 Reading Skills	Core	02
	ITS12612 Essential Skills in Digital Presentation	Core	02
	SLG12612 Sinhala Writing Skills	Core	02
2000 Level
1^stSemester	BST21613 Buddhist Social Philosophy	Core	03
	BST21623 Mahayana Buddhist Thought	Core	03
	BST21633 Historical Development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka	Core	03
	BST21643 World Religion Studies	Core	03
	MNS21613 Mathematical and Numerical Skills	Core	03
	TLG21613 Basic Tamil	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST22613 Textual Study (Pali and Sanskrit)	Core	03
	BST22623 Buddhist Educational Philosophy	Core	03
	BST22633 Buddhist Vinaya and Philosophy of Law	Core	03
	BST22643 Buddhist Economic and Political Thought	Core	03
	SES22613 Information Literacy and Scientific Communication Skills	Core	03
	SES22611 Socio-Emotional Skills	Core	01
3000 Level
1^stSemester	BCU31613 Buddhist Health and Hygiene	Core	03
	BCU31623 Buddhist Ethics	Core	02
	BCU31633 Contemporary World Buddhist Culture	Core	03
	BCU31643 Buddhist Culture in Asian Countries -i (Theravada)	Core	03
	CSE31612 Philosophy of knowledge and Research	Core	02
	ELG31613 Academic Writing Skills	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BCU32613 History of Buddhism in India (Post - Ashokan Period)	Core	03
	BCU32623 Buddhist Art and Antiquities - i (Sri Lanka)	Core	03
	BCU32633 Buddhist Environmental Philosophy	Core	03
	BCU32643 Fundamental Doctrines of Buddhist Management	Core	03
	HRM32613 Human Resource Management	Core	03
	ELG32612 Business English	Core	02
4000 Level
1^stSemester	BCU41613 Research Design	Core	03
	BCU41623 Buddhist Culture in Asian Countries -ii (Mahayana)	Core	03
	BCU41633 Buddhist Art and Antiquities - ii (India and Nearby Kingdoms)	Core	03
	BCU41643 Buddhist Culture in Asian Countries -iii (Central Asia)	Core	03
	ITS41612 Information and Communication Technology for Personal and Office Usage	Core	02
	ELG41612 Public Speaking	Core	02
	SES41611 Soft Skills and Personality Development	Core	01
	SES41632 Critical and creative thinking	Core	02
2^ndSemester	BCU42619 Dissertation	Core	09
	BCU42623 Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals	Optional	03
	BCU42633 Internship	Optional	03

Course Modules Offered for Bachelor of Arts Degree Programme
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	BST11513 History of Buddhism in India	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST12513 Basic Teachings of Early Buddhism	Core	03
2000 Level
1^stSemester	BST21513 Buddhist Social Philosophy	Core	03
1^stSemester	BST21523 Historical Development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	BST22513 Buddhist Economic and Political Thought	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST22523 Buddhist Educational Philosophy	Optional	03
3000 Level
1^stSemester	BCU31513 Buddhist Ethics	Core	03
1^stSemester	BCU31523 Contemporary World Buddhist Culture	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	BCU32513 Buddhist Art and Antiquities - i (Sri Lanka)	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BCU32523 Fundamental Doctrines of Buddhist Management	Optional	03

	Special	General
1000 Level 1^stSemester	BCU 11513 The Origins of Buddhism(Background of Objective)	BCU 11513 The Origins of Buddhism (Background of Objective)

1000 Level 2^ndSemester	BCU 12513 Concepts of Buddhist Culture	BCU 12513 Concepts of Buddhist Culture

2000 Level 1^stSemester	BCU 21613 Early Buddhism	BCU 21513 Early Buddhism
	BCU 21623 Buddhist Social Philosophy	BCU 21523 Buddhist Social Philosophy
	BCU 21633 Study of Buddhist Primary Sources (Pali)
	BCU 21643 Study of Buddhist Primary Sources (Sanskrit)

2000 Level 2^ndSemester	BCU 22613 Buddhist Institutions	BCU 22513 Buddhist Institutions
	BCU 22623 History of Buddhism in India I (up to the Asoka era)
	BCU 22633 Evolution of Buddhist Schools
	BCU 22643 Buddhism and Modern Social Problems
	BCU 22653 Buddhist Economic and Political Philosophy

3000 Level 1^stSemester	BCU 31613 Expansion of Buddhist Culture I (South and South East Asia)	BCU 31513 Expansion of Buddhist Culture I (South and South East Asia)
	BCU 31623 Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture I (Ancient Period – End of 15th Century)	BCU 31523 Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture I (Ancient Period – End of 15th Century)
	BCU 31633 Buddhist Art and Antiquities I(India and near Kingdoms)
	BCU 31643 Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture II (Modern Period)

3000 Level 2^ndSemester	BCU 32613 Buddhist Art and Antiquities II(Sri Lanka)	BCU 32513 Buddhist Art and Antiquities (Sri Lanka)
	BCU 32623 Mahayana Buddhism
	BCU 32633 History of Buddhism in India II(Post-Ashokan Era)
	BCU 32643 Buddhist Festivals and Rites
	BCU 32653 Buddhist Aesthetic Philosophy

4000 Level 1^stSemester	BCU 41613 Buddhist Management
	BCU 41623 Buddhism and World Religions
	BCU 41633 Contemporary World Buddhist Culture
	BCU 41643 Independent Dissertation

4000 Level 2^ndSemester	BCU 42613 Expansion of Buddhist Culture II (North and North East Asia)
	BCU 42623 Buddhist Philosophy of Health Science
	BCU 42633 Buddhist Jurisprudence
	BCU 42643 Independent Dissertation
	BCU 42653 Buddhist Environmental Philosophy

Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Buddhist Studies in Buddhist Philosophy
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	BST11613 History of Buddhism in India	Core	03
	ELG11612 Elements of English Grammar	Core	02
	ITS11613 Computer Literacy & Basic ICT Skills	Core	03
	SES11612 Ethics, Values and Vision of Life	Core	02
2^ndSemester	BST12613 Basic Teachings of Early Buddhism	Core	03
	ELG12612 Reading Skills	Core	02
	ITS12612 Essential Skills in Digital Presentation	Core	02
	SLG12612 Sinhala Writing Skills	Core	02
2000 Level
1^stSemester	BST21613 Buddhist Social Philosophy	Core	03
	BST21623 Mahayana Buddhist Thought	Core	03
	BST21633 Historical Development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka	Core	03
	BST21643 World Religion Studies	Core	03
	MNS21613 Mathematical and Numerical Skills	Core	03
	TLG21613 Basic Tamil	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST22613 Textual Study (Pali and Sanskrit)	Core	03
	BST22623 Buddhist Educational Philosophy	Core	03
	BST22633 Buddhist Vinaya and Philosophy of Law	Core	03
	BST22643 Buddhist Economic and Political Thought	Core	03
	SES22613 Information Literacy and Scientific Communication Skills	Core	03
	SES22611 Socio-Emotional Skills	Core	01
3000 Level
1^stSemester	BPH31613 Buddhist Theory of Knowledge	Core	03
	BPH31623 Buddhist Ethics	Core	02
	BPH31633 Buddhist Psychology	Core	03
	BPH31643 Abhidhamma Studies	Core	03
	CSE31612 Philosophy of knowledge and Research	Core	02
	ELG31613 Academic Writing Skills	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BPH32613 Buddhist Logic	Core	03
	BPH32623 Buddhist Counseling	Core	03
	BPH32633 Madhymika and Yogacara Philosophy	Core	03
	BPH32643 Fundamental Doctrines of Buddhist	Core	03
	HRM32613 Human Resource Management	Core	03
	ELG32612 Business English	Core	02
4000 Level
1^stSemester	BPH41613 Research Design	Core	03
	BPH41623 Buddhism and Modern Science	Core	03
	BPH41633 Early Buddhist Philosophical Schools	Core	03
	BPH41643 Buddhism and Western Philosophy	Core	03
	ITS41612 Information and Communication Technology for Personal and Office Usage	Core	02
	ELG41612 Public Speaking	Core	02
	SES41611 Soft Skills and Personality Development	Core	01
	SES41632 Critical and creative thinking	Core	02
2^ndSemester	BPH42619 Dissertation	Core	09
	BPH42623 Buddhist Meditation and Yoga	Optional	03
	BPH42633 Internship	Optional	03

Course Modules Offered for Bachelor of Arts Degree Programme
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	BST11513 History of Buddhism in India	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST12513 Basic Teachings of Early Buddhism	Core	03
2000 Level
1^stSemester	BST21513 Buddhist Social Philosophy	Core	03
1^stSemester	BST21523 Mahayana Buddhist Thought	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	BST22513 Buddhist Economic and Political Thought	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BST22523 Buddhist Educational Philosophy	Optional	03
3000 Level
1^stSemester	BPH31513 Buddhist Ethics	Core	03
1^stSemester	BPH31523 Buddhist Psychology	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	BPH32513 Buddhist Counseling	Core	03
2^ndSemester	BPH32523 Fundamental Doctrines of Buddhist Management	Optional	03

	Special	General
1000 Level 1^stSemester	BPH 11513 Pre-Buddhistic Philosophical Background	BPH 11513 Pre-Buddhistic Philosophical Background

1000 Level 2^ndSemester	BPH 12513 Early Buddhist Philosophy	BPH 12513 Early Buddhist Philosophy

2000 Level 1^st Semester	BPH 21613 Buddhist Social Philosophy	BPH 21513 Buddhist Social Philosophy
	BPH 21623 Comparative Study of Religions	BPH 21523 Comparative Study of Religions
	BPH 21633 Early Buddhist Philosophical Schools
	BPH 21643 Study of Mahayana Philosophy

2000 Level 2^ndSemester	BPH 22613 Buddhist Ethics	BPH 22513 Buddhist Ethics
	BPH 22623 Buddhism and Indian Philosophical Thought
	BPH 22633 Buddhist Bhawana and Yoga
	BPH 22643 Buddhist Philosophy and Contemporary Thoughts

3000 Level 1^stSemester	BPH 31613 Buddhism and Para-materialistic Doctrines	BPH 31513 Buddhism and Para-materialistic Doctrines
	BPH 31623 Buddhist Theory of Knowledge	BPH 31523 Buddhist Theory of Knowledge
	BPH 31633 Sanskrit Textual Study
	BPH 31643 Pali Textual Study

3000 Level 2^ndSemester	BPH 32613 Buddhist Psychology	BPH 32513 Buddhist Psychology
	BPH 32623 Educational Philosophy of Buddhism
	BPH 32633 Communication of Buddhist Doctrine
	BPH 32643 Abhidhamma Studies

4000 Level 1^stSemester	BPH 41613 Buddhist Aesthetics
	BPH 41623 Buddhist Logic and Dialectical Philosophy
	BPH 41633 Buddhist Cosmology and Modern Science
	BPH 41643 Independent Dissertation

4000 Level 2^ndSemester	BPH 42613 Buddhist Political Thought
	BPH 42623 East Asian Buddhist Philosophic Traditions
	BPH 42633 Buddhist Vinaya Study
	BPH 42643 Independent Dissertation

Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Pali
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL11613 Study of Prescribed Texts	Core	03
	ELG11612 Elements of English Grammar	Core	02
	ITS11613 Computer Literacy & Basic ICT Skills	Core	03
	SES11612 Ethics, Values and Vision of Life	Core	02
2^ndSemester	PAL12613 Pali Grammar and Unspecified Texts	Core	03
	ELG12612 Reading Skills	Core	02
	ITS12612 Essential Skills in Digital Presentation	Core	02
	SLG12612 Sinhala Writing Skills	Core	02
2000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL21613 Study of Prescribed Texts	Core	03
	PAL21623 Buddhist Vinaya Literature	Core	03
	PAL21633 Inter – Traditional Pali Grammar	Core	03
	PAL21643 Buddhism in Pali Canonical Literature	Core	03
	MNS21613 Mathematical and Numerical Skills	Core	03
	TLG21613 Basic Tamil	Core	03
2^ndSemester	PAL22613 History of Canonical and exegetical Literature	Core	03
	PAL22623 Unspecified Texts and Composition	Core	03
	PAL22633 Pali Literature in South-East Asia	Core	03
	PAL22643 Pali Chronicles	Core	03
	SES22613 Information Literacy and Scientific Communication Skills	Core	03
	SES22611 Socio-Emotional Skills	Core	01
3000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL31613 Study of Prescribed Texts	Core	03
	PAL31623 Pali Prosody	Core	02
	PAL31633 Linguistic Pali Grammar	Core	03
	PAL31643 Pali Prakarana Literature	Core	03
	CSE31612 Philosophy of knowledge and Research	Core	02
	ELG31613 Academic Writing Skills	Core	03
2^ndSemester	PAL32613 Social Philosophy in Pali Canon	Core	03
	PAL32623 Sanskrit Textual Studies	Core	03
	PAL32633 History of Pali Literature in Modern Era	Core	03
	PAL32643 Study and Editing of Palm Leaves Manuscripts	Core	03
	HRM32613 Human Resource Management	Core	03
	ELG32612 Business English	Core	02
4000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL41613 Proposal Writing	Core	03
	PAL41623 Critical Study of Pali Literature and Aesthetics	Core	03
	PAL41633 Middle Indo-Aryan Languages	Core	03
	PAL41643 Study of Abhidhamma Literature	Core	03
	ITS41612 Information and Communication Technology for Personal and Office Usage	Core	02
	ELG41612 Public Speaking	Core	02
	SES41611 Soft Skills and Personality Development	Core	01
	SES41632 Critical and creative thinking	Core	02
2^ndSemester	PAL42619 Dissertation	Core	09
	PAL42623 Internship	Optional	03
	PAL42633 Practice of Applied Pali Language	Optional	03

Course Modules Offered for Bachelor of Arts Degree Programme
	Course Code & Name	Status (Core /Optional)	Credit Value
1000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL11513 Study of Prescribed Texts	Core	03
2^ndSemester	PAL12513 Pali Grammar and Unspecified Texts	Core	03
2000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL21513 Study of Prescribed Text	Core	03
1^stSemester	PAL21523 Buddhism in Pali Canonical Literature	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	PAL22513 History of Canonical and Exegetical Literature	Core	03
2^ndSemester	PAL22523 Unspecified Text and Composition	Optional	03
3000 Level
1^stSemester	PAL31513 Study of Prescribed Text	Core	03
1^stSemester	PAL31523 Pali Prakarana Literature	Optional	03
2^ndSemester	PAL32513 Social Philosophy in Pali Canon	Core	03
2^ndSemester	PAL32523 History of Pali Literature in Modern Era	Optional	03

	Special	General
1000 Level 1^stSemester	PAL 11513 Prescribed Texts	PAL 11513 Prescribed Texts

1000 Level 2^ndSemester	PAL 12513 Pali Grammar - Unspecified Texts and Composition	PAL 12513 Pali Grammar - Unspecified Texts and Composition

2000 Level 1^stSemester	PAL 21613 Prescribed Texts	PAL 21513 Prescribed Texts
	PAL 21623 Unspecified Texts, Composition and History of the Canonical Literature	PAL 21523 Unspecified Texts, Composition and History of the Canonical Literature
	PAL 21633 Pali Literature in Theravada Buddhist Countries
	PAL 21643 Pali Historical Documents

2000 Level 2^ndSemester	PAL 22613 Traditional and Analytical Pali Grammar	PAL 22513 Traditional and Analytical Pali Grammar
	PAL 22623 Social Philosophy in Pali Nikaya
	PAL 22633 Unprescribed Text s and Composition
	PAL 22643 Buddhist Institutions

3000 Level 1^stSemester	PAL 31613 Prescribed Texts	PAL 31513 Prescribed Texts
	PAL 31623 Unspecified Texts, Composition and Pali Exegetical Literature	PAL 31523 Unspecified Texts, Composition and Pali Exegetical Literature
	PAL 31633 Pali Prakarana Literature
	PAL 31643 Study of Pali Poetics and Prosody

3000 Level 2^ndSemester	PAL 32613 Buddhism as Depicted in Canonical Literature	PAL 32513 Buddhism as Depicted in Canonical Literature
	PAL 32623 History of Pali Literature – Modern Period (from 18th Century onwards)
	PAL 32633 Critical Study of Pali Literature
	PAL 32643 Inter-traditional Pali Grammar

4000 Level 1^stSemester	PAL 41613 Prescribed Texts
	PAL 41623 Study of Buddhist Primary Sources (Sanskrit)
	PAL 41633 Linguistic Pali Grammar
	PAL 41643 Independent Dissertation

4000 Level 2^ndSemester	PAL 42613 Middle Indo-Aryan Languages
	PAL 42623 Abhidhamma Literature
	PAL 42633 Buddhist Vinaya Literature
	PAL 42643 Independent Dissertation