A guest lecturer, Dr. Peter Della Santina, was invited to give a course in “Mahayana Buddhism: Basic Doctrines” at International Buddhist College (IBC) in Thung Mo Subdistrict of Khuan Sato, Songkhla. This was part of IBC's concept of offering its students an in-depth study of Buddhism; in this case, from the Mahayana Tradition point of view.

Dr. Peter Della Santina

Dr. Peter Della Santina was born in USA and received his B.A. in religion from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA. He obtained his MA in Philosophy from the University of Delhi, India; followed by a Ph.D in Buddhist Studies from the same University in 1979.

He has spent many years studying and teaching in South and East Asia. He was the Coordinator of the Buddhist Studies project at the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore, a department of the Ministry of Education from 1983 to 1985. More recently, he was a senior fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Simla, India and taught Philosophy at the Fo Kuang Shan Academy of Chinese Buddhism in Kaoh-shiung, Taiwan.

For more than twenty-five years Dr. Santina has been a student of His Holiness Sakya Trizin, leader of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism. He has published several books and articles in academic journals including “Nagarjuna's Letter to King Gautamiputra” (Delhi 1978 & 1982), “Madhyamaka Schools in India” (Delhi1986) and “Madhyamaka and Modern Western Philosophy” (Philosophy East and West, Hawaii 1986).
“Mahayana Buddhism: Basic Doctrines” Course

The “Mahayana Buddhism: Basic Doctrines” Course is part of a four year program for a first degree conducted by the Faculty of Religious Studies, IBC. This is a two-week intensive course aimed at introducing students to Mahayana Buddhism in India. It is designed to provide an insight into the basic doctrines of the main Mahayana schools.

The following are some information regarding the course:

Entry qualification

Holders of a higher education entrance qualification to recognized universities or a bhikkhu/novice with grade five in Pali Study may register for the course. Students are also required to be adequately proficient in English, as the Course will be conducted in English.
Course Requirement and Contribution to Passing Grade

Assignment (2000 words) - 10%
Mid-term examination - 20%
Final examination - 50%
Attendance (75% of full attendance) - 10%
Class participation - 10%
Report on Week 1 of “Mahayana Buddhism: Basic Doctrines” Course

Week 1 of the Course was held from Monday, 28 November 2005 to Saturday, 3 December 2005. It consisted of a total of eleven 2-hour lectures conducted by Dr. Santina and was well attended. About forty students from IBC, as well as foreign students from Penang and Kuala Lumpur attended the lectures. In his lectures, Dr. Santina gave the doctrinal origins of the Mahayana and discussed the Mahayana view of the Buddha, the doctrine of emptiness and the concept of storehouse consciousness.

Recommended text consisted of The Tree of Enlightenment written by Dr. Peter Della

Santina, some of the major Mahayana Sutras and course notes handed out during Dr. Santina's lectures
The second week will be held from 16 to 21 January 2006 and will cover the major Mahayana schools, their literature and their fully formulated doctrines as well as the later developments in Indian Mahayana. More students are expected for this session.