Education in Buddhism as a subject on its own has hitherto attracted the attention of very few scholars. Reference is made to some pertinent remarks on the topic by Ananda W.P. Guruge, which then are related to education in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. An explanation is given of what is meant by Indo-Tibetan Buddhism in this paper and of what in Sanskrit and Tibetan corresponds to ‘education’.
As chief doctrinal innovations in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism are briefly discussed the Bodhisattva ideal and the concept of ‘skill in means’, being the preconditions for the development of Indo-Tibetan education. With the help of original Indian Buddhist sources, viz. the canonical description of the ‘five approaches to the ultimate emancipation of mind’, an attempt is made to give an idea of the somewhat unique education systems of Tibetan Buddhism. Alongside the discussion of the ‘five approaches or enterings’ the central methodology of Dharma reception and transmission is referred to, being comprised of two kinds of hermeneutic possibilities pertaining to what has been called ‘gradualism and subitism’. These two concepts could well serve as a solid foundation for a comprehensive Buddhist philosophy of education.
