This list describes courses offered at Maitripa College between 2019 and 2024. Maitripa College faculty and staff are committed to periodic review and revision of degree curricula in light of new findings and methods in the fields of study, feedback from alumni and professionals, and faculty expertise. These courses are not guaranteed to be offered in the future, and new courses may be developed in 2025 and beyond.
Action Research Project
ARP502 Action Research Project I
(2 credits) The Action Research Project is a form of integrative and collaborative research, reflection, and writing. Students become researchers by choosing a principle question and working with faculty mentors to design a research [...]
ARP504 Action Research Project II
(2 credits) Building upon ARP502, students who have implemented their approved Action Research Project proposal and successfully gathered significant data enroll in ARP504 to complete their Action Research Project. In this term, students will [...]
Classical Tibetan Language
TIB101 Introduction to Classical Tibetan Language
(2 credits) Introduction to alphabet, grammar, and sentence structure of Classical Tibetan language. Students gain first exposure to dictionary use and online resources for Tibetan studies.
TIB102 Introduction to Classical Tibetan Language II
(2 credits) This course continues the study of Tibetan grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of Classical Tibetan language that students have undertaken in Introduction to Classical Tibetan I, including alphabet, grammar, and sentence structure. [...]
TIB104 Classical Tibetan Summer Intensive Part 1
(2 credits) In Part 1, we will learn the foundations of classical Tibetan, beginning with the alphabet, and learning the basics of pronunciation, writing, word formation, and reading of simple phrases and sentences. No [...]
TIB106 Classical Tibetan Summer Intensive Part 2
(2 credits) In Part 2, we will begin learning the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of classical Tibetan. We will learn how to look up words in Tibetan dictionaries, recognize and use the different types [...]
TIB108 Classical Tibetan Language Summer Intensive
(4 credits) The focus of this eight-week summer course will be on gaining the ability to pronounce and read paradigmatic Tibetan sentences, then read and debate in Tibetan the early chapters of Pur-bu-jok’s Collected [...]
TIB201 Classical Tibetan Language Intermediate I
(2 credits) Students continue to deepen their knowledge of Tibetan grammar and syntax through reading and decoding basic verse and prose texts and commentaries on Buddhist philosophy and practice in their original language. This [...]
TIB202 Classical Tibetan Language Intermediate II
(2 credits) Students continue to deepen their knowledge of Tibetan grammar and syntax through reading and decoding basic verse and prose texts and commentaries on Buddhist philosophy and practice in their original language. This [...]
TIB301r Seminar in Tibetan Translation
(2 credits) Students read and translate Tibetan texts and their commentaries in their original language. In this course we will learn reading and reciting Tibetan texts, developing pronunciation, and translating with an emphasis on [...]
Compassionate Service
CS008 Independent Study in Community Service
(1-2 credits) The Independent Study in Community Service is created and supervised by Maitripa College Faculty. They are of two types: instructional and oversight. Oversight by Maitripa College faculty. Student proposes to participate in an [...]
CS301 Foundations of Buddhist Service
(2 credits) This course is an introduction to the service core at Maitripa College for all students, focusing on understanding and developing a Personal Theology both within and outside of the Buddhist tradition, understanding [...]
CS302 Finding Your Voice: Communication and Contexts
(2 credits) This is the second course in the service pillar at Maitripa College, which builds on the foundation of the first term, exploring concepts and practicalities related to identifying and expressing yourself as [...]
CS303 Chaplaincy and Models of Spiritual Care
(2 credits) Spiritual Care, or offering the arts of ministry and chaplaincy in the midst of others’ suffering, is now being done by Buddhists in a variety of secular and multi-faith contexts. Through multiple [...]
CS304 Buddhist Ministry and the Spiritual Caregiver in Buddhist/Spiritual Communities
(2 credits) This course will explore methods of embodied spiritual leadership in support of Buddhist/spiritual communities, with a particular emphasis on cultivating the inner and outer qualities of skillful community ministry and spiritual care. [...]
CS500 Field Education Placement
(3 credits) The Field Education Placement is a structured internship co-created by the host organization and Maitripa College. Credit is variable.
Contemplative Education
ED310 Buddhist Education – Stages of Human Development: Learning, Teaching, and Faith
(2 credits) This course will focus on the stages of human development from the perspectives of teaching, learning, and spiritual growth. The course material will focus on theories that center the progression of physical, [...]
History
HIS301 History of Buddhist Philosophy: India and Tibet
(2 credits) This course will provide a broad-based survey of the history of Buddhism in India and Tibet. The course may begin by discussing the historical and cultural context out of which Buddhism emerged, namely [...]
HIS317 Buddha: Stories, Songs, Theories, Devotion
(1 credit) Buddha, “the awakened,” is the ideal being – and state of being – in all Buddhist traditions. This course will explore the contours of the Buddha-ideal as revealed in legendary narratives, devotional [...]
Meditation
MDT301 Introduction to Buddhist Meditation
(2 credits) This course will provide a broad introduction to the vast corpus of techniques and practices of Buddhist meditation, with particular emphasis on the techniques of analytical meditation. The course will be taught [...]
MDT302 Techniques of Buddhist Meditation: The Medium and Great Scope
(2 credits) This course will continue with instruction in meditation based on the foundations established in MDT 301. The course will be taught in an interactive format, allowing students the opportunity to learn specific [...]
MDT303 Techniques of Meditation: Madhyamaka
(2 credits) The subject matter of this course will parallel the topics of Buddhist philosophy as taught in PHL303. The course will be taught in an interactive format, allowing students the opportunity to learn [...]
MDT304 Madhyamaka Meditation: Preparation for Vajrayana
(2 credits) The subject matter of this course will parallel the topics of Buddhist philosophy as taught in as taught in PHL304. The course will be taught in an interactive format, allowing students the [...]
MDT307 Madhyamaka Buddhist Meditation: Lineage of India into Tibet
(2 credits) This course will connect students with the wisdom lineage of the Madhyamaka teachings beginning in India and moving into Tibet and introduce them to the living forms of meditation practice unique to [...]
MDT308 Techniques of Meditation: Mahamudra
(2 credits) This course will continue with instruction in meditation based on the practices established in MDT 303 (fall semester), with a focus on deepening Shiné (calm abiding) and practicing mahamudra instructions for realizing [...]
MDT330 Meditations on Emptiness
(1 credit) This course is intended for those students who have already completed a year of lamrim study and practice (PHL301, MDT301, PHL302, MDT302) and wish to complement their continuing study of lamrim, Madhyamaka, and [...]
MDT334: Meditations on Emptiness II
(2 credits) The heart of Buddhist practice is meditation on emptiness, a rigorous contemplative approach towards gaining deep insight into the nature of reality with the goal of attaining liberation for the benefit of [...]
MDT335 Meditation on the Nature of Reality: How Things Appear and How They Exist
(2 credits) In this class, you will be guided in meditation on views of the ultimate nature of reality and, ultimately, be introduced to the view of emptiness in accordance with Tibetan Buddhist thought. In [...]
MDT412 Techniques of Meditation: The Wind Element
(2 credits) According to the Tibetan Medical tantras, the Wind element (rlung-spyi) is the breath, life force, and energy of the body and mind. It is pervasive and circulates inside and outside of the [...]
Philosophy
PHL301 Introduction to Buddhist Thought
(2 credits) This course will make use of philosophical treatises, literature, and historical analysis to present the foundations of Buddhist philosophy as taught by the early Indian pandits and commented upon by Tibetan scholars. [...]
PHL302 Foundations and Ethics of Buddhist Thought: The Medium and Great Scope
(2 credits) This class surveys the foundational philosophical ideas of the Buddhist tradition as presented by the great pandits of India and commented upon by the Tibetan inheritors of the Indian Buddhist tradition. The [...]
PHL303 Madhyamaka Philosophy: Where is the Middle Way?
(2 credits) An overview and in-depth introduction to the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the philosophy and practice of Madhyamaka, or the “Middle Way,” as presented by the renowned Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna [...]
PHL304 Madhyamaka Philosophy: A Dose of Emptiness
(2 credits) A continuation of the Madhyamaka I course, in which the exploration and debate of the philosophy and practice of Madhyamaka, or the “Middle Way” is deepened and refined. The primary reading text [...]
PHL307 Madhyamaka Buddhist Philosophy: India to Tibet
(2 credits) This course will lay the groundwork for the study of the Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy of the Tibetans through exploring its origins and development in the Indian philosophical tradition and proceed into an [...]
PHL308 Mahamudra: Realizing the Nature of Mind
(2 credits) The aim of this course is to explore the Great Seal, Mahāmudrā, which in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism is the attempt to realize the conventional and especially the ultimate nature of the [...]
PHL326 Foundations of Mind Training (Service as Spiritual Practice): Lojong and Your Community
(2 credits) According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the key to happiness is not the eradication of our problems but rather the development of a mind capable of transforming any problem into a cause [...]
PHL328 Advanced Mind Training and Service as Spiritual Practice II: Lojong, Calm-Abiding, and Your Community
(2 credits) According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the key to happiness is not the eradication of our problems but rather the development of a mind capable of transforming any problem into a cause [...]
PHL404 Fundamentals of the Vajra Vehicle
(2 credits) This course will provide students with an overview to the history, theory, and ethical practice of the tantras of the Secret Mantra Vehicle as described in the works of Tsongkhapa, founder of [...]
PHL412 Tibetan Medicine: The Wind Element
(2 credits) Tibetan Medicine (bod kyi gso ba rig pa, or Sowa Rigpa) is one of the oldest known traditional medicine systems in the world. It is a unique tradition based on medical knowledge [...]
PHL450 Theories and Methods of Buddhist Studies
(2 credits) This course is designed to give students the methodological and theoretical tools needed to think critically about ways to approach the academic study of Buddhism, tools that will be imperative in the [...]
PHL500 Masters Thesis/Comprehensive Exam
(4 credits) Final mastery for the MA degree is demonstrated through one of the following options. MA students with permission to complete the Exam or Thesis will register for PHL500 (and PHL501, below, for [...]
PHL501 Masters Thesis/Comprehensive Exams
(1 credit) This course is required of MA students who have successfully completed all coursework toward their degree with the exception of their final degree requirement. Students must register for PHL501 to maintain residency [...]
Theology
THL007 Applied Buddhist Theology: Difficult Topics
(2 credits) In the Applied Buddhist Theology Internship, students work under the supervision of faculty on a proposed and approved special topic, project, or training that integrates Buddhist thought, practice, and skills, with clear [...]
THL305 Engaged Buddhism: Non-Violence and Social Justice in Buddhist Thought and Practice
(2 credits) Engaged Buddhism is the application of the Dharma to large and small scale problems that cause suffering in the world. Most commonly it is thought of as Buddhist social and political action, [...]
THL320 Contemporary Buddhist Thought and Theology
(2 credits) The work of the academic study of Buddhism by contemporary scholars has offered tremendous insights into the historical and social conditions that grounded, informed, and influenced the formation of Buddhist ideas and [...]
THL324 Self-Compassion for Buddhists
(1 credit) Many Buddhists dedicate themselves to practicing kindness and compassion for others, and inadvertently leave themselves out. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, “If your compassion does not include yourself, it [...]
THL325 Understanding World Religions: Concepts of and Contributions to Justice and Peace
(2 credits) This course offers an overview of the worldviews of various religions and ideologies and an examination of their ideas of, teachings on, and action in relationship to the concepts of justice and [...]
THL327 Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death in Comparative Theology and Religion
(2 credits) Guatama Buddha famously experienced the four sights in the form of encounters with the human experiences of aging, sickness, death, and a wandering renunciate. These encounters are said to have led directly [...]
THL330 Mapping the Landscape of Western Spirituality: Comparative Religious Traditions in Theology and Practice
(2 credits) This course may be offered at the discretion of the instructor, to meet the goals of expanding upon interfaith and comparative studies, increasing exposure to the diversity of beliefs, practices, and traditions [...]
THL337 Empathy, Listening, and Mindful Compassionate Dialogue
(2 credits) In the fields of professional spiritual care, and within our communities and relationships, “sympathy,” “empathy,” and “compassion,” are said to be valued, but have often been poorly or insufficiently defined. This situation [...]
THL338 Insight Dialogue: Interpersonal Meditation
(1 credit) Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice that brings together meditative awareness, the wisdom teachings of the Buddha, and relationship. It is a contemporary practice with the same purposes and traditional roots [...]
THL339 Mindful Compassionate Dialogue
(1 credit) People who experience connection to core values while engaged in meditation, prayer, and other spiritual practices may also find that when they step back into daily life ‘off the cushion,’ they can [...]
THL340 Introduction to Contemplative Education
(1 credit) This course will explore the integration of contemplative practices, philosophies, and orientations into educational practices in modern American education. The course content will focus on the development of the field of contemplative [...]
THL350 Introduction to Buddhist Chaplaincy
(1 credit) This course will introduce Buddhist contributions to chaplaincy and/or spiritual care skills and professions, exploring how Buddhist wisdom, compassion, and practices support the spiritual caregiver to meet the suffering of others effectively [...]
THL360 Arts of Ministry: Special Topics
(2 credits) The arts of ministry are broad and training in them fosters intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral agility, or the expressions and embodiments of spiritual formation and maturation. In theological training, the artis of [...]
THL364 Buddhist Scriptures: On Compassion
(2 credits) Whether you are new to Buddhism or have been studying or practicing for years, this course invites you to make an acquaintance with a selection of Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and other [...]
THL370 Seminar in Buddhist Ministry, Practical/Pastoral Theology, and Spiritual Care: Spiritual Reflection and Meaning
(2 credits) While a field of Buddhist Practical Theology has yet to fully emerge, for Buddhists who provide spiritual care and counseling as dharma community leaders or teachers within Buddhist communities, or as chaplains, [...]
THL410 Buddhist Rituals, Ethics, Services, and Ceremonies
(2 credits) This course will present an overview of some of the most important rituals, ethics, services, and ceremonies that form the core of Buddhist practice in the Tibetan tradition, and shape everyday life [...]
THL412 Buddhist Rituals and Ceremonies for Healing
(2 credits) The practice of ethics is central to the Buddhist worldview and entirely relevant not only to oneself but also to every living being, framed within the Buddhist understanding of reality known as [...]
THL416 Systemic Suffering and Collective Liberation: Awakening to Race, Dharma, and Ourselves
(2 credits) In the safety and sanctity of this Buddhist environment, this class will explore the deep and troubling issues of race and racism in Oregon, the United States, and in our lives, from [...]
THL418 Arts of Buddhist Ministry: Introduction to an Emerging Field
(2 credits) What is Buddhist Ministry? In recent years, a number of Buddhist professionals and scholars are newly and creatively posing working definitions and disciplinary-defining principles and practices. Buddhist ministry appears to be emerging [...]
THL423 Spiritual Care in Practice
(2 credits) This class will develop the students’ interpersonal competencies of spiritual care or pastoral care and counseling, focusing on the foundational skills most often used by those in service roles such as chaplains, therapists, [...]
THL424 A Good Death: Approaching the End of Life
(2 credits) What is a “Good Death”? What guides decisions—our own and those of our loved ones, community, and clients—about how to have or support a “Good Death”? This course explores three times—preparing for death, [...]
THL425 Death, Loss, Grieving and Healing: Personal and Community Processes
(2 credits) This course will explore preparing for death through to its aftermath for oneself, our loved ones –learning to make deeper use of this powerful opportunity for spiritual practice. The course will also [...]
THL428 Family Systems and Group Process
(1 credit) The course will offer understanding of Family Systems and Internal Family Systems theories, and engage participants in applying theory to their own experiences, including the interpersonal dynamics of the group setting. Attention [...]
THL500 Master of Divinity Final Comprehensive Paper
(4 credits) The Final Comprehensive Paper embodies the integration of the student's practical and theoretical knowledge and understanding gained in the Master of Divinity program. The paper is comprised of questions in several sections [...]
THL502 MDiv Final Comprehensive Paper/Project
(2 credits) See THL500. This course is to be selected when student wishes to complete the 4 required credits over a year, 2 in fall and 2 in spring, in their final year once [...]
