E-Learning Programs

At the beginning when I red the papers for the first time I was also impressed about the poverty of the material provided , I do not know why , but I was expecting more .
Then , I red the two suggested books “Buddhist Psychotherapy - H.S.S. Nissanka ” and “ An Introduction to Buddhist Psychology - Padmasiri de Silva “ and I red again the papers for a second time and I started to get a more clear picture of the course . I think we need to change our Paradigma and not strictly compare Buddhist Psychology to Western Psychology . In the latter the therapy is targeted to a specific patient with a tailor made treatment , instead Buddhism hold the view that all , more or less , we are mentally disturbed and the target is an universal therapy which allows everybody to extinguish “ Lobha - Dosa and Moha “ and get Liberated .
I am not a Psychologist , neither a therapist , but I think , drawn from my own personal experience that the four Brahmaviharas and the four Mindfulness could be powerful tools that a psychologist could integrate with Western Psychology . Finally the teachings on Patience , Generosity , Love and kindness and Compassion can help the therapist to create a better relationship with his patients .

While I acknowledge some of the same frustration with this course, particularly with the language use issue, I have found these modules useful in that things introduced in the course motivated me to do further research. As I am not a psychotherapist, I wanted a cursory understanding of the topic. Between the translation of many Buddhist concepts into English and the variety of English use patterns used in instruction more generally, I find a reliance on the course material alone, insufficient. There is, however, a plethora of information available online in the form of academic articles--certainly in a variety of qualities--on the topic of Buddhist psychotherapy. I can understand how a practising Buddhist psychotherapist might find a, what I categorise as introductory, course in the topic a bit lacking. Also, I believe it was suggested on this thread that the recommended readings be available in the e-library...that would be extremely helpful as I believe some students find it very difficult to find the books for purchase depending on the country they live in.

I liked the course. I found insight I could use in my private research. Having learnt four foreign languages, I can relate to the issue of compliance with grammar, which to me wasn't a major hindrance. Native English speakers may be biased here. There is a chasm between "school level" English and native level. You won't get native level from the Dalai Lama himself, either. I was shocked when I actually watched interviews with noted Zen master Deshimaru. He is credited with translating great Zen works into French, but his French was like first year level. Suzuki Roshi wasn't much better in English. I therefore applaud the birth of homegrown Buddhist teachers like Robert Thurman, Lama Michel Rinpoche etc.
But I learnt enough in the course to justify me taking it.
We should appreciate IBC's effort.
FWIW

Hi Gregory,
Yes I suppose your comments on handouts in general is fair. I decided for the most part to study each module by reading up on what the best sources are on each topic, since the course material provided has so far mostly be poor. For example the Bodhisattva course used Dr. Peter Della Santina's work, which seemed to contain quite a few factual errors, and a lack of references, making it rather useless for me personally. I would find it more helpful if the books on the reading list were in the digital library also. It does seem somewhat that we are given essays and exams but further than that we basically have to find our own way to learn the topics. I am actually ok with that, since at least it pushed me to study by the deadlines. But this particular module is something which is particularly interesting to me, since I am a practicing Buddhist AND a practicing Buddhist Psychotherapist. I had thought that a Buddhist College might have some very good input into this topic but I find basically no input at all into it from the course material. I was left wondering if the author actually knew what psychotherapy is!

[edit - strange my reply appears above yours Gregory, should be below if this is chronological order! And yes, a delete button would be good!]

While I'm not taking or planning to take Buddhist Psychotherapy, I have to echo your sentiments on the handouts in general.

There are numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the handouts, some rendering portions of the content unintelligible.

So much so, I've considered retyping all of the handouts with a consistent format for the benefit of future students.

That said, as for the content of the courses I've taken - Theravada, Mahayana, Indian Buddhism, Abhidhamma, Abhidharma, Chinese Buddhism - I'm finding the content more than worthwhile.

What is your overall impression?

I feel with some minor cleanup to the content and some consistency in the formatting (at least for the courses I've taken) the content is acceptable and valuable, though some additional video lectures would be appreciated.

Looks like this posted twice

A delete function here would be beneficial