Shedra is a Tibetan word meaning "place of teaching" but specifically refers to the educational program in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries. It is usually attended by monks and nuns between their early teen years and early twenties. Not all young monastics enter a shedra; some study ritual practices instead. Shedra is variously described as a university, monastic college, or philosophy school. The age range of students typically corresponds to both secondary school and college. After completing a shedra, some monks continue with further scholastic training toward a Khenpo or Geshe degree, and other monks pursue training in ritual practices.
Curriculum
The curriculum varies with the lineage and monastery but most cover the main foundational texts in the Tibetan Buddhist canon, such as the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā by Nagarjuna and the Madhyamakāvatāra by Candrakīrti. Some non-Buddhist courses, such as grammar, poetry, history, and arts may be included. The initial years focus on the Buddhist sutras and the remaining years on tantras. Care is taken to introduce foundational topics first, building key concepts and vocabulary for later study. Compared to western educational systems, the shedra places much greater emphasis on memorization by students. Some traditions require monks memorize complete texts before studying them. They may be required to recite in class the new sections they've memorized each day. In some lineages, debate becomes a major focus and practice for refining one's understanding. In those lineages students may spend a major portion of the day in debate with each other. There are differing views on the importance of shedra. Gelug, Sakya and Jonang lineages consider the shedra training essential, whereas in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages, this is less the case.
Five topics
standardized the Tibetan Buddhist curriculum into five major topics, and this was later adopted by many other schools.
The shedra system at Sera Monastery, now relocated to southern India from Tibet, has a twelve- to twenty-year curriculum organized in the five topics. The first five years are foundational and cover logic, epistemology, vinaya, and the terms and distinctions built upon in later philosophic study. The next four years are devoted to studying specific texts, including Candrakīrti's Madhyamakavatara, Maitreya's Abhisamayalankara, and Dharmakīrti's Pramanavarttika. The remaining four to eight years continue with Vasubandhu's Treasury of Manifest Knowledge and Gunaprabha's Vinayamula Sutra, and, for some students, study of Guhyasamāja tantra.
Nyingma lineage
The shedra at Namdroling Monastery includes specific phases of study with particular texts used in each phase. Commentaries by Ju Mipham or Khenpo Shenga may be used with each text. The phases and texts include:
First year
* Training on the prātimokṣa, bodhisattva, and samaya vows using Treatise Ascertaining the Three Vows by Pema Wangyal
* Psychology using Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu, Abhidharmasamuccaya by Asanga, and Pramanavarttika by Dharmakirti
* Madhyamaka philosophy texts including Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Chatuhshataka-shastrakarika of Aryadeva, Madhyamakāvatāra, and Madhyamakalankara
Upper phase
* Yogacara philosophy using the five treatises of Maitreya via Asanga, including Gyulama, Abhisamayalankara, Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā, Madhyānta-vibhāga-kārikā and Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga
* Additional study on the vows and monastic discipline
* Zabmo Nangdön by Rangjung Dorje with commentaries by Rangjung Dorje and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye as a basis for tantra
* Hevajra Tantra with commentaries by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
History
Monastic education and a tradition of scholarship was not unique to Tibet, but was imported when Buddhism was brought from India initially by Shantarakshita. Major Buddhist universities such as Nalanda University existed as places for advanced studies in India up until the twelfth century.
