DHARMA REALM UNIVERSITY

      Dharma Realm University, the first Buddhist University in the Western World, will open its doors to students in early February, 1977.

      The headquarters of the new university will be on the main campus in Talmage, California, (near Ukiah), while the extension campus will be in San Francisco. Dharma Realm University was formally founded as a branch of the Sino-American Buddhist Association.

      Education at the University will emphasize personally tailored programs that concentrate on the practical application of learning. Courses of study will offer students a chance to develop an ethical basis for living and an understanding of fundamental human values. All programs are open to qualified students regardless of religious background, and courses in religious studies will not be required.

      The University plans to develop a full curriculum, and will grant A.A., B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in three major program areas: Buddhist Studies; Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Practical, Creative, and Individual Arts. Classes will be based on a semester system, in regular classroom, seminar, tutorial frameworks. A program of continuing education will make the University a learning and cultural center for people for all ages.

      Initially, the greatest number of class offerings will be in East-West studies. An innovative program in Buddhist Studies will offer, in addition to monastic curricula, courses and workshops in Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation techniques. Courses in Asian languages, literature, philosophy, and culture; in Chinese medicine; and in individual arts such as t'ai chi ch'uan and kungfu are also planned.

      Affiliated with the University will be a world Religions Center and an International Translation Center. The World Religions Center will sponsor workshops, conferences, and other special programs to aid in mutual understanding and good will among those of different faiths. The Translation Center will sponsor courses, workshops, and special programs concerned with translation techniques for a wide range of languages and will coordinate a unique degree-program in translation.

      Applications and inquiries are invited from prospective students. Information about undergraduate and graduate study, either full- or part-time, for spring, summer, or fall, 1977, may be obtained by writing or calling Dharma Realm University, City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, P.O. Box 217, Talmage, California 95481, telephone (707) 462-0939, or the University's San Francisco Extension, at 1731 Fifteenth Street, San Francisco, California, 94103, telephone (415) 621-5202

      The Sino-American Buddhist Association, the parent organization of Dharma Realm University, is a tax-exempt, non-profit religious and educational corporation with a wide international reputation and thousands of members throughout the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, the organization is particularly known in the international Buddhist community for its fostering of the highest ideals of ethical conduct and monastic training, of vigorous self-sacrifice for the general welfare of all, and of strict equality. One of its divisions, the Buddhist Text Translations Society, is devoted to translation of the Buddhist Canon and other Buddhist writings into the major world languages and is the largest organization of its kind.