Xining Ma
First-year student of Master's Program in Department of Buddhist Studies
With regard to the preparation for the admission exams to the master program in Dila, I strongly recommend students bury their heads in those reference books on the list rendered by the department of Buddhism. I had personally spared quite some time on all the books for almost four months, which enabled me to feel comfortable with a colossal number of Buddhist terms in the books and to memorize them so as to express them with my own words when taking the exams.
For the reference of he who would like to become one of us next year, first of all, I usually spent at least one hour a day on Buddhism English, focused wholeheartedly on “What the Buddha Taught”, which instructs me not only the Buddhism essence but the way to express them in English as well. Besides figuring out what every sentence meant, I would identify all the terminology concerning Buddhism and put them down in a handy notebook I brought along everyday so that I could review them efficiently and effectively whenever and wherever I was available. By and by, I found myself memorize all of them without efforts! Moreover, I highlighted and studied repeatedly some Buddhist core ideas in the book because I believed some of them should definitely be put on my answer sheet as correct answers.
As for the other subject “Introduction to Buddhism”, a real challenge for me honestly, I made strenuous efforts to learn what those books were trying to tell me about Buddhism, which had been a confusing and unforgettable experience for me because there were so many people in the history, Chinese, Indians or other foreigners, who had exerted their strength respectively to shape what we see as Buddhism and numerous incidents, major or minor, which made what Buddhism is today. Once found myself lost in the overwhelming number of causes and effects, people and events, I panicked, not knowing what to do. Going through a few days of anxiety, I put myself together, opened those books again, and started summarizing every chapter to clarify for myself what I was told by the books. Despite not finishing all the chapters, I had been actually equipped with plenty of knowledge about Buddhism for the entrance exam and fortunately admitted to Dila.
You might find yourself not ready yet and that’s totally fine because we will go to your aid without hesitation. All you have to do is make a New Year resolution to become one of us and to experience the incredibly refreshing, amazing and inspiring school life here in Dila. You will receive a cordial and warm welcome from everyone here just like what I have been going through until right this moment!
留言列表
