Crowd Funding for the All About Buddhism iLearning (ABBi) Project
Total donations required: US$ 10,000. Campaign started: 23 July 2020
Donations to date - US$ 1,680; MYR 6,431 (32% of Target Reached)
Sutta Boost: The Mangala Sutta
The Maṅgala Sutta is a discourse of the Buddha on the subject of 'blessings'. In this discourse, the Buddha describes 'blessings' that are wholesome personal pursuits or attainments, identified in a progressive manner from the mundane to the ultimate spiritual goal.
This sutta consists of 38 blessings and it is one of the best known and most popular short discourse. It is commonly used for recitals in Theravada Buddhist countries. This sutta serves as a fundamental text for Buddhist laity, helping them to lead a life of blessings.
Prerequisites
To take this course, the prerequite is to have some basic knowledge of Buddhism. Nevertheless, this online course will have adequate notes with detailed commentaries so that even beginners would have no problem following.
Objective of the course
-- To enable learners to appreciate the finer points of the Mangala Sutta
-- To help learners realize what "true blessings" are as taught by Buddha
-- To help learners put into practice these blessings so that their personal lives are spiritually enriched.
Topics covered in this course are as follows:
-- Introduction: Origin
-- Stanza I - Oneself a Gentleman
-- Stanza II - Suitable environment
-- Stanza III - Right Education
-- Stanza IV - Healthy family life
-- Stanza V - Healthy social life
-- Stanza VI - Healthy individual life
-- Stanza VII - Spiritual preparation 1
-- Stanza VIII - Spiritual preparation 2
-- Stanza IX - The Spiritual Path
-- Stanza X - The Spiritual Fruit
Methodology of the course
The course is geared towards self paced learning for adults. We encourage learners to explore certain subject matter of the sutta and decide what aspects are most important or relevant to their own personal cultivation. From there, we allow them to explore their own areas of interest while still controlling the overall setting for learning. We hope learners will enjoy the extra autonomy. The methodoloy is quite straight forward, and entails the following:
-- Access to course materials (self paced learning) by chapters.
-- There will be quizzes at the end of each chapter to test comprehension and understanding.
-- A progress bar will display each learner's level of completion.
-- After the completion of the entire course, a digital badge will be awarded that determines the quality of their completion.
-- Learners can always go back to the course materials at any point to further their studies. They can do so even after completing the course.
-- Course materials consist of a study text, explanations with commentaries, use of stories and anecdotes to illustrate certain concepts. There will be downloadeable materials for those who wish to keep them in hardcopy. Sutta chanting audio files in Thai and Sinhalese will also accompany the study text.
After the Mangala Sutta, the following courses will be put online in the coming months:
-- The Metta Sutta (Discourse on Loving Kindness)
-- Step by step Dhamma/Sutta Study Guide
-- The Great Communicator - Studying the various communication methods of the Buddha
-- Buddhist Symbols and Symbolism - An Understanding of Forms and Meanings.
-- 50 motivations from the Dhammapada: Verses, Explanations, Stories and Applications.
A public announcement will be made once the Mangala Sutta course is launched online on 1st October 2020. We thank you for your support in helping to make this significant event a reality. Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
We still need another US$ 6,800 to fully realize the Sutta Boost Learning Managament System (including paying for server costs and administration). If you wish to offer your support to this project, please make your donation here: