http://elibrary.ibc.ac.th/students

The Dean’s List and Warden’s List Awards are two of the many awards that IBC offers every semester to its students for their dedication and outstanding achievement in Academic and Conduct performances respectively. We give our congratulations to students who have earned a place on the Dean’s and Warden’s Lists this semester.

This honor is reserved for the highest-achieving students at IBC who exemplify dedication and commitment to their studies and cultivation. We are proud to have you join the ranks of distinguished and accomplished IBC students and look forward to helping you continue to work toward greatness.

On January 03, 2018 (Wednesday), the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, the founder and the council chairman of the International Buddhist College (IBC), presented the Award of Dean’s and Warden’s Lists to outstanding students in recognition of their academic and conduct achievements and excellence.

A certificate and a token of encouragement of 1,000 Baht have been handed over to the BA and MA students who won the awards. The presentation ceremony was presided over by the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, and was witnessed by the faculty, staff members and students of IBC. The award ceremony of the first semester of 2017/18 began with paying homage to the Triple Gem by all those present.

Names of the Dean’s List awardees:

Dody Mario (Ven. Dao Yuan)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Ven. Dhammobhasa
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Ani Barua
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Pāli and Sanskrit Language and Literature)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Chew Moon Wui (Ven. Hui Chun)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Pāli and Sanskrit Language and Literature)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Ven. Rony Barua
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Sayalay Tikkhanani
MASTER OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)
Semester I, AY: 2017/18

Names of the Warden’s List awardees:

Dody Mario (Ven. Dao Yuan)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Silar Douangboutdy
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Phoutthangkoura Phimmasone
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Chinh Muenlouang
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Chew Moon Wui (Ven. Hui Chun)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Pāli and Sanskrit Language and Literature)

Au Kar wei
MASTER OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Liu Lina (Ven. Hai Yin)
MASTER OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Yonten Sangpo
MASTER OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Prof. Kapila Abhayawansa, Vice Rector and Dean of Faculty of Religious Studies, spoke in his speech about the significance of introducing and for the first time offering the Warden’s Award in Conduct performances alongside the Dean’s award in every semester. Professor explained IBC emphasizes and trains its students both in academia and conduct and wants to produce Buddhist scholars endowed with both good educational knowledge and good conduct. Professor quoted the Buddha’s many teachings where the Buddha equally emphasizes both study and practice of Buddha’s teachings. Prof. Kapila urged all students to follow Buddha’s path properly by embarking on both study and practice of Buddha’s teachings while living in IBC.

The most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu gave an update about the recently held First IBC International Young Buddhist Scholars Conference in Than Hsiang temple, Penang; the visit to Malaysia; the meditation retreat and conducting moral camps for young students by IBC students, etc.

The IBC conference went very smoothly and successfully where many young scholars from around the world, IBC students and graduates joined the conference and presented their research papers.

Venerable Wei Wu shared his experiences on how other university hostels in New Zealand where students lead community and religious life while they are studying and students appreciate and learn a lot better than compared to most of the institutions of the world today which focus only on imparting knowledge to their students without instilling religious and moral values.

To put into practice in community life what students are studying is not something new in IBC. Venerable shared experiences of many IBC ex-students who had a holistic life-long education and led community life here in the Sadao campus and indeed students prefer this kind of environment setting, where they have the opportunities to study, practice and share with each others in a community life.

Venerable congratulated all students receiving Dean’s and Warden’s awards and hoped to see many more IBC students receiving both Dean’s award and Warden’s award together in coming semesters.

The award ceremony was ended by chanting and sharing metta and merits to all IBC well wishers, supporters and all sentient beings.

http://ibc.ac.th/en/new-student-admission

Recruitment in Myanmar

Please be informed that an Entrance Exam will be held in Mandalay and Yangon for those who are interested in applying BA and MA program in Buddhist Studies. The details are as follows:

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Mandalay:

Venue: Dhammadipa Buddhism Center
72 X 27 street, Chan Aye Tharzan Township, Mandalay. Myanmar.
Ph 959250094394, 959400688893
email=kmkmdy@gmail.com
www.dbcmyanmar.com

Date: Feb 26 ,2018 (Monday)
IBC introduction and interview: 9.00AM
Examination starts at 1 PM

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Yangon:

Venue: Chinese Buddhist Temple,
No. 136, Shwegondine Road, Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
Venue inquiry : Shin Chong Fa
Phone: 09-5191328, 09-8501660, 0951-549608

Date: Feb 28 ,2018 (Wednesday)
IBC introduction and interview: 9.00AM
Examination starts at 1 PM

Entrance exam inquiry : email= ibc.admin2007@gmail.com ; facebook: fong seong soo

MA Buddhist Entrance Examination

Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (W.Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J.Thomas)

BA English Entrance Qualifying Examination

English Proficiency Test (2 hours)

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Dhaka, Bangladesh:

Venue: Dharmarajika Buddhist Mahavihara, Basaboo, Dhaka – 1214
Venue Inquiry: Ven. Dipananda (01822003135) & Mr. Sujan (01918345889)

Exam Date: March 07, 2018 (Wednesday) Exam Time: 2 p.m.

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Chittagong, Bangladesh:

Venue: Barua Para Govt. Primary School, Bahir Signal, Chandgaon, Chittagong
Venue Inquiry: Ven. Priyabongsa (01835101520) & Ven. S. Gayanmitra (01862331042)

Exam Date: March 09, 2018 (Friday) Exam Time: 1 p.m.

Apply before the exam, contact for details and address all the required documents to:
Ven. Satyajit, IBC, Thailand satyajitbarua2@gmail.com or FB ID: Satyajit Bhikkhu
Ven. Rahula, IBC, Thailand bdrahul@gmail.com or FB ID: Bhikkhu Rahula

MA Buddhist Entrance Examination

Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (W.Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J.Thomas)

BA English Entrance Qualifying Examination

English Proficiency Test (2 hours)

Eligibility for Entrance Qualifying Examination and Interview:

A candidate must submit his or her fully completed application and relevant forms prior to the Entrance Qualifying Examination to be eligible for this pre-qualifying examination.
Deadline : Feb 28, 2018.

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Sri Lanka:

Venue/ Address : To be informed

Contact Person = Professor Tilak Kariyawasam (emal : tilak.kariyawasam@gmail.com; facebook: Tilak Kariyawasam)

Date: TBD

MA Buddhist Entrance Examination

Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (W.Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J.Thomas)

BA English Entrance Qualifying Examination

English Proficiency Test (2 hours)

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Siem Reap, Cambodia:

Venue: Rajabo Buddhist High School , Siem Reap
Date & time: February 27, 2018 (Tuesday). IBC introduction @ 9 a.m. & exam @ 1 p.m.
Coordinator: Ven. Peng Sary, sarypeng@yahoo.com Tel: +88596 46 32 431

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Battambang, Cambodia:
Venue: Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University, Battambang
Date & time: March 1, 2018 (Thursday). IBC introduction @ 9 a.m. & exam @ 1 p.m.
Coordinator : Ven. Vy Sovechea, vysovichea@yahoo.com Tel: 012251430
Ven. Tola, phumchhontola@gmail.com Tel: 089659967

Apply before the exam, contact for details and address all the required documents to:

Ven. Satyajit, IBC, email: satyajitbarua2@gmail.com or FB ID: Satyajit Bhikkhu

MA Entrance Examination
Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing

Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials for Buddhist Knowledge Test are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (Walpola Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J. Thomas)

BA Entrance Examination
English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing

Please be informed that an Entrance Exam will be held in Vientane, Laos for those who are interested in applying BA and MA program in Buddhist Studies. The details are as follows:

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Ongtue Sangha College:
Venue: Ongtue Sangha College,
Sethathirath Road, Chanthabouly District, Vientiane capital, Laos.

Date: March 20 ,2018 (Tuesday)
IBC introduction and interview: 2.00 PM
Examination starts at 2.30 PM
Inquiry: International Buddhist College (IBC) (facebook)

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Soukphaloung Buddhist High School:
Venue: Soukphaloung Buddhist High School
Sokpalaung village Sisattanak district,
Vientine, Laos.

Date: March 21 ,2018 (Wednesday)
Inquiry: International Buddhist College (IBC) (facebook)

Entrance Qualifying Examination in Dongdok Buddhist High School:
Venue: Dongdok Buddhist High School
Dongdok village Xaythany District,
Vientiane capital, Laos.

Date: March 22, 2018 (Thusday)
Inquiry: International Buddhist College (IBC) (facebook)

MA Buddhist Entrance Examination
Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (W.Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J.Thomas)

BA English Entrance Qualifying Examination
English Proficiency Test (2 hours)

Please be informed that an Entrance Exam will be held at IBC main campus, Sadao for those who are interested in applying BA and MA program in Buddhist Studies. The details are as follows:

Entrance Qualifying Examination in IBC main campus, Sadao:

Venue: International Buddhist College, 88 Mu 2, Thung Mo Subdistrict, Khuan Sato, Amphoe Sadao, Songkhla 90240 Thailand.

Date: April 23rd, 2018
IBC introduction and interview: 1.00 PM and Examination starts at 1.30 PM

MA Buddhist Entrance Examination
Paper 1: English Proficiency Test (2 hours)
Interview, Listening, Grammar, Reading Comprehension, Writing
Paper 2: Buddhist Knowledge Test (1 hour)
Multiple Choices, Brief Outline & Essay Writing.

Reading materials are as below:
1) What the Buddha Taught (W.Rahula)
2) The Tree of Enlightenment (Peter Della Santina)
3) The History of Buddhist Thought (E.J.Thomas)

BA English Entrance Qualifying Examination
English Proficiency Test (2 hours)

One-year English Intensive Course at Korat Campus
Stuents pass marginally in English Proficiency Test, we are pleased to offer students one-year English intensive as conditional offer of B.A. or M.A. in Buddhist Studies.

Application Submission:
Please submit your application with the required documents as listed below:
• Correct form for admission, medical report and recommendation letter;
• Photocopy of ID card (for Thai nationals only) or passport together with 2 passport-sized photos;
• For B.A. Applicant: (1) Certified copy of senior high school or above certificate; (2) Certified official academic transcript.
• For M.A. Applicant: (1) Certified copy of B.A. certificate of graduation; (2) Certified copy of official academic transcript.
• For Ph.D. Applicant: (1) Certified copy of B.A. and M.A. certificates of graduation; (2) Certified copy of all official academic transcripts.

Please download all required forms from http://ibc.ac.th/en/admission/enrollment and send to charoon_chaibao@hotmail.com, narong-04@hotmail.com or ibc.admin2007@gmail.com
For more detail, please see http://ibc.ac.th/en/new-student-admission
Inquiry: Mr. Jaroon;
Email: charoon_chaibao@hotmail.com, Tel. 0848350876, line id: jaroon1991, or whatsapp id: 0948350876
Ven. Narong;
Email: narong-04@hotmail.com, Tel. 0892828856, facebook: Phra Maha Narong Chaiyatha

Thai version: http://ibc.ac.th/thai/node/4266

By Ven. Joymony Tanchangya

On March 2 to 4, 2018, International Buddhist College (IBC) Sadao, Thailand hosted three Dhamma sharing seasons entitled as “Buddhism as Seen through Postage Stamps” presented by Mr. Leong Koh Hing.

We are very fortunate to have Mr. Leong with us at IBC, the former Assistant Rector of IBC and an enthusiastic Buddhist stamps collector, to share the Dhamma with IBC family.

It was a great opportunity for all students to join and enjoy lively and enthusiastic presentations of Mr. Leong, where he not only introduced us into a new world with Buddhist Stamps but also described many important skillful ways to present Buddha’s teaching to various cultures and audiences. The talks were headlines as The Tathāgata, Buddhist pantheon, and world cultural heritage sites, even though his vast stamp collection and presentations cover so many other areas of Buddhism.

Stamps have been representation of all the arts and cultures, religions, history, symbols, events and antiques; which convey specific messages with significant meanings and national values to people from one generation to its next. Mr. Leong's collection and spreading the Dhamma through it, is considered as the only of its kind in the world, even though he has already donated all of his philatelic collection to a particular museum in Malaysia. He has been collecting those stamps over 35 years to preserve and propagate the Dhamma. Furthermore various other Buddhist posters, postcards, images, souvenirs collection further enriches his collection and made the presentations attractive to the audiences. Those stamps can be divided mainly into five groups; Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, Tipitaka; and world history and cultural sites. Buddha’s biography, qualities, origin of Buddha statues and their history in different cultures and societies were the main focus of the first presentation. Secondly, Dhamma refers to the holly teachings found in various publications and their preservation for the good of the future generation. Thirdly, topic Sangha covered historical images, statues and great benefactors of Buddhism and their chronological contribution towards the Dhamma. The penultimate category of the presentation covered the Tipitaka publications and establishment of various societies and their contribution for human society and distribution of the Buddhist canonical, commentarial and general Buddhist texts. The final presentation was on the world history and cultural sites from various countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Indonesia, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and so on. One of the key features of the collection was Buddhist stamp publication from Non-Buddhist countries like Cuba, Uganda, Niger, Nigeria and so on. And Sri Lanka and Myanmar usually do not put Buddha images on stamp as a sign of great respect.

In modern days there are many ways to present the Dhamma. Buddhist Stamp collection and propagation of the Dhamma in various seminars, monasteries and educational institutions is one of the unique and skillful means to that path. As Lord Buddha said “Sabba dānaṃ dhamma dānaṃ jināti” the Dhamma is the noblest of all the gifts. Therefore it certainly can be said that this type of sharing will benefits not only common people but also young generation of our community and young persons will find inspiration from this kind of noble activities for the good of the many of Buddha sāsana.

April 12, 2018
Reported by IBC Student Club, Secretary, Au Kar Wei

IBC Student Club has celebrated New Year (Songkran) Eve 2018. This New Year eve is celebrated by many South and South East Asian countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia etc at the same time of the year. The activity started at 11.10 am with the offering of lunch dana to all IBC members. Lunch was full of different traditional food cooked by the many students such as Peyaji (পিঁয়াজু ), Spicy Mashed Potatoes (আলু ভর্তা /Aloo Bhorta), very spicy Chakma’s food from Bangladesh, Pelof from India, Jack fruit curry from Sri Lanka, Pae Pyoke from Myanmar, Papaya Salad from Laos, Thai Green curry noodle (Khanom Jeen) and Kuagling from Thailand etc.

The activity started with watching a video clip done by Au Kar Wei on a review of the activities organized by IBC Student Club for the academic year of 2017/2018. The program followed with a talk by IBC Student Club President Venerable Aggadhamma. Later teachers and students from fourteen countries as representatives were invited for the cake cutting ceremony and they are from Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, British, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Korea and Bhutan.

Next, Professor Tilak was invited to sing a Sri Lankan song and the song was nice and lovely. It made the audience very happy. The students were invited to share their thoughts and feelings as well. The final session of the program was to pay respect to the Buddha, by bathing the Buddha statue, or it means by pouring the fragrant water over the Buddha statue. During the ceremony, IBC members also poured fragrant water onto the Venerables, teachers and other elders’ palms as a gesture of humility and to ask for their blessings. All monks and nuns from the three traditions, the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana and senior professors and teachers were invited to give the blessings and transfer merits for the world peace.

Indeed, this was a very meaningful program not only for the celebration of New Year of different countries but also a solemn moment for those who joined the blessing ceremony as a symbol of IBC family re-unions, shared their traditional food, cultural activities, memories, respect and love.
This event ended at 12.30 pm with a lot of laughter and happiness.

The "New Student Orientation Program" (NSOP) is a very important and special time on campus, because it is an opportunity for us to welcome you into our community and to assist you in making the smoothest transition possible.

We have a series of exciting and informative activities lined up for you. The Orientation Program will help you to build relationships with fellow new students, returning students, faculty, and staff.

Why should you attend?

As you acclimate to the campus and the location where you will live, study, relax, and play, you will also learn many important aspects of College life, including:

• The mission of the college ;
• What our faculty expect and how you can become a successful student;
• Introductory meeting with IBC founder and faculty from different departments
• Our student services, insightful and helpful advice from current students
• Comprehensive knowledge on curriculum and courses on offer, academic rules and regulations, registration process and other related matters from our qualified faculty members.
• Campus life outside the classroom
• Gaining essential information, particularly through our website and the campus web portal (intranet)

The NSOP is a required program for all new students. We look forward to personally welcoming you to the IBC community. If you have any questions about the Orientation Program, please feel free to contact us by phone at (+66) 81-9593895 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.

On the following pages you find some impressions from last year Orientation Program, 2017:
News: http://ibc.ac.th/en/node/3083
http://ibc.ac.th/en/node/3086

Note: Please find the program schedule of NSOP 2018 in attached file.

Coming soon...

By Ven. Ayon Barua Auvi
Asalha Puja, one of the most significant Buddhist festivals, celebrated throughout all Theravada Buddhist countries, was held in IBC on July 27, 2018. The Asalha Puja ceremony is also known as the Dhamma Day which coincides with the Vassa (Rains Retreat), is a very important especially for Theravada monastics for the observation of three months rains retreat. This day is known as the Dhamma day since on this day for the first time, the Buddha gave most comprehensive and structured sermon regarding His teachings. This sermon is known as the sermon that set the wheel of Dhamma into motion.

As unique in the world, the ceremony was celebrated very gracefully not just by any particular Buddhist tradition but together by the three Buddhist traditions like Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

The ceremony began by welcoming all venerable Sangha members, professors, lecturers, students and the other guests. Venerable Ajahn Narong initiated the main ceremony by offering light to the Triple Gem and Professor Tilak offered flowers to the H.M. King (Rama X) of Thailand on the occasion of His Majesty’s birthday.

Then together we chanted in Pali led by Venerable Anandajoti Bhikkhu. As usual the ceremony of undertaking five precepts by laities was conducted and then laities offered requisites to Sangha members. Mahayana and Vajrayana monastics, after completing their respective chanting both in Mandarin and Tibetan, transferred the merits to the King His Majestyb Maha Vajiralongkorn and to all Sentient Beings.

Venerable Anandajoti Bhikkhu gave a Dhamm talk on the significance and history of the Asalha puja and Vassa ceremony. Finally we all together shared accrued merits to all beings.

Taking of group photos together with venerables, professors, teachers, students and devotees, sharing of holy strings and sprinkle of holy water to the devotees by the Venerables adjourned the ceremony.

By Ven. Ayon Barua Auvi

IBC New Student Orientation Program was organized with variety of events and activities in order to draw attention of the new students and to make them acquainted and get ready for their oncoming academic years at IBC. The program was comprised of various events organized in three days. The NSOP would be memorable for the new students as it enabled them to get along with the other new and senior students coming from different countries with various cultural backgrounds and many aspects of their campus life.

On July 25 morning, the opening ceremony of NSOP started with the offering of light to the Triple Gem and followed by welcoming speech on the introduction of IBC motto, philosophy, vision, mission and objectives by the Most Venerable Dr. Wei Wu, the founder and the Council Chairman of IBC. Venerable Anandajoti Bhikkhu gave a motivation speech on the four universal qualities like loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity so that new students can extend their inner qualities and wholesome interests adopting these noble values and to be able to accept the challenges while they are studying here at IBC. After the morning session of the first day of NSOP, we took group photos with all the members of IBC together.

NSOP committee members, along with kitchen team, cooked delicious traditional and national foods and dishes. Everyone together enjoyed the international cuisines very much.

After the lunch, the program continued for one and half hour where new students introduced themselves and had a mutual and friendly interaction with the Malaysian KM group for a while. Then we had ice-breaking program and on hearing the title “ice-breaking”, new students expected and excited to do something with the ice, however, ice-breaking session was full of some fun games to their surprise. This session meant to bring everyone closer to each other by playing some interesting games together with Malaysian KM group members. The games were very interesting and the students enjoyed all the educative games very much. Next the new students were presented a brief introduction of quality assurance (QA) on the higher education of Thailand by Ven. Satyajit. There was ICT briefing by our senior lecturer Dr. Fa Qing and Ven. Dipananda, IBC librarian and lecturer, gave briefing on IBC library.

On 26th July, the program was nicely continued with the scheduled activities such as speech on The Value of Buddhist Education for Adapting Different Cultures by Prof. Tilak Kaiyawasam who is the dean of graduate school, sharing of senior students with the new students and academic briefing by Sister Fong Seong, the administrative director of IBC and Ven. Rahula, Faculty Secretary, and briefing on passport and Visa matters by sister Kankamol Siripunyaporn, briefing on educational assistance, KM duties, Campus tour etc by Ven. Dr. Zhen Yuan, the director of student affiars, sharing of Thai cultures by Ven. Narong Chaiyatha, Bro. Jaroon Chaibao and Sis. Rudeeduan Somkasedrin. Last but not the least cultural exchange was performed by the new students by presenting their countries' own cultures to the audience.

28th July, the last day of orientation program was full of excitements. IBC arranged an interesting trip to some of the fantastic places in Hat Yai city. We visited Hat Yai Municipal Park, Stainless Steel Temple, Dhamma Sakol Meditation center, Hatyai Nai Temple and so on. Finally after shopping, everyone returned to IBC joyfully.

The entire program was planned and organized by the NSOP committee members with their friendly and helpful manners for the new students. The Program has been a momentous event not only for new students but also for NSOP members who got involved themselves in performing and sharing their respective responsibilities and experiences to make smooth transactions for new students at their new home, IBC.

IBC NSOP organizing committee Members, 2018;

Chief Coordinator 总协调 : Ven. Narong Chaiyatha
Secretary 秘书 : Ven. Joymony Tanchangya
Photography & AV 摄影 : Bro. Stanzin , Ven. Ayon Barua, Ven. Chinh Muenlouang
Venue : Ven. Chinh Muenlouang & team
Transportation : Bro. Khoo Ban Thong & Sis. Rudeeduan Somkasedrin
Documentation : Bro. Jaroon Chaibao

Reception, drink & beverage :
Sis. Rudeeduan Somkasedrin,
Ven. Li Ji Meng,
Bro. Jaroon Chaibao,
Sis. Ani Barua

Web Reporter : Ven. Ayon Barua Auvi

Food :
Ven. Anirban,
Ven. Nishan,
Ven. Joy
Ven. Li Zi Meng,
Sis. Ani Barua,

Other Members :
Ven. Aggadhamma,
Ven. Sumanarathana,
Ven. Singkham,
Ven. Hui Chun. .

Dear all,

IBC 11th Convocation is scheduled to be held on September 23, 2018 (Sunday), at the auditorium of the International Buddhist College, Songkhla, Thailand.

All IBC supporters, well wishers, students, staff and faculty members are cordially invited to participate in this yearly academic event of IBC.

Program

11.30 am Registration for Graduands in front of IBC Auditorium
12.00 am Rehearsal for Graduands at the IBC Auditorium
12.30 pm All Graduands and IBC Students gather in front of Auditorium
1.00 pm Arrival of Council Members, Rector, Vice Rector, Deans, Directors, Staff and Guests
1.10 pm Procession of Academic Staff and Graduands
1.25 pm The Triple Gem Eulogy
1.35 pm Lamp Lighting
1.45 pm Speech by the Most Venerable Dr. Wei Wu, Chairman of IBC Council
2.00 pm Speech by Prof. Charles Willemen, Rector of IBC
2.10 pm Conferment of Degrees
2.40 pm Presentation of Award for Outstanding in Academic and Conduct Performance
2.50 pm Encouragement Speech by the representative of the faculty
Dr. Fa Qing, Director for Information Technology and Library
3.00 pm Appreciation Speeches by the representatives of the graduates
Venerable Rony Barua (BA)
Miss Au Kar Wei (MA Chinese)
3.20 pm Rector signs the Register of Graduates
3.25 pm IBC Theme Song “For The Good Of The Many”
3.35 pm Ceremony adjourned
3.45 pm Group Photo and Refreshment

The Dean’s List and Warden’s List Awards are two of the many awards that IBC offers every semester to its students for their dedication and outstanding achievement in Academic and Conduct performances respectively. We give our congratulations to students who have earned a place on the Dean’s and Warden’s Lists for the Second semester, 2017/2018 Academic Year.

This honor is reserved for the highest-achieving students at IBC who exemplify dedication and commitment to their studies, community life and cultivation. We are proud to have you join the ranks of distinguished and accomplished IBC students and look forward to helping you continue to work toward greatness.

On September 22, 2018 (Saturday), the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, the founder and the council chairman of the International Buddhist College (IBC), presented the Awards of Dean’s and Warden’s Lists to the outstanding students in recognition of their academic and conduct achievements and excellence.

A certificate and a token of encouragement of 1,000 Baht have been handed over to the BA and MA students who won the awards. The presentation ceremony was presided over by the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, and was witnessed by the faculty, staff members and students of IBC. The award ceremony began with paying homage to the Triple Gem by all those present.

Names of the Dean’s List awardees:

Dody Mario (Ven. Dao Yuan)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Names of the Warden’s List awardees:

Dody Mario (Ven. Dao Yuan)
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Silar Douangboutdy
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Ven. Chinh Muenlouang
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Miss Au Kar wei
MASTER OF ARTS
(Buddhist Studies)

Dody Mario (Ven. Dao Yuan) obtained both Dean's and Warden's list awards like last semester, however, being unwell and away for treament, he could not receive the awards. Participents radiated metta and merits to him wishing him repeedy recovery so that he can resume his studies here at IBC soon.

Venerable Wei Wu congratulated all students receiving Dean’s and Warden’s awards and hoped to see many more IBC students receiving both Dean’s award and Warden’s award together in coming semesters.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, popularly known as the Mooncake Festival, is widely celebrated among the Chinese communities throughout the world. It is also celebrated among the Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean communities. It is the second most important festival after the Chinese New Year Celebration to the Chinese people. In ancient China, mooncakes were a kind of offering to the moon. Over time, these special cakes have become the most popular food of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity and family reunion. On the Mid-Autumn Festival night the moon is at its brightest and fullest, which is why the festival is also known as the “Reunion Day”.

On the eve of IBC 11th convocation, on Saturday, September 22, 2018, the whole IBC family along with students, staff, volunteers, faculty members, friends from overseas and local, Venerables, Vice Rector, Rector and with the presence of IBC founder and Council Chair, the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival (Mooncake Festival) with many varieties of activities such as decorating IBC with various types of lanterns, walking and carrying colorful, brightly lit lanterns around the IBC campus, releasing floating candle light with Loi Krathong into the pond, playing games, evening refreshment, karaoke, singing IBC theme song and other songs and many such performances made the program meaningful, enjoyable and memorable.

Program was celebrated truly in an international atmosphere arranged by our international young students adding their own traditional and national customs and cultures into the event making it an International Mooncake Festival. Program MC, Ven. Henrik and Ven Winnie began the celebration by paying homage to the Triple Gem. Then some organizing committee members introduced about the Mooncake Festival or similar festivals celebrated in their own countries around the same time. Ven. Henrik spoke similar sort of festival that is celebrated in Germany, Sis. Chong Lee Suan explained how Mooncake festival is observed in greater China, Sis. Dalipru Marma explained how Mooncake festival like event is celebrated among the Indigenous Marma community of Chittagong Hill Tract of Bangladesh, Sis. Phyo Pyae Sone Kyaw spoke how the ceremony is held in Myanmar.

The Most Ven. Wei Wu explained the significance of Mid-Autumn festival in terms of crops harvesting and family union among the communities. Roundness of the moon symbolizes completeness and togetherness. Venerable further added that the festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, on the night of the full moon between early September and early October of the Gregorian calendar.

We are really thankful to shifu Ven. Wei Wu, all the senior Professors, faculty members, staff, students, local and overseas guests for their precious time and support being with us and of course, to all the organizing committee members for their tremendous effort, support and contribution to make the Mooncake Festival a successful one.

Starting with the Triple Gem Eulogy followed by offering of the light to the Triple Gem, speech deliverance of the Council Chairman, the Most Ven. Dr. Wei Wu and the Rector, Prof. Dr. Charles Willemen and then degrees and certificates were conferred to the graduands. Dr. Fa Qing, Director for Information Technology and Library delivered “Encouragement Speech” to the Graduates on behalf of the faculty. Appreciation Speeches were delivered, on behalf of the graduates, by Ven. Rony Barua (BA graduate) and Miss Au Kar Wei (MA graduate). The Ceremony adjourned with IBC Theme Song “For The Good Of The Many”, Group Photo and Refreshment.

The following are the names of the graduates who have successfully completed their degrees and received certificates:

MASTER OF ARTS (BUDDHIST STUDIES)

KONG LIANLIAN (WITH DISTINCTION)
AU KAR WEI
BODHIRATHANA TANCHANGYA
CHIN YEE LOONG
GREGORY HAMILTON SCHMIDT
IAREMCHYSHYN OLEKSANDR
JING DAN
LIU LINA (SHI HAI YIN)
LIU YONG
PENG SARY
REV WALASMULLE WAJIRA THERO
RIN PHYRUN
ROBERT CHARLES BITTING
SAN PISITH
TANG POH CHIOK (VEN. LIAN RU)
TEO CHUAN ANN
WU BING (SHI HENG ZHEN)
YONG LAI YIN

BACHELOR OF ARTS (BUDDHIST STUDIES)

RONY BARUA (WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURS)
RAJINDA
REV BATUWATTE DHAMMISSARA THERO
VISARADA

CERTIFICATE IN BUDDHIST STUDIES

LUIGI ANTONIO PERASSO
TAN CHEW KEAT
TAN SWEE TIN
YEAP SIEW HENG

AWARD OF OUTSTANDING IN ACADEMIC AND CONDUCT PERFORMANCE

RONY BARUA

Thank you

The Founder and the Council Chairman of International Buddhist College the Most Venerable Shifu Dr. Wei Wu, Respected Venerable Mahāsaṅgha, Council members, Honourable Rector, Vice Rector, Dean of the Graduate school, Professors, Lecturers, Dear Faculty members and Staff, Distinguish Guests, Dear Graduates, Family members and friends of the graduates.
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A Very Good Afternoon to all!
First of all I wish to express my sincere thanks to the organizing committee for giving me the chance to speak a few words on this day, the 11th Convocation ceremony of the International Buddhist College.
I am extremely delighted to be present today and on behalf of the graduates I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to everyone who had worked tirelessly for our success today.
Let me start by congratulating my fellow graduates for their achievement today. The graduation ceremony is one of the most memorable events in anybody’s life. This comes at the end of a long journey of academic and social preparations. We should be aware that our graduation today is not our final achievement. It is just the beginning of our career as a student of Buddhist studies, as a good monastic or lay member of the society, as a good, kind-hearted and wise human being. We still have so many things to learn and accomplish in life. Therefore, it is high time that we set up our goal and work for it.
When I first arrived at the IBC Korat campus in 2014, I did not have much knowledge about Buddha’s great teaching. I am from Bangladesh, an Islamic Nation, where we do not have much opportunities to study Buddhism. After attending my first few classes, I was very much inspired by the explanations of the lecturers and professors on the excellent messages of the Buddha covering different aspects of life. To be honest, I did not do very well in my first semester. I became so inspired to achieve a Dean’s award myself, when I see some of my seniors were performing so well in both academically and in conduct. Eventually I have got several dean’s awards, however I realized that getting the awards is not the only end, it is the effort in achieving the awards that helped me study and perform better.
We did not just gain knowledge within classrooms, we also learned how to use them in our practical life. Studying in IBC gave me the opportunity to meet and know students from different parts of the world. IBC has created the opportunity to learn about different cultures, languages, thoughts and lifestyles. .
So, I am deeply thankful to IBC, it is a loving and compassionate home for most of us. Here we get to learn about the three major Buddhist traditions and their teachings. IBC has created an environment for international brotherhood. In IBC we, students from different countries participate in community work which taught us how to live our life harmoniously and happily in a community. Without the establishment of IBC we might not have all these chances to learn and study Buddhism from different perspectives and have the opportunity of experiencing such a diversity of cultures and traditions.
I would now like to take this opportunity to express my heartiest gratitude to the most Venerable Shifu, Venerable Dr. Wei Wu, without whom IBC would not have happened. It is because of Shifu’s dedication, hard work, loving kindness and compassion towards Buddhism and Buddhists around the world that we now have this wonderful institution called IBC. By establishing IBC, he created an environment where we are trained and encouraged to spread Buddha’s messages of metta and karuna towards other living beings throughout the world.
I am also deeply thankful to the donors (dāyaka) who have been supporting IBC so that students from different parts of the world have the opportunity to come and study Buddhism in IBC. Without their kind support, we would not be able to pursue our BA, MA or PhD degrees in IBC. We are really indebted to them for their generosity and selfless support.
I would like to express my gratitude and respects to all the professors and lecturers for their dedication and efforts in preparing, teaching and explaining their lectures so that we could easily get the important messages of the Buddha, and information about Buddhist traditions, history and cultures.
I also want to express my thanks to the staffs and all the other members of the IBC family for helping us in various matters such as visa application, food, lodging and other matters.
I would like to say that IBC dose not just give us the opportunity to learn the Buddha’s teaching in theory, it teaches us how to put them into practice as well. I would like to share a few important messages of the Buddha that we learnt and that we should all remember in our life:
Statements such as ‘manussatta patilābho dullabho’ (obtaining human existence is rare), ‘saddhammasavana parama dullabha’ (listening to the true dhamma is extremely rare) letting us realize how grateful we should be have the opportunities we get in our lives.
0ther statements such as ‘kataññū katavedī puggalo dullabho lokasmiṃ (the existence of a person who is grateful and thankful is rare in the world.), ‘Brahmā’ ti Mātāpitaro, ‘pubbācariyā’ ti vuccare’ (Mother and Father are like Brahma, they are our very first teachers), and ‘mātāpitu upaṭṭhānaṃ… etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ (looking after the parents is the greatest blessing )’ teaches us that we should be grateful to our benefactors and take care of our parents because they are like the great brahmas possessing immeasurable qualities; and without their kind support our life is meaningless.
Also statements like ‘santuṭṭhi paramaṃ dhanaṃ (satisfaction is the greatest wealth)’ teach us that we should live a contended life rather than being led by greed.
Finally, on behalf of all the graduates today, I would like to say a big thank to IBC, its founder Ven. Shifu, supporters, managing committee and staff and Thailand and its people for their support, love, compassion and generosity towards us. I hope all the graduates would find the ways to establish themselves in truth and knowledge and dedicate their lives for the benefit of the world.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.
May Triple Gem Bless you all.

The Rector of the International Buddhist college, Professor Charles Willemen delivered a lecture on How to Write an Academic Paper on September 15, 2018 (Saturday) at the Ksitigarbha Classroom of the International Buddhist college, Thailand. The lecture was attended by all IBC members like BA, MA and PhD students, staff, Professors, senior and junior instructors.

Professor began the session highlighting the importance of wiring academic research papers both by students and academic staff. Then our Rector dealt with the methodology of Buddhist text translation for some time.

During the session, Professor mainly focused on the format and structure of the paper, heading styles, citation styles, table of content, bibliography/reference, literature review, various types of notes like footnote, endnote, explanatory note etc., with examples, supporting materials, valuable texts and Internet resources.

Professor spent over half an hour dealing with various important questions from the audience. Questions were raised on how to be able to publish research papers in a good journal as young scholars, content verses research methodology, academic paper verses research paper etc.

Audience expected to have more such meaningful and fruitful gatherings from IBC in near future.

The program was ended successfully with the vote of thanks to participants. Ven. emcee specially thanked to the speaker for leading such a wonderful session. Indeed, everyone is fortunate to have such a world renowned professor with us who is the honourable Rector of IBC and to be able to treasure and listen from such a erudite world class professor.