Institute of Buddhist Studies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Institute of Buddhist Studies is a Jodo Shinshu-affiliated seminary and graduate school, located in Berkeley, California. It is an affiliate member of the Graduate Theological Union, also located in Berkeley. Its primary mission is to train Jodo Shinshu ministers for service in temples in the United States through the Buddhist Churches of America, the U.S. mainland branch district of the Nishi Hongwanji sect of Japanese Buddhism. The school also accepts graduate students pursuing Master of Arts degrees in general Buddhist Studies. It recently began an affiliation with the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies to train Buddhist chaplains.
The Institute of Buddhist Studies originally began as a study group for nisei ("second generation") Japanese-Americans interested in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism during the 1950s. Its original location was at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple, then later relocated to its present location on Durrant Street.