Monastic education

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Monastic education in Asia has ancient roots in India, where educated monks taught other monks and laypeople. It followed Buddhist values and taught that learning is valuable for its own sake, not just for wealth or status. From about 320 BCE to 500 CE, schooling was open to everyone, including non-Buddhists. Monasteries served as schools, and extra learning centers were created to reach more people. Women also had learning opportunities in convents and monasteries as part of spreading the faith. Indian influence shaped monastic learning in places like Sri Lanka, and Bhutan established formal monastic education in 1621 modeled on the Indian system. There was no single standardized curriculum, though some teachers emphasized grammar and writing. Today, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos continue monastic education to supplement government schooling. In some cases, large Buddhist education centers were brought under government control to expand higher education, a move some critics say risks traditional teaching and the independence of the monkhood.