Education in Ancient India c12.s1.13

c12.s1.13

Conclusion :—It will thus be seen that Buddhism may well be proud of its contribution to the cause of education in ancient India. Its colleges threw their doors open to all, irrespective of any considerations of caste or country. The rise of organised public educational institutions may be justly attributed to its influence. It raised the international status of India by the efficiency of its higher education, which attracted students from distant countries like Korea, China, Tibet and Java. The cultural sympathy which the countries in eastern Asia feel for India even today is entirely due to the work of the famous Buddhist colleges of ancient India. If some of the important lost texts can be reconstructed with the help of their Chinese translations, the credit must be given to Buddhist colleges, which enabled Chinese students to get their copies. Buddhist education also helped the development of Hindu logic and philosophy by initiating and encouraging comparative study. In the period of its early history, it championed the cause of education through the mother tongue; later on however it could not resist the charm and influence of Sanskrit and began to impart education through that language.