Buddhism and the American college: A phenomenological view of the college student's experience.

摘要

The following study examines the lived experience of college students that practice Buddhism. This study is qualitative in nature, using phenomenological methods that attempt to better understand the students' experience of being a college student in an American institution as it triangulates with their everyday lives and their philosophical beliefs and practices. Given the qualitative, phenomenological approach to this study, its purpose is to find common themes among the college students as they relate their experiences as Buddhists and as college students. As a qualitative study, this research leads into the processes associated with people's experiences and in turn, brings insight into students' experiences in general. On the other hand, because this research is qualitative and phenomenological in nature, there are limitations to how much can be explained. The main qualitative question of the study is: What is the lived experience of college students who are Buddhist? This question aided by some related guiding questions leads us to the center and main purpose of this study: to gain a much deeper understanding of Buddhist college students..