Nalandabodhi Study and Meditation Centers offer a comprehensive curriculum in Buddhist studies, which adapts the traditional curriculum taught in Tibetan Buddhist educational academies for Western audiences. Students progress sequentially through basic Buddhist introductory topics, the increasingly complex topics of the Hinayana and Mahayana studies, and conclude with the subtleties of the Vajrayana. (Detailed curriculum outline.) The curriculum is also supplemented by an advanced Buddhist studies program provided at Nitartha Institute. Such a systematically organized curriculum of Buddhist studies, which leads students through a gradual path, is for the most part unavailable elsewhere.

The Nalandabodhi Study Curriculum is the product of many years of work in transmitting, translating and adapting the traditional educational system for students in the West. Completion of the curriculum provides a student with a comprehensive foundation in all aspects of Buddhist studies.

The core curriculum is composed of original teaching materials, distinguished by their thoroughness and accessibility. The core curricular materials were drawn primarily from the teachings of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who designed the curriculum as well as the advanced study program at Nitartha Institute.

Rinpoche is acknowledged as one of the foremost scholars of his generation in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Schooled in the traditional Buddhist educational system, Rinpoche has also studied in Western educational institutions and has taught Western students for many years. Fluent in the English language and well-versed in Western culture, Rinpoche has been able to develop a curriculum, which addresses the needs of Western students while maintaining a fidelity to authentic Buddhist teaching principles.

The Nalandabodhi Study Curriculum is offered in conjunction with the Nalandabodhi Practice Curriculum for Nalandabodhi students. Together, these two curricula, designed and supervised by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, provide students with a thorough training in the philosophical and meditative disciplines of the genuine lineage of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions. The Nalandabodhi Study Curriculum is developed and maintained on an ongoing basis by the Nalandabodhi Curriculum Committee. For more on the practice curriculum, contact a Nalandabodhi center near you or the Nalandabodhi practice director.

We wish to express our deep appreciation to The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche for these teachings and for transmitting their heart essence to us with such precision, clarity and warmth and to Acharya Sherap Gyaltsen Negi, Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen and Acharya Tashi Wangchuk for their advice and continual support of students. May all those who travel this path of study achieve realization and continue the sublime tradition of liberating suffering by pointing out enlightenment.

Detailed Study Curriculum Outline