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About Nitartha Institute

Nitartha (Sanskrit): the definitive meaning

Nitartha Institute uniqueness's is the depth to which it makes the genuine buddhadharma accessible to western students, in their own language and cultural context. At Nitartha, study is practice as students learn to see their mind and world with fresh eyes. Prajna, or superior knowledge, is awakened by the investigative contemplations and meditations of vipashyana (clear seeing).

Founded in 1996 by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, under the guidance of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, the Institute was initiated as a joint undertaking of Nitartha international and Gampo Abbey. Its goal is to transplant intact the teachings of the shedras (monastic colleges) of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, and to then transform the tradition for Western minds.

Vision and Goals

At Nitartha the twin streams of the oral tradition of living teachers and the written tradition of Buddhist philosophical texts come together, based on the belief that meaning becomes accessible only when both factors are present.

The Buddhist path consists of three main elements: meditation, conduct, and view. Many Western Buddhists embrace the practice of meditation as a compelling path of personal transformation. Increasingly, Western Buddhists have also adopted the Buddhist ethical approach of first trying not to harm others, and then aspiring to help others, in a way that is distinctively Western.

Yet study of the Buddhist philosophical view has been underdeveloped and undernourished in the West. Such study is an important complement to the activities of meditation and engaging the world. It is precisely this gap which Nitartha Institute fills by making textual tools, master teachers, and an authentic pedagogical environment available to Western students.

The heritage of Tibetan Buddhism has been placed at profound risk by the political situation in Tibet. The transmission of this vast body of learning from a dwindling number of elder masters to the next generation of Tibetan teachers and their Western students is still under way. In recent years, several important senior teachers have died, adding urgency to the Institute's project of providing opportunities for living teachers to transmit their knowledge so that this precious heritage will continue to flourish.

Specific Long-Range Objectives

The long-range objectives of Nitartha Institute are twofold:

The first is to create a year-round educational institute that teaches the full range of Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana teachings. Training begins with either the two year Core Program or the four year Comprehensive Program, depending on the level of interest of the student. These programs provide all students with a systematic grounding in Buddhist philosophy. Students who have graduated from the Comprehensive Program can then continue into the Advanced Program to further developing their studies. At this time they can also enter the Teacher Training Program, with a course of study that will ultimately train Western acharyas (senior teachers) authorized to teach and represent the tradition.

The second is to publish definitive translations of the body of eight key Indian and Tibetan Buddhist texts and their commentaries, along with other related treatises of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions for use by students, practitioners, and scholars everywhere.