Nitartha Institute

In bringing the full power of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings to the West, it’s important to understand that Nitartha Institute is not about replicating another culture’s understanding of truth. The point of joining study and practice is to awaken our own intelligence and compassion, balancing practice with the precision and insight that intensive study provides. Westerners typically have well-developed intellectual skills due to the nature of our educational system, but this training is often divorced from the heart, from intuition, from personal experience. It is the goal of Nitartha Institute to integrate conceptual understanding with personal experience.

The teaching style of the Institute is a unique blend of Western and traditional Tibetan approaches, suited to Westerners. For example, debate and analytical meditation are traditional skillful methods taught throughout the curriculum. Both Tibetan and Western teachers creatively collaborate to develop new approaches to analytical meditation to help Western students connect the content of their classes to their direct experience.

Summer Institute

The Summer Institute is a vibrant one-month residential program which attracts students from around the world and brings them together to study with Tibetan scholars and senior Western teachers. It is an excellent way to accelerate one’s study and practice path while enjoying a thriving community of other Nitartha students and faculty. The summer program consists of two 2-week modules. Students can attend one or both modules.

Summer Institute classes are often broadcast live to allow students from around the world to participate.

9-Day Programs

The 9-Day programs are intensives equivalent to one two-week session at the Summer Institute. They run weekend to weekend over a nine-day period and are offered in select locations in North America. In general they focus on the Foundation and Intermediate curricula

Semester Programs

The Semester programs are presented in several North American regions and are designed for those who cannot take time off to attend the Summer Institute or 9 day programs. Courses are equivalent to one two-week session at the Summer Institute and take place in an evening and weekend format over two months.

Semester classes are often broadcast live to allow students from around the world to participate.

Self-paced Online Programs

Nitartha Institute offers two types of courses you can take at your own pace:

• Self-paced online courses: Courses that were previously taught by our senior teachers. You can take these courses online, at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home through streaming video or downloadable audio. By using the Nitartha Institute Online Campus, you can progress through the Nitartha Institute curriculum at a pace that suits you.
• Online review courses: Self-paced online review courses that are available for Nitartha students who have taken the corresponding core courses.

Learn more