FPMT Basic Program
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The FPMT Basic Program curriculum was designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to ensure that students who want to study beyond the foundational level and who want to progress to in-depth study of the key aspects of the entire Buddhist path and practice.
The FPMT Discovering Buddhism and Exploring Buddhism programs are highly recommended as preparatory studies and practices for the FPMT Basic Program for those without sufficient familiarity with the principles of Buddhist thought and practice as taught in the Tibetan tradition. Without such preparation, students may find some of the FPMT Basic Program subjects difficult to follow. Having this kind of preparation will make your FPMT Basic Program study and practice more effective and enjoyable.
The FPMT Discovering Buddhism and Exploring Buddhism programs are highly recommended as preparatory studies and practices for the FPMT Basic Program for those without sufficient familiarity with the principles of Buddhist thought and practice as taught in the Tibetan tradition. Without such preparation, students may find some of the FPMT Basic Program subjects difficult to follow. Having this kind of preparation will make your FPMT Basic Program study and practice more effective and enjoyable.
FPMT BASIC PROGRAM SUBJECTS
- Stages of the Path: the stages of the path to enlightenment of beings of low, middling, and great capacity
- Heart Sutra: emptiness and the phenomena qualified by it
- Mahayana Mind Training: Wheel of Sharp Weapons: the law of actions and results, or karma, and the states of mind that shape our future experiences
- Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds: the six perfections—generosity, morality, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom—and how to practice them in everyday life
- Mind and Cognition: the way the mind knows phenomena and the mental factors that constitute the basis of our daily experience
- Tenets: the philosophical systems, or tenets, of the four main schools of ancient Buddhist thought
- Ornament for Clear Realization and Seventy Topics: the 173 aspects of the omniscient mind and the practices that enable to achieve them
- The Tathagata Essence: the buddha lineage or tathagata essence that exists within every sentient being
- Grounds and Paths of Secret Mantra; Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth; and a Highest Yoga Tantra Commentary: the four classes of tantra with emphasis on the generation and completion stages of highest yoga tantra
Learning Dharma means less ignorance and more wisdom. It means more light in your life, no darkness in your mind. It means you have more freedom in your life to achieve liberation from samsara and great enlightenment. The more you understand Dharma, the more you can benefit others. –- Lama Zopa Rinpoche
In addition to the academic, meditation and retreat requirements, the FPMT Basic Program includes a standard of conduct and practice.
FPMT BASIC PROGRAM TEACHERS
About Ven. Sangye Khadro
Originally from California, Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 1974. She has studied Buddhism with various teachers such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. At the request of her teachers, Ven Sangye Khadro began teaching in 1979, while living in England, and since then has taught in many countries around the world. She was a resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, in Singapore, for 11 years. In 1988 Sangye Khadro took the full ordination (bhikshuni) vows. She is the author of How to Meditate and Awakening the Kind Heart. She completed the FPMT Masters Program in Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa, Italy, in 2013, and was on the faculty of the Human Spirit Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program in Israel for seven years. She now lives in Sravasti Abbey, Washington, and teaches online.
Originally from California, Sangye Khadro (Kathleen McDonald) was ordained as a Buddhist nun in Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 1974. She has studied Buddhism with various teachers such as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. At the request of her teachers, Ven Sangye Khadro began teaching in 1979, while living in England, and since then has taught in many countries around the world. She was a resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, in Singapore, for 11 years. In 1988 Sangye Khadro took the full ordination (bhikshuni) vows. She is the author of How to Meditate and Awakening the Kind Heart. She completed the FPMT Masters Program in Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa, Italy, in 2013, and was on the faculty of the Human Spirit Psychoanalytic-Buddhist Training Program in Israel for seven years. She now lives in Sravasti Abbey, Washington, and teaches online.
About Gen Emily Hsu
Gen Emily Hsu completed the seven-year FPMT Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy in 2004, a condensed version of the geshe studies curriculum. As a graduate of the FPMT Masters Program, she is authorized to teach courses which are normally taught by geshes. After completing this intensive study program Emily subsequently completed a ten-month solitary retreat in Spain to integrate the material. Emily tries to do at least a few months of retreat every year in order to deepen her practice, transforming intellectual knowledge into felt experience. Emily Hsu has taught in the Bay Area since 2006 and served as the resident teacher at our sister center Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center (OCBC) near San Jose, CA where she taught a variety of classes including FPMT’s Basic Program. Emily is also one of the few teachers selected by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as being qualified to lead retreats on shiné (calm abiding).
"Emily’s teaching goes beyond the simple explanation of complex texts and ideas; she explains things in a way that shows us how to apply the Buddha’s teachings in our lives and leads us by excellent example. She is easy to confide in and gives appropriate advice, even on topics that are uncomfortable to talk about". ~ Recent student
Gen Emily Hsu completed the seven-year FPMT Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy in 2004, a condensed version of the geshe studies curriculum. As a graduate of the FPMT Masters Program, she is authorized to teach courses which are normally taught by geshes. After completing this intensive study program Emily subsequently completed a ten-month solitary retreat in Spain to integrate the material. Emily tries to do at least a few months of retreat every year in order to deepen her practice, transforming intellectual knowledge into felt experience. Emily Hsu has taught in the Bay Area since 2006 and served as the resident teacher at our sister center Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center (OCBC) near San Jose, CA where she taught a variety of classes including FPMT’s Basic Program. Emily is also one of the few teachers selected by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as being qualified to lead retreats on shiné (calm abiding).
"Emily’s teaching goes beyond the simple explanation of complex texts and ideas; she explains things in a way that shows us how to apply the Buddha’s teachings in our lives and leads us by excellent example. She is easy to confide in and gives appropriate advice, even on topics that are uncomfortable to talk about". ~ Recent student