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Basic Program Homestudy Teachers

	Geshe Jampa Gyatso, Stages of the Path: Middling Lam-Rim Geshe Jampa Gyatso was resident teacher at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK) from 1980 until his death in 2007. He held the Lharampa Geshe degree from Sera Je Monastery, the Ngagram Geshe degree from Gyume Tantric College, and the Acharya degree from the Sanskrit University of Varanasi. He was a classmate and close friend of Lama Yeshe. In addition to teaching numerous short and long courses both at ILTK and Dharma centers in Italy, Spain, and England, he served as abbot of Nalanda Monastery in France and Takden Shedrup Targye Ling Monastery and Shenphen Samten Ling Nunnery at ILTK. Geshe-la acted as the principal tutor of the forerunner of the Masters Program held at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa from 1983 to 1997, and the seven-year Masters Program held from 1998-2004. As well as being a formidable scholar, he was highly regarded by his students for his practical advice, warm humor, and boundless concern for their well-being. Geshe Jampa Gyatso taught the Basic Program at ILTK from 2005-2007, and his introductory talk on the program subjects is included with each Basic Program Homestudy package and with the BP Online courses.
	Geshe Ngawang Dakpa, Heart Sutra Born in Nagchu, Central Tibet, a village at an altitude of 14,000 feet with year round ice and snow, Geshe-la spent his earliest years with his nomadic family. At the age of ten, he entered Orbak Monastery, where he learned to read and write. He was ordained as a novice monk at thirteen. In 1953, he traveled to Lhasa and entered Sera Je, one of the three great monastic universities in Tibet. Lama Yeshe, founder of the FPMT, was among his contemporaries at Sera. He was granted full ordination by the Junior Tutor of the Dalai Lama, Trijang Rinpoche. In 1959, when he learned that the Dalai Lama had fled Tibet, he followed and escaped to India. He continued his studies at the Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where he earned an M.A. with honors. Invited by the Queen of Sikkim to teach Tibetan at the University of Sikkim, he taught there for twenty years before returning to the re-established Sera Je monastery in South India to gain his geshe degree. Graduating at the top of his class, Geshe-la became a master in Dharma, astrology, Tibetan education, grammar, and poetry. Before coming to the US he was resident teacher at the FPMT center in Taipei, Taiwan. He has since been teaching the Basic Program at Tse Chen Ling, San Francisco, CA, with great dedication for many years.
	Geshe Chonyi, Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds Khenrinpoche Thubten Chonyi was born in Nepal in 1962 and was ordained by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1974. He holds a Geshe Lharampa degree from Sera Je Monastery, India. He spent a year at Gyume Tantric College where he completed his studies before returning to Kopan Monastery to teach. In 1999 Khenrinpoche Thubten Chonyi arrived in Singapore to be the resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre (ABC). He started teaching the five-year Basic Program in 2003. In December 2011, Khenrinpoche Thubten Chonyi was enthroned as abbot of Kopan Monastery in Nepal. He was appointed to the position in July 2011, when Khensur Rinpoche Lama Lhundrup stepped down to due to advancing cancer. For the time being, Khenrinpoche will be in residence four months a year at Kopan and eight months at ABC so he can continue to teach the Basic Program to his numerous students there.
	Venerable George Churinoff, Mind and Cognition and Mahayana Mind Training A physics graduate from MIT, Venerable George earned a Masters degree in Buddhist studies from Delhi University, India. He took ordination in 1975 and studied the Geshe Studies Program at Manjushri Institute, England, where he also served as Spiritual Program Coordinator. Venerable George was instrumental in founding the Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy, where he also served as Program Coordinator. After studying and teaching there for eight years he spent several years at Tushita Centre in Delhil, followed by three years as Lama Osel Rinpoche's English curriculum tutor at Sera Je Monastery in South India. Venerable George has done many retreats in the sutra and tantra traditions and taught extensively in FPMT centers all over the world. He taught the Basic Program as resident teacher at Dorje Chang Institute, New Zealand and at Land of Medicine Buddha, USA. Venerable George now resides at Deer Park Buddhist Center in Madison, Wisconsin and teaches various topics as a visiting teacher in FPMT centers.
	Geshe Tenzin Tenphel, The Tathagata Essence and Ornament for Clear Realizations Geshe-la is holder of the Lharampa Geshe degree from Sera Je Monastery and studied at Gyuto Tantric College. Residing at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa since 1998, Geshe-la taught the supplementary subjects during the 1998-2004 Masters Program, as well as teaching at other FPMT centers in Italy. Geshe Tenphel is particularly appreciated for his clear explanations, his keen interest in debate, and his sense of humor, qualities that have endeared him to many Western disciples. For the 2005-2007 Basic Program at ILTK, Geshe-la taught the philosophical subjects, a constant source of enthusiasm for his sharp analytical mind. Geshe Tenphel teaches in the current Basic and Masters Programs at ILTK.
	Geshe Tsulga, Tenets Ven. Geshe Tsulga was born in Tibet in 1939. A novice monk by the age of seven, he joined Sera Je Monastery to begin his geshe studies at seventeen. In 1959, he fled Tibet after the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. After a decade in the refugee camp of Buxaduar in West Bengal, he went to Bylakuppe in south India to help build Sera Monastery in exile. In 1988, he graduated as geshe lharampa with highest honors at the top of his class. He arrived in the United States in December 1992, having been requested to come by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Since 1995 he has been resident teacher at Kurukulla Center in Boston. Geshela has been offering the Basic Programat Kurukulla Center since 2002 when, after manifesting liver cancer for two years, Geshe-la passed away in November 2010.