FPMT Online Learning

FPMTs well-established and comprehensive Discovering Buddhism program is now available online. FPMTs Basic Program, Meditation 101, and Buddhism in a Nutshell will also be made available online throughout 2010-11. And most significantly FPMTs new Light of the Path program will be coming online in 2010.

Light of the Path Online: FPMT’S New Essential Lam-Rim Program

In the 11th century, Lama Atisha (Shri Dipamkara) was invited from India to Tibet for the purpose of transmitting the complete teachings of Lord Buddha to the Tibetan people, and presenting them in a way that was clear, precise, and easy to practice. To that purpose, Lama Atisha wrote and taught the Light of the Path to Enlightenment (jangchhub lam gyi drönma), which became the cornerstone of teaching and practice for thousands of Tibetans and provided a foundation for understanding and realizing Lord Buddha’s teachings which has flourished to the present time. Click here to read a short transcript of Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching on the history of this important text

In July 2008 Lama Zopa Rinpoche started teaching this text at Kadampa Center, North Carolina, USA and during the teaching announced that he would like to continue the teaching annually in order to teach the text in its entirety. Read here the short transcript of Rinpoche expressing the wish to teach this text. Beginning in Sept 2009, all of the teachings from this two week event are being made available on the FPMT Media Center via Video On Demand (VoD) with audio translations in French, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese.

In 2010 a Light of the Path Online Program will be launched to make further available the rich content of what Lama Zopa Rinpoche has taught. Supplementary material from both Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe, as well as review and meditation sessions led by senior Western teachers will provide the content for this experiential Lamrim program.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a unique teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. He is well-known for teaching long hours into the night and for rarely teaching in a linear fashion according to a text, but rather for teaching according to what is most karmically beneficial for his audience. For over 45 years, Rinpoche has been gathering examples of the truth of Dharma and perfecting his ability to discern what practices and teachings are best suited for his students. It is our belief that Rinpoche’s offer to give a commentary on Atisha’s Light of the Path, which had a tremendous impact on how Buddhism was subsequently understood and practiced in Tibet, is an indication of how transformative this teaching event will be for the way Buddhism is practiced and understood in our time.

The funding needed to realize the vision of Light of the Path Online is for providing both the high quality video-on-demand of the teaching event as well as creating a quality video archive. The archive will then be edited into short videos of Lama Zopa Rinpoche that will be used as the essence for the Light of the Path Online program. The estimated annual development costs are $40,000. Additional funding will be needed to edit the archive material to develop commercial grade DVDs. Any donation large or small will be put to immediate use to make this wonderful program available to all.

Thank you!

Contribute to the Online Learning Fund

The Online Learning Fund is a project of FPMT Inc. All donations made to the fund are tax-deductible within the United States in accordance with IRS Code article 501(C)(3) to the extent allowed by law.