One Month Lam Rim Meditation Course
Registration for the November Course 2024 will begin on
August 19th at 9:00 AM (NST)
A Life Changing Event
The one month, November Meditation Course at Kopan was established in 1971 by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, the founders of Kopan Monastery and of the FPMT, an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide. Since then the course has been held every year, attended by thousands of people looking for meaning and happiness in their lives.
The course follows the Tibetan Gelug Tradition of Buddhism, and is based on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Graduated Path to Enlightenment – the Lam Rim, one of the most important texts of the Gelug Tradition.
Course Content
The course is based on the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, which form a complete and gradual spiritual path (Lam Rim), leading to ultimate happiness and enlightenment. Through cultivating an awareness of our present condition we gain an understanding of the nature of our dissatisfaction and unhappiness, the causes of these states of mind and how we can overcome them. Many of the ideas presented will be new and sometimes contrary to your beliefs, we request you to come with an open mind and a willingness to analyse, question and contemplate the teachings.
This is an experiential course and it takes courage and patience to take it, most people that attend are touched by the teachings at a very deep level. It takes courage because you will see yourself and reality in a new and different way, and patience, because it takes time to change old habits. Developing a good heart, learning to be more tolerant and loving, takes time.
The course includes Buddhist teachings, meditations, discussion groups, talks by other Lamas (Tibetan teachers), moments of full silence and pilgrimages.
Below DETAILS FOR NOVEMBER COURSE 2024
COURSE teacher
Tubten Pende, a.k.a. Jim Dougherty, has been a practicing Buddhist since 1972 when he was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism in India. Pende was included in the first wave of FPMT’s Western Buddhist teachers. He was the coordinator of the Geshe Studies Program at Manjushri Institute in the UK; spiritual program coordinator, director, and later resident teacher at Nalanda Monastery in France; and an FPMT International Office Education Services program developer of the Masters Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy. He is interested in the effective application of Buddhist theory and practice in the daily life of ordinary people.
Tubten Pende is one of FPMT’s most senior teachers,” says Merry Colony, former director of FPMT Education. “As a monk Pende studied with Khensur Jampa Tegchok at both Manjushri Institute and Nalanda Monastery for many years. Pende was instrumental in getting FPMT’s Masters Program off the ground and headed up FPMT’s Education Department in the 1990s. Later he was one of the FPMT senior teachers invited to help formulate the Discovering Buddhism program.
Since its inception, Pende has been involved with the program, first as a teacher of module 12, the Wisdom of Emptiness, and later as an elder for the DB online forum and assessor for DB certificate students. Pende has always stood out as an exceptional teacher of all topics, but most especially emptiness, having the very sharp analytical mind necessary for delving deeply into this profound topic. Pende’s presentations are always exceptionally clear and to the point.”
Course details
The course fee includes all meals, accommodation in a dormitory and a free book.
Students can also choose staying in single, double or triple rooms with private or shared facilities. There is an extra charge for these type of rooms, please click hereand use the red column to know the daily room charges, you will need to add these to the Flat Course Fee. When you do your booking, please choose your room preferences in accordance with your budget based on this list. We cannot guarantee you will be accommodated in your first room choice; rooms are allocated by order of booking and are confirmed upon arrival.
Check-in time is on 8th November from 9am to 3.00pm at the latest. The first session is at 5.30 pm, please make sure to be here at that time.
We highly advice you to come two or three days earlier to settle in, and leave one or two days later. To check the extra cost of these days please click here. Our reception opens at 9 am and closes at 5.00 pm, arrivals are due to be done only within these times.
The course concludes on 8 th of December with lunch..
Students can choose to join the Lam Rim full silence meditation retreat from 12th to the 19th of December 2024, bookings can be done at Kopan upon arrival…
Experienced students are invited to join the Three Months Vajrasattva Retreat from January 9th to April 9th, 2025. Bookings must be made separately. Please click this page to access the application form soon.
Your daily schedule begins at 5.30 am and finishes at 9 pm. Participants are required to attend all session, attendance to all sessions is compulsory. Silence is kept from 9 pm until after lunch the next day.
Mobile phones and other internet connectable gadgets need to be checked in at the reception for the duration of the course, read more on.
During your stay at Kopan, please follows our strict dress code, check if you are dressed appropriately for a monastic environment.
Find a template of the schedule here.
Payment
Students that have been accepted into the course, will be asked to make a non-refundable deposit of US$ 250 to secure their place. Information about the deposit will be sent by email, one month after being accepted into the course.
The rest of the payment can be done upon arrival, we accept Nepalese Rupees, US$ and credit cards. There is an ATM cash machine just outside the monastery.
Translations
- Kindly read the: Course Guidelines
- Please make sure you are properly dressed for a monastic enviroment: Dress guidelines
- Meals: All our meals are vegetarian (sorry, the kitchen is not able to cater for special dietary needs, such as vegan, no-wheat, no-dairy, lactose or gluten free diet)
- Arriving to Nepal/Kopan, visas, what to bring, etc
- What to do at Kopan
Extra information :
The teachings and practices will be all in English. We will be offering translations in Spanish, and in dependence on demand and the availabilty of translators, to other languages. The booking form will include the question if students will need translation.
Internet
No gadgets connected to the internet are allowed, expections are given for emergencies or in the case students need to check their phones for important family matters. Please give our email address to your family to contact us, we will pass on the message.
Covid Policy
You do not need to be vaccinated.
- Even if you are vaccinated, please have a rapid test (RAT) done one hour before arriving to Kopan. If you test positive kindly refrain from coming until you test negative.
- Please bring a few rapid tests (RAT) from your country of origin, they are very difficult to get them in Nepal.
- Use a mask during your trip and avoid contagion.
- We are still getting Covid cases at Kopan Monastery from foreign students coming from all around the world. Please follow the above instructions and help us to protect our community and the course participants.
- We recommend medical insurance – Medical services in Nepal if required are expensive for foreigners.
