FPMT Masters Program

The FPMT Masters Program is a six- or seven-year program in advanced Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and praxis, offered by the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. It is modeled upon the Gelugpa geshe curriculum, and aimed at training lay and non-Tibetan students to become FPMT teachers. The program's subject matter builds upon material covered in the FPMT Basic Program, but completion of the Basic Program is not a prerequisite for Master Program admission. There is no expectation that students will know, or learn, the Tibetan language.
The Masters Program is offered both residentially and on-line, and is completed by a three month review, final exam and one year of retreat; graduates receive a completion certificate that makes them eligible for the FPMT teacher registration procedure. Despite the name, the program does not actually award a masters degree.
History
FPMT co-founder Lama Yeshe designed a 12-year program in Buddhist studies for the Manjushri Institute in Ulverston (Cumbria, England), as an abbreviation and adaptation of the geshe curriculum for Western students. Begun in 1978, it was taught by Geshe Jampa Tegchok, with assistance from Western monk Thubten Pende. It fell victim to factional struggle between followers of Lama Yeshe and Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. In 1982 a similar program was begun at with the same teachers, but failed to attract sufficient interest.
In 1980, Lama Yeshe asked his old friend and colleague from Sera Monastery, Geshe Jampa Gyatso, to become resident teacher in Pomaia (Tuscany, Italy), in what would become the Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa (ILTK). Geshe Jampa Gyatso began teaching elements of Lama Yeshe's curriculum in 1983, though unsystematically. With the help of several FPMT educators (Thubden Pende and Ven. Joan Nicell), plans for the formal program were created. The first "Masters Program" was held between 1998 and 2004. About thirty students finished the entire program, with others participating in portions of it.
The second program started in 2008, with some modifications, and will be concluded in 2013 with the final retreat taking place during 2014. Geshe Jampa Gyatso died before it commenced, resulting in the appointment of his junior colleague, Geshe Tenzin Tenphel, as course teacher. In 2009 Geshe Tenphel resigned from this role, to be succeeded by Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchok. The next ILTK Masters Program is scheduled to begin in 2015.
On the advice of Lama Zopa, the other FPMT co-founder, plans were made to teach the Masters Program at other FPMT centers, beginning with in 2013. Its teacher is the monastery's abbot, Geshe Lobsang Jamphel.
Curriculum
Five major texts are studied:
:1. The Abhisamayalamkara;
:2. The Madhyamakavatara of Chandrakirti;
:3. The Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu;
:4. Kirti Losang Trinle's exposition on the Grounds and Paths of Secret Mantra (commenting on Tsongkhapa's Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path of Tantra); and
:5. Aku Sherab Gyatso's commentary on the Guhyasamaja Tantra.
Of these, the first three (along with works by Dharmakirti and Gunaprabha) constitute the major texts of the Gelugpa Geshe curriculum (cf. Tibetan Buddhist canon). The last two are associated with Gelugpa tantric colleges, Gyuto and Gyume, whose students traditionally entered after earning a Geshe degree. Guhyasamaja is a major tantric practice emphasized by Gelugpa lineages, owing perhaps to its prominence in the writings of Tsongkhapa (emphasized in the original, expanded curriculum as designed by Lama Yeshe).
In addition to the formal studies described above, participants engage in several meditation retreats, mostly focused on lamrim topics; daily meditations, a behavior requirement as well as service and training components form an integral part of the Masters Program as well.
Links
Official site
Books
*Cozort, Daniel. "The Making of the Western Lama." In Buddhism in the Modern World (Steven Heine & Charles S. Prebish, eds), Oxford UP: 2003, ch. 9. Cozort discusses the ILTK's Masters Program in the context of the overall educational curricula of the FPMT, which he compares with the traditional system of Sera Je Monastery.

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