Basic Program and Masters Program Retreats

Here you find information about retreats in FPMT centers that offer students of the Basic Program the possibility to fulfill the three-month lamrim retreat requirement. This Basic Program completion requirement can be fulfilled by doing three times one month of lamrim retreat, or in longer stretches; one three-month retreat is recommended as the ideal way to integrate the study of the Basic Program subjects.

For Basic Program Online students the completion requirement is a one-month lamrim retreat.

Masters Program Online students also have a one-month lamrim retreat requirement; they can make use of the below offered options for fulfilling this MP Online completion requirement as well.

*Additions and corrections to your Basic Program retreat as listed here can be made by contacting Education Services.

Three-month retreats at the conclusion of their Basic Program will be offered by:

Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1 June – 31 August 2020 guided by Venerable Fedor Stracke.
This three-month lamrim retreat at the conclusion of Kopan’s second Basic Program is an opportunity for Basic Program students worldwide to fulfil their BP retreat requirement in the inspiring environment of Kopan Monastery. Participants will meditate with leisure on the complete graduated stages of the path, under the excellent guidance of Venerable Fedor, Kopan’s experienced Basic Program teacher, much loved and appreciated by his students. If you are interested in this retreat and would like to be put on a mailing list to receive updates, please contact Kopan Monastery at info@kopanmonastery.org.

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, Pisa, Italy, January – March 2022 (exact dates to be confirmed)
This is your chance to conduct your three-month Basic Program retreat in the beautiful and peaceful Italian Tuscany hills, in the inspiring environment of ILTK, home of the first, second and third FPMT Masters Programs. ILTK will be offering this rare opportunity at the conclusion of their fourth Basic Program! Feel free to contact ILTK’s Education Coordinator for details.

Nalanda Monastery, France, 2022.
The schedule for the forthcoming three month retreat as part of the third Nalanda BP, 2018-2022, is still to be announced; please contact Nalanda’s Basic Program Coordinator if you would like to make use of the exclusive opportunity of completing your BP retreat requirement in the wonderfully supportive and conducive conditions of a monastic environment.

One-month retreats are offered as part of their Basic Program or Masters Program by:

Nalanda Monastery, Rouzegas, Labastide St. Georges, France, July – August 2020
Nalanda’s yearly summer lamrim retreat, guided by senior Western teachers. Details to be announced.
Please visit the Nalanda lamrim retreat web page for news and the registration form, and be sure to apply in time.
These wonderful retreats in the conducive environment of Nalanda Monastery, with its beautiful surrounding countryside are popular, and tend to be fully booked well in advance.

Institut Vajra Yogini, Lavaur, France, 2-28 February 2020
IVY’s yearly month-long lamrim winter retreats offer BP students from all over Europe the opportunity to complete their three months lamrim retreat requirement in the course of their five year Basic Program.
This winter the retreat is guided by Marcel Jolinon for the first fifteen days. Registration is required.

Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Pomaia, Pisa, Italy – January 2020
You now have the opportunity to conduct your Basic Program retreat in beautiful Tuscany in Italy! ILTK has begun the tradition of offering a one-month lamrim retreat each January; these expertly guided winter retreats started in 2018 and will be conducted every year. Please contact ILTK’s Education Coordinator for details.
Kalachakra Retreat Center, France; 170 KM from Paris by direct train; late December 2019 – end January 2020
Centre Kalachakra continues its tradition of offering a month-long winter lamrim retreat in their beautiful retreat center near Paris. Ven. Gyaltsen, director of Nalanda Monastery and student of Nalanda’s Masters Program, is an expert and much appreciated retreat leader who has completed the Basic Program with its three-month lamrim retreat requirement. A unique opportunity for students from all over Europe and further abroad to fulfill (part of ) their BP or MP retreat requirement in an ideal setting.
De-Tong Ling Retreat Centre , Kangaroo Island, South Australia, is offering a discount rate of $A 125 per week for Basic Program and Masters Progam students who choose De-Tong Ling to do their BP or MP retreat. Cost of food and firewood (in winter) are not included

To facilitate fulfilling the one-month lamrim retreat requirement for Basic Program and Masters Program Online students, FPMT Education Services now provides materials on the Online Learning Center: ONE-MONTH LAMRIM RETREAT – Guidelines and Support Materials. The page is accessible upon request for individual students who have completed the review and final exam but can not attend a group retreat offered in a center, or prefer to do an individual retreat.

For individual three-month and one-year retreats in the context of Basic Program and Masters Program completion, PREPARATION FOR LONG RETREAT – Guidelines and Support Materials is also planned to be provided on the FPMT Online Learning Center.