FPMT Basic Program

Introduction | The Basic Program in Centers | Basic Program Online | The Basic Program Subjects | FPMT Centers Offering the Basic Program

The Basic Program (BP) is a five-year, twelve-subject course of studies designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It provides a practice-oriented transmission of the Buddhadharma to committed students ready to progress to in-depth study and practice.

Some of Tibetan Buddhism’s most treasured texts form the heart of the Basic Program. Je Tsongkhapa’s Middle Length Lamrim; Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacharyavatara; the Heart Sutra; Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen’s Tenets; Maitreya’s Ornament for Clear Realization and Tathagata Essence; the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, and other texts guide the practitioner through a comprehensive study of sutra and tantra.

The program’s comprehensive curriculum greatly enhances students’ Dharma understanding, establishing a sound basis for ongoing study, practice, retreat, and service.

FPMT centers worldwide offer the program in a variety of formats. It is also available for homestudy and as an online program.

Learning Dharma means less ignorance and more wisdom. It means more light in your life, no darkness in your mind. It means you have more freedom in your life to achieve liberation from samsara and great enlightenment. The more you understand Dharma, the more you can benefit others.

–Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Geshe Tenphel teaching "The Tathagata Essence" during the residential Basic Program at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa

The Basic Program taught by Geshe Tenzin Tenphel at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa

The Basic Program in Centers

How It Is Taught: The Basic Program is currently offered by Tibetan geshes and qualified Western teachers. Study of the standard texts and commentaries is supported by discussions, meditations, reading and homework assignments, short retreats, etc.; each subject is completed with a test.

How to Participate: Students may enter the Basic Program at the beginning of subjects as indicated by individual centers. Students will benefit most from their BP studies if they have some familiarity with preparatory study and practice as offered by foundational-level programs.

Upon fulfillment of the requirements set by the center and having passed the test for a subject, the Basic Program Completion Card is signed. When at least the nine subjects of the core curriculum are completed, students may participate in the review and final exam. Three months of lamrim retreat complete the program.

The Basic Program Lamrim Retreat: The retreat may be done before or after the final exam, but should preferably be done after studying Stages of the Path. Lama Zopa Rinpoche strongly encourages students to do the three-month retreat all at once, but if this is not possible, three separate months of lamrim retreat fulfill the requirement. Several centers are now offering one- or three-month lamrim retreats as part of their Basic Program.

Basic Program Conduct Criteria: To the best of their ability, students must follow the Basic Program criteria for conduct over the course of their studies: practicing to refrain from killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct (adultery), and intoxicants, while developing awareness of positive and negative states of mind, and, in particular, the practice of patience and concern for others.

Becoming an FPMT Registered Teacher: Upon completion of the review, the final exam, and the retreat, students are awarded a Basic Program Completion Certificate. Graduates become eligible to be registered as teachers for FPMT education programs. They can also can serve in other roles that support the implementation of the Basic Program, for example, as teaching assistants or as tutors for online Basic Programs.

For Centers Wishing to Host the Basic Program: Basic Program Guidelines for Implementation, the standard texts and commentaries both in Tibetan and in translation (English, Spanish, French, Italian and German), examples of course materials, and general support are available from FPMT Education Services.

For more information, please contact the FPMT Basic Program coordinator.

Basic Program Online and Homestudy

The Basic Program subjects are offered online and as homestudy for those unable to attend the program in an FPMT center. All elements to complete the program are also available online.

How It Is Taught: Basic Program Online at the FPMT Online Learning Center offers video and audio recordings of outstanding Basic Program teachers supplemented by study materials, discussion forums monitored by qualified Western teachers, guided meditations, and retreats. While recommended schedules are provided, students can study at their own pace. Access to individual subjects is available through The Foundation Store.

In sync with their residential Basic Programs, Nalanda Monastery in France and Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy offer online Basic Programs in real time that include the program completion option.

Basic Program Homestudy packages are available from Chenrezig Institute in Australia.

How to Participate: Students engaging with Basic Program Online at the FPMT Online Learning center can choose to what extent they wish to follow the recommendations regarding discussion, behavior, practice, meditation, and retreat.

Additionally, students may complete any number of subjects and in any order they wish. Recommendations for determining the order of study can be found in the Introduction to Basic Program Online at the FPMT Online Learning Center. Additional details of the program such as completion requirements and suggested prerequisite studies are also presented there.

The Basic Program Homestudy FAQ page answers common questions about Basic Program Online and Homestudy.

How to Enhance Your Experience of the Program: Students are strongly encouraged to engage in all components of the program, including the Basic Program criteria for conduct designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche; at least two half-hour lamrim meditations per week; the subject completion tests and subject-related short retreats; and the one-month lamrim retreat and three-month review and final exam that complete the program.

To benefit from Basic Program Online preliminary experience with Dharma study, meditation practice, and skill in doing individual retreat are needed, while additional requirements apply for the tantra subjects. Please check the preparatory study and practice page to decide if the program is right for you!

How to Engage in the One-month Lamrim Retreat: To fulfill the retreat requirement for program completion, BP Online and Homestudy students can participate in any of the one-month lamrim retreats that are offered by centers in several regions. For individual one-month lamrim retreats, Guidelines and Support Materials are provided on the FPMT Online Learning Center.

Graduation and Offering Service in FPMT Education Programs: Having successful completed the BP subjects, a one-month lamrim retreat, and the three-month review and final exam, students are awarded the Basic Program Homestudy Completion Certificate. Graduates of Basic Program Online and Homestudy are not eligible for FPMT teacher registration. However, graduates may be invited to offer introductory level courses and can serve in roles that support the implementation of the Basic Program, for example, as teaching assistants or tutors for non-residential programs.

I’m finding the Mahayana Mind Training a pretty earth-moving subject. This is a brilliant example of Dharma as a mirror and it is giving me plenty to work on. Venerable George’s commentary is crystal clear and his teaching style is very effective. I highly recommend this package.

–BP Online student

The Basic Program Subjects

The Basic Program curriculum was designed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to ensure that students who want to study beyond the foundational level will gain a profound knowledge of the key aspects of the entire Buddhist path.

Shantideva teaching Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds

Basic Program study includes:

Stages of the Path: the stages of the path to enlightenment of beings of low, middling, and great capacity
Heart Sutra: emptiness and the phenomena qualified by it
Mahayana Mind Training: Wheel of Sharp Weapons: the law of actions and results, or karma, and the states of mind that shape our future experiences
Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds: the six perfections—generosity, morality, patience, joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom—and how to practice them in everyday life
Mind and Cognition: the way the mind knows phenomena and the mental factors that constitute the basis of our daily experience
Tenets: the philosophical systems, or tenets, of the four main schools of ancient Buddhist thought
Ornament for Clear Realizations and Seventy Topics: the 173 aspects of the omniscient mind and the practices that enable to achieve them
The Tathagta Essence: the buddha lineage or tathagata essence that exists within every sentient being
Grounds and Path of Secret Mantra; Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth; and a Highest Yoga Tantra Commentary: the four classes of tantra with emphasis on the generation and completion stages of highest yoga tantra

The subject descriptions offer a more detailed description of each of these Basic Program subjects.

Suggestions for the Order in Which to Study the Basic Program: While the Basic Program subjects may be studied in any order, it is good to keep in mind that an understanding of Mind and Cognition and Tenets will help with the ninth chapter of Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds and with the Calm Abiding and Special Insight sections (the last part) of Stages of the Path.

Stages of the Path provides the overall context for the other subjects and for meditation practice throughout. Ornament for Clear Realizations and Seventy Topics will be difficult without studying the preceding subjects first.

The tantra subjects should not be attempted without a good overall understanding of the stages of the path and require familiarity with and commitment to practice.