Lama Zopa Rinpoche with students from FPMT Basic Program and FPMT Masters Program in Italy.

The Education and Preservation Fund

Qualified teachers and practitioners are essential to the successful transmission of the Dharma around the world. FPMT Education Services has developed a wide range of education programs to meet the needs of every student, and continues to develop new programs that preserve the lineage and educate the next generation.

Since 2010, the Education and Preservation Fund has distributed nearly US$1.5 million to preserve the Buddhist teachings, develop study programs, translate texts, and support Dharma centers and projects worldwide. Here is what that support has made possible.

Developing Education Programs

The fund has supported the creation and delivery of FPMT study programs, including:

• Online learning, livestreaming equipment, and teaching archives that make teachings available to students anywhere
• The Light of the Path retreats and related events, including travel and lodging for teachers and translators
• New program development, including the Buddhist Mind Science program and an ethics-based education mapping project
• Teacher training, such as a Teacher Development Service Seminar at Maitripa College in 2025

Before 2010, the Education and Preservation Fund helped create the core study programs that FPMT centers around the world still rely on today, including:

• Creation of the FPMT Masters Program
• Development of FPMT Masters Program Guidelines for FPMT-wide implementation
• Creation and development of the FPMT Basic Program, hosted at FPMT centers around the world, and available as an online self-study program
• Creation of Discovering Buddhism, hosted at FPMT centers around the world, and available as an online self-study program

Preserving the Dharma for Future Generations

The fund has supported landmark publishing, including grants to Wisdom Publications for the English translation of a commentary on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lam Rim Chen Mo. Smaller grants have supported the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and Maitripa College.

Compassion and Wisdom in the Wider World

The fund has given grants to the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom for its Essential Education project and ongoing work bringing ethics-based education into schools and communities.

It has supported the Mind Science Academy in Italy, which explores the meeting point between Buddhist thought and modern science.

Grants to Liberation Prison Project groups in the USA, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, and New Zealand have paid for Dharma books and materials, Mandala magazine subscriptions, postage, and printing for people in prison.

Translating the Teachings

The fund has supported translation and printing work that brings the teachings to new readers, often in languages where few Buddhist texts are available. This includes:

• Printing a two-volume Tibetan text in India
• Translations into Bengali and Hindi of works by Nalanda masters, including Kamalashila, Nagarjuna, and Ashvaghosha, many through Visva-Bharati University
• Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand in Sinhalese, and a video on historic Mahayana sites in Sri Lanka
• Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s The Six Perfections in Italian

Every grant has been made possible by the generosity of donors who share the wish to keep these teachings alive and available to all. Thank you. Your support helps the fund continue this work for future generations.

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The Translation Fund

The Translation Fund supports the critical work of translating classic texts and sutras from the original Tibetan into English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Mongolian, and other languages. These translations support FPMT Masters Program and the FPMT Basic Program as well as providing essential practice materials that have been advised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

These are the current translation projects that need support.

Previously sponsored translation work includes:

• The Dalai Lama’s books Essence of the Heart Sutra and The Meaning of Life in Vietnamese
• FPMT practice and course materials into French, Spanish, and Portuguese
• Je Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo in Chinese
• Je Tsongkhapa’s Middle Length Lamrim (Lam rim ‘bring ba) in German and English
• The Second Panchen Lama’s The Swift Path: A Meditation Manual on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment

The following translations were commissioned by the FPMT with the generous support of benefactors:

• Sanghata Sutra into several languages
• Sutra of Golden Light: Chapter 21 into several languages, and Chapters 29 and 31
• Sutra of Great Liberation
• Kshitigarbha Ten Wheels Mahayana Sutra from the Great Collection

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Start of term of the FPMT Masters Program at ILTK

The Education Scholarship Fund

The Education Scholarship Fund helps make FPMT’s in-depth Dharma education accessible to more students by providing scholarships and other financial support within FPMT education programs. Working in partnership with FPMT centers, the fund responds to identified needs and supports students and teaching assistants participating in programs such as the FPMT Basic Program and FPMT Masters Program.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche emphasized supporting students in the study of Buddhist philosophy through lamrim and lojong, academic study, and practical experience. He envisioned developing teachers whose understanding is grounded not only in Buddhist texts but also in practice, leading to deeper transformation and the ability to share the Dharma from their own experience.

To help realize this vision, the Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to students, teaching assistants, and tutors, helping create the conditions for the Dharma to be deeply studied, practiced, and transmitted to future generations.

Over the years, the Education Scholarship Fund has provided scholarship support to students and staff at:

• Maitripa College in the United States
• Lama Tzong Khapa Institute (ILTK) in Italy
• Nalanda Monastery in France

The opportunity to receive a Dharma education is precious. Your donation to the Education Scholarship Fund can help make this opportunity possible for students who need financial assistance to pursue their studies.

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