.: Membership .: Cours Dates .: Newsletter .: Photo Gallery .: Location .: Accomodation & Fees .: Donations .: Volunteers .: Essential Education Italiano :: Buddhist St. :: Teachers   .: Founders .:  Resident .: Visiting Study Programs   .: Masters Program .:  Basic Program .: Discovering Buddhism Dharma Courses   .:  Modular .:  Various .:  Retreats .:  Special Events .:  Course Dates .:  On-line teachings .:  Cerimonies & Pujas   Study Programs - Masters Program The FPMT Masters Program in Buddhist Studies of Sutra and Tantra at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute is based on the traditional geshe studies program of Tibetan Gelug monastic universities. This residential study program is taught in Tibetan and translated into English and Italian for students from all over the world. It is based on the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni as commented on and realized by the scholars and meditators of India and Tibet, including Arya Nagarjuna, Acharya Chandrakirti, and Lama Tsongkhapa. Not only does this program offer an in-depth study of such important texts as Abhisamayalamkara by Maitreya, Madhyamakavatara by Chandrakirti, and Abhidharmakosha by Vasubandhu, it also offers an extremely rare opportunity to receive extensive teachings on tantra in the Buddhist tradition, in particular the highest yoga tantra of Guhyasamaja. The Masters Program is the unique vision of Lama Thubten Yeshe. Lama met his dear friend Geshe Jampa Gyatso at Sera Monastery in Tibet, and they studied together for more than twenty years. After asking Geshe Jampa Gyatso to become resident teacher at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Lama requested him to create a seven-year teacher training program, incorporating the major texts that form the basis of the sutra and tantra studies in Tibetan monasteries and tantric colleges. Geshe Jampa Gyatso agreed and taught three of the seven main subjects and several of the supplementary subjects between 1983 and 1997, despite a variety of interruptions. The inaugural course of the FPMT Masters Program commenced in January 1998 at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, with Geshe Jampa Gyatso as the resident teacher. It concluded in December 2004, with a number of students going on to engage in nine-month retreats. Another complete cycle of the Masters Program, scheduled to begin in January 2008, will include five years of study, a final comprehensive exam, and a one-year retreat. The Masters Program is also offered as a correspondence course. More detailed information is available on the ILTK Masters Program website.