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| ON-LINE
PROGRAM: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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1) What is the main purpose of the On-line Program?
While the residential Masters Program was created by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
and the FPMT Education Department to provide the FPMT centers with
qualified lay and ordained teachers, the on-line program is mainly
offered to provide people who are unable to attend the full-time
residential program the opportunity for a personal, deep, and systematic
study of the teachings of Tibetan Gelug Mahayana Buddhism.
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2) What are the minimum requirements necessary to join the On-line
Program?
The most important qualification is to have a sincere
and strong interest in studying Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism for the
development of one’s own personal spiritual practice. In addition,
it is recommended, but not obligatory, to have some basic familiarity
with the study and practice of the lam-rim, the Stages of the Path
to Enlightenment. It is also very helpful to have studied the FPMT
Basic Program subjects Mind and Cognition and Tenets
(for available materials see www.fpmt.org/education
and www.iltk.it/bp).
To study the Grounds and Paths of Tantra
it is absolutely necessary to have taken refuge and to have received
a highest yoga tantra empowerment (this will be conferred at the
beginning of this subject). To study the Guhyasamaja Tantra it is
necessary to have received the Guhyasamaja empowerment (this will
be conferred at some point during the program).
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3 ) What kind of certification is available to students who participate
in the On-line Program?
The FPMT issues two types of certificates
in relation to the home study or on-line Masters Program:
• a completion
card that indicates that a home study student has fulfilled all
the requirements in relation to an individual subject
• a final
Masters Certificate that indicates that a home study student has
successfully completed all five subjects, the final comprehensive
exam, and a one-month retreat.
While neither the completion
card or the final certificate qualifies a home study participant
to be a certified FPMT teacher, it is entirely possible that someone
who has excelled in the home study program will be able to teach
the Masters Program subjects.
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4 ) In which languages is the On-line Program available?
The On-line Program is available in both English
and Italian, however these are run as separate on-line programs.
Thus, separate recordings of the English and Italian translations
of the main classes, which are taught in Tibetan, will be placed
on the web site; videos of review classes will be available in the
students' respective languages; forums and chats will be conducted
separately in English and Italian; and all study material is translated
and made available separately in English and Italian.
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5 ) Is the On-line Program all-year round?
There is a two-month break in the summer and a
one-month break during the Christmas-New Year period, as well as
a short break for the Tibetan New Year and a one-week break at Easter.
In addition, there are breaks from classes for the three one-month
retreats that are to be undertaken as part of the residential program.
Costs of the On-line Program are
calculated taking all these breaks into account.
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6 ) Approximately how many hours
of study a week are necessary to
keep up to date with the On-line
Program and qualify for certification?
It is quite difficult to estimate how much time
any one individual needs to study in order to gain a clear and comprehensive
understanding of the material as this depends on previous familiarity
with the subject material (gained in this as well as in previous
lives!), as well as the quickness with which one learns new material
and the strength of one's memory. Among the various materials provided
to home study students (written study material, audio recordings
of daily teachings, and weekly video recordings of a one-hour review
class with the teaching assistant), the weekly audio recordings
are provided as supplementary material with the thought that some
people may have time to listen to them, for example, while traveling
to work. While listening to the audio recording is entirely optional,
it is necessary to be able to dedicate an estimated 15 hours a week
to downloading, reading, and studying the written study material,
another couple of hours a week to the forum, one hour a week to
watching the video of the review class. and a couple of hours a
week to answering the quiz questions. Thus, it is estimated that
a minimum of about 20-25 hours a week are necessary in order to
reach a good level of understanding of the material.
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7 ) How realistic is it
to study the Masters Program subjects from one's home?
We are planning to render it quite realistic by
making use of all possible modern educational tools via internet
and the use of the software called "Moodle," a course
management system for distance learning programs, and by providing
you with a qualified teaching assistant whose job is to make the
program both accessible and stimulating. Then from your own side,
you will need to be highly motivated and not easily discouraged
by difficulties, and, as mentioned above, to be able to devote a
minimum of 20-25 hours a week to your studies.
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8 ) How much familiarity with
using computers is necessary in order to participate in the On-line
Program?
We have chosen to use the software Moodle for our
On-line Program based on both its accessibility and versatility.
While we will provide step-by-step instructions a minimum of familiarity
with turning on a computer, accessing internet, and downloading
files is necessary. The teaching assistant as well as our web manager
will be on hand to help and advise you when difficulties are encountered.
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9 ) What level of English is
necessary in order to participate in the On-line Program?
Since the main material studied consists in written texts and commentaries,
it is necessary to have a good level of ability to read English,
whereas the ability to understand spoken English is an asset but
not an absolute necessity.
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10 ) Is it possible for
On-line students to later join the residential program?
It is not only possible, you would be extremely
welcome! We realize that not everyone has the freedom, time, or
financial means to join the residential program for six years. Therefore,
we highly encourage home study students to join us even if it is
only for a subject or two while studying the rest of the subjects
on-line.
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11) Is it possible to study a later subject without having studied
the previous subject?
It is possible to join the On-line Program for
the study of any one or more subjects without having studied the
previous subjects. For this reason, new students are accepted at
the beginning of each subject. To further assist you in your studies,
we hope to be able to link new students with a "buddy"
in the residential program.
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12) If one were planning to do the On-line Program, what would be
the ideal way to prepare for it?
It is extremely helpful to have some previous familiarity
with the teachings on lam-rim (the stages of the path to enlightenment)
gained through attending courses at a Tibetan Gelug Dharma center.
It is also helpful to have studied texts related to the subjects
of Tenets (drub-ta), Mind and Cognition (lo-rig), and Signs
and Reasonings (ta-rig). Ideally, it would be best to have completed
one or more of the other FPMT standard education programs –
Discovering Buddhism, The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, or the
Basic Program - prior to joining the Masters Program. While it is
possible to join the On-line Program without having done any of
the above, be prepared for some initial difficulties in your studies.
However, our experience from the last Masters Program is that after
the first six months, even very new Buddhists had been able to catch
up to and in some cases outdistance the "elder" students.
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13) Is it possible to participate in the On-line Program without
seeking the completion certificates in the individual subjects and
the final certificate?
It is possible to join the On-line Program for
your own personal spiritual development without being interested
in receiving either a completion card or final certificate. However,
since the forums, quizzes, and exams are there for the purpose of
encouraging study and giving you feedback on your strengths and
weaknesses, we encourage all participants in both the residential
and on-line programs to keep up to date with their studies and write
all exams. This will have the great personal advantage of your understanding
of Buddhist philosophy gradually increasing and becoming more and
more stable, as well as qualifying you to in the future help other
sentient beings increase their understanding.
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14) Is there a
discount available for ordained monks and nuns?
Monks and nuns are offered the On-line Program
free of charge with the agreement that they participate fully in
all aspects of the program, such as weekly quizzes, and that they
write all exams.
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15) Is it necessary to know
Tibetan in order to join the On-line Program?
Not at all! All materials and study tools are available
in English and Italian.
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16) Is it possible to
receive the study material related to the Masters Program 2008 without
participating fully in the On-line Program?
It is possible to receive the study material related
to a particular subject after the study of that subject has come
to an end. At that time all the study material is reorganized and
made available (most likely on DVD). However, unlike the previous
Masters Program 1998 and the Basic Program 2005, the options of
receiving the material by mail or downloading the material from
the web site without participating fully in the program will not
be offered. This is because it has been verified again and again
that it is extremely difficult to keep pace with the study of the
subjects in parallel with the residential Masters Program without
the help of a teaching assistant.
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