A collage of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, and students.


Welcome to Nitartha Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies!


The Nitartha Institute Buddhist Studies Curriculum presents the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana views through a well-developed progressive series of courses designed as Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced curriculum studies.

Nitartha begins with the study of mind and its relation to objects. In essence, we ask these questions: 

How do we know what we know? How do we know if this knowledge is correct? 

These courses provide a foundational understanding of the terms and methods used to support analytical inquiry into how mind engages with its world. They build a well-developed ground on which the intermediate and advanced curricula are built.

Foundation Curriculum

Nitartha's foundation level curriculum presents the views of foundational Buddhism, including Vaibhāśika and Sautrāntika philosophical systems.

Intermediate Curriculum

At the intermediate level, the Mahāyana philosophical systems of Cittamātra and Madhyamaka are explored in depth. The Tathāgatagarbha tradition and the exposition of the path to enlightenment are also introduced.

Advanced Curriculum

The advanced curriculum features in-depth study of primary texts selected from the Eight Main Treatises of Sūtra and Tantra of the Kagyu school and the Thirteen Core Indian Buddhist Treaties of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Please consult our website for a full list of our course offerings. Foundation and Intermediate courses are available at our summer institute, locally and online as semester classes, and as Self Paced Online Courses for students who would like to take classes online, at their own pace.