The FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training (IDMT) is a four-year online training course that offers meditators long-term support to help them progress in their meditative practice. It thereby provides the opportunity to experience a genuine taste of the nature of reality and bodhicitta.

IDMT was developed by Venerable Losang Gendun in dialogue with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, inspired by Rinpoche’s teaching that the true fulfilment of our precious human life is to generate the awakened mind, bodhicitta, and that a practitioner needs deep meditative practice to accomplish this. Based in the Lamrim and in the Gelug tenets, the training progresses from foundational shamatha and insight to mahamudra and kriya tantra.

Over four years the full range of traditional Buddhist methods is gradually introduced in ways suitable for a modern Western audience. While grounded in the theory and practice of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, aspects of the living tradition of Theravada practices form an integral part of the training. These traditional expositions are supplemented by modern explorations of topics such as the psychology of spiritual development, the arhat and bodhisattva ideals, the role of ritual, identity formation, metaphor in Yogacara, Buddhist epistemology, theory of narrative, and so on.

The first two courses (Year 1 and Year 2) are now available to watch and revisit any time. Contact The Buddha Project directly to inquire, at info@thebuddhaproject.org.
The third course (Year 3) begins on Saturday, September 6^th, 2025 and is open to everyone who feels ready to explore the depths of the path.

Each year of the IDMT can be followed independently. Prior courses are not required to join the third course.

• Setup a shamatha practice
• Develop vipassana by way of the seven enlightenment factors
• Deepen your faith by applying insight to motivation
• Use Lamrim reflections to develop your faith, aspiration, and effort

• Cognitive illusions, non-duality and the three natures
• Jatakas, and the theory of narrative and metaphor in perception
• Becoming a Buddha for the welfare of all beings
• Transforming ordinary mind into wisdom

• Groundless and the groundlessness of groundlessness
• Awakening by exchanging self and others
• Natural freedom and buddha potential
• Shaping a shared social world through ritual

• Meditation on the empty nature of the mind
• Preliminary practices and relating to a teacher
• Transforming ordinary perception into pure view
• Ethical identity and the state of Vajradhara

The course emphasizes direct, personal experience through meditation while involving all three traditional practices of hearing, contemplating and meditating. It aims at guiding you as a meditator in how to navigate your meditative journey successfully, both on and off your cushion. It will help you make progress amid your daily, often hectic life. Diverse topics necessary for your level of practice, and that of your fellow practitioners, are illustrated and explored in guided meditations.

You will train in both shamatha (concentration) and vipassana (insight). Together we will gradually explore and investigate both the nature of self and phenomena as being impermanent and selfless, empty of imaginary nature and of inherent existence, our buddha nature, and the union of bliss and emptiness respectively.

While various forms of insight meditation take center stage, the goal is to provide contemplations that open your heart, through such topics as compassion, the precious human life, definite emergence, bodhicitta and devotion. These are often, but not exclusively, taken from the sutras and Lamrim texts on the gradual path to enlightenment.

To avoid that your practice becomes disconnected from the real-world issues you experience, attention is given to how the Dharma can inform us on how to engage with our everyday challenges, avoiding dogmatism, political bias, or polarization, and be of benefit to the world that we are all a part of.

You are provided with a reader that focuses on instructions from the Buddha and other foundational texts. This complements with numerous essays and practical advice on a range of topics such as the arhat and bodhisattva ideals, the role of ritual, identity formation, metaphor in Yogacara, Buddhist epistemology, theory of narrative and so on.

• Foundational Vipassana (insight meditation)
• Yogacara (Mind-Only School)
• Madhyamaka (Middle Way – Consequence School)
• Tathagatagarbha (exploring our buddha nature)
• Mahamudra (investigating the ultimate nature of the mind)
• Kriya Tantra (transforming everyday experiences into opportunities for spiritual growth and realization)

To put these ancient techniques in a contemporary context, we are giving a special attention to the psychology of meditation, through topics such as spiritual bypassing (using spirituality to hide from our problems), identity, narrative (the role of stories in our mental makeup and practice), language philosophy and ritual.

Hosted by FPMT centers and taught on a weekly basis by Ven. Gendun. The sessions consist of an hour of meditation, an hour of lecture, and half an hour for Q&A. The teachings are always held on Zoom. When Ven. Gendun is visiting one of the participating centers, the sessions can be attended live in that location. The recordings are made available the day after the teachings, so that everyone, regardless of their commitments can follow the course.

Aimed at practitioners with a solid foundation in Buddhist thought who want to further their meditative practice. Grounded in tradition, the course takes a non-sectarian stance and contextualizes Buddhist ideas in Western philosophy, psychology, and science. It is suitable for participants from all walks of life. Practitioners who want to make Buddhist values and goals part of their lives, transforming their time on and off the cushion into a path to enlightenment within the settings of a supportive community, will find the course rewarding.

We recommend that IDMT participants have a solid foundational understanding of Buddhist philosophy—ideally at the level of Discovering Buddhism or the Basic Program. At the same time, we warmly welcome anyone who is sincerely motivated and willing to make the effort.

The program is offered every Saturday from 3:30pm to 6pm CET (Central European Time), from February to the end of June and from September to the end of November. The course is in English, with live French translation available. Additionally, there is the possibility to deepen one’s practice through various week and weekend retreats offered by the hosting centers, led by Ven. Gendun. You can find more information about these in the Events Section of The Buddha Project homepage.

Sessions are available on Zoom, through The Buddha Project website, and live when Ven. Gendun visits one of the participating centers in the Netherlands, France, the UK, Sweden, and the USA. You can sign up on the OCBC event page for this course, after which all necessary information will be sent to you by email.