

FPMT Teacher Development Seminar: Contemplative Pedagogy for Dharma Teachers
July 11 - July 13
The July 2025 FPMT Teacher Development Seminar at Maitripa College builds on years of global collaboration and feedback to support Dharma teachers. Informed by the 2025 CPMT Meeting, several seminar pilots, and the advice of lineage holders, native Tibetan teachers, and contemporary Westen teachers, it integrates trauma-informed pedagogy, beginner support, and lineage fidelity. The seminar blends contemplative pedagogy and lived experience to foster wise, compassionate, and skillful teaching. Please join us to deepen your skills, insight, and confidence this summer!
FPMT Teacher Development Seminar: Contemplative Pedagogy for Dharma Teachers
Dates: July 11–13, 2025
Location: Maitripa College
The 2025 TDS is being offered in-person exclusively in North America. A pilot online version is currently also in development and will be made available in 2026 for participants outside of the United States.
Please review the following information and follow the link to register here:
DETAILS:
Costs
A moderate grant from FPMT Charitable Projects has been given to support this project, which will allow us to subsidize costs to run this event and support attendees in Portland for the weekend as much as possible. The amount of subsidy you will receive will depend on the needs of all of the individuals wishing to attend. Ordained sangha will be prioritized. When you complete your registration, please fill out the form completely and honestly so that we can ensure equitable distribution of funds.
Purpose
This course has been designed to support individuals involved teaching, guiding, and facilitation roles in FPMT centers in particular and is most suitable for those individuals. If you are interested in attending from outside the FPMT, you are welcome, and please reach out to education@maitripa.org to understand how this experience can be most meaningful for you.
Description
The July 2025 FPMT Teacher Development Seminar (TDS) at Maitripa College represents the next evolution in the development of Dharma teachers in the FPMT. This in-person seminar is the result of nearly a decade of collaborative effort, reflection, and feedback from the international FPMT community.
This version of the TDS is grounded in the pioneering work of several teams of FPMT senior students and teachers who came together in 2017 to develop a framework for supporting emerging and established teachers across the organization. Their work was field-tested in a series of pilot seminars offered around the world that same year, setting the foundation for future refinement.
Informed by this history, the 2025 iteration integrates fresh insights gathered during the April 2025 FPMT CPMT Meeting in Nepal, where a working group of FPMT teachers and senior students shared requests and reflections on what is most needed in today’s context. Their feedback pointed to the importance of addressing the needs of beginning students, integrating trauma-informed pedagogy, and supporting teachers in maintaining fidelity to lineage while remaining responsive to contemporary audiences.
The structure and content of this seminar are further enriched by current research and best practices in contemplative pedagogy and teacher training, as well as decades of lived experience from Dharma teachers and students around the globe. Above all, this seminar is guided by the heart advice of two beloved leaders: Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Abbot of Kopan Monastery and member of the FPMT International Board, and Yangsi Rinpoche, Founder and President of Maitripa College and FPMT Teacher. Their shared vision emphasizes scholarship, ethical conduct, practice, and the development of compassionate and skillful teachers who can meet the world as it is, with wisdom.
We welcome you to this seminar with gratitude for your aspiration to teach the Dharma and serve sentient beings, and with the heartfelt wish that this training supports your growth, confidence, and joy on the path.
Day 1 – Foundations of the Teacher
10:00am–12:00pm | Session 1: The Qualities of a Teacher: Buddhist and Secular Views
- Khen Rinpoche & Yangsi Rinpoche’s guidance: study, ethics, discipline, heart, daily practice, ease
- Embodied qualities of lineage teachers
- Introduction to the Four Means of Gathering Students
- Western educational philosophy on “the teacher”
12:00pm–1:00pm | Lunch
1:00pm–3:00pm | Session 2: Understanding Learners
- Learning styles and personality types
- Adapting Dharma for beginners: skillful sequencing and accessibility
- Trauma-informed pedagogy basics
3:00pm–3:30pm | Break
3:30pm–5:00pm | Session 3: Group Dynamics and Leadership
- Holding space: creating inclusive and safe learning environments
- Facilitation and group energy awareness
- Power dynamics in traditional and modern teaching spaces
Day 2 – Pedagogy in Practice
10:00am–12:00pm | Session 4: Course Planning I: Teaching in Gompa/Classroom Settings
- Contemplative pedagogy structure: presence, practice, participation
- Traditional structure of teachings (text-based, commentary, Q&A)
- Adapting structure to local and lay contexts
12:00pm–1:00pm | Lunch
1:00pm–3:00pm | Session 5: Course Planning II: Teaching Online & Hybrid
- Digital tools and etiquette
- Creating connection at a distance
- Considerations for accessibility, presence, and engagement
3:00pm–3:30pm | Break
3:30pm–5:00pm | Session 6: Practicum – Presenting a Simple Teaching
- Each participant shares a 5–10 minute teaching
- Peer and facilitator feedback using compassionate critique
Day 3 – Integration, Ethics, and Community
10:00am–12:00pm | Session 7: Ethics, Authority, and Cultural Relevance
- Foundations of Dharma ethics: Vinaya, bodhisattva, Vajrayana
- Authority and humility in the modern world
- Teaching across cultures: relevance and sensitivity
- Holding to lineage while adapting to audience
12:00pm–1:00pm | Lunch
1:00pm–3:00pm | Session 8: Mentorship and Lifelong Development
- Models of supervision and feedback in Dharma settings
- Understanding mentorship as spiritual friendship
- Approaches to giving and receiving feedback within the Dharma
- Connecting to the FPMT Teacher Development and Support System (TDSS)
- Establishing and maintaining mentor-mentee relationships
- Next steps in your journey as a Dharma teacher
- Group closing circle and dedications