Rangjung Yeshe Institute

Rangjung Yeshe Institute (RYI) provides people from diverse cultural backgrounds with an environment for cultivating and disseminating Buddhist knowledge through teaching, translation, practice, research, and publication. Founded by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche as an institution of learning for those wishing to deepen their understanding of Buddhist philosophy and practice, RYI has conducted seminars and study programs in Nepal for more than twenty-five years.

Longer study programs were instigated in 1997 when RYI launched an extended and integrated course of study on topics contained in a traditional education in Buddhist Philosophy. In 2002 RYI established, in partnership with Kathmandu University, the Centre for Buddhist Studies (CBS) that offers long-term programs in Buddhist Studies for academic credit. Currently both a four-year B.A. degree in Buddhist Studies with Himalayan Languages and a two-year M.A. degree in Buddhist Studies are offered at CBS.

A hallmark of the Rangjung Yeshe Institute has been its ability to combine traditional Buddhist monastic learning with crucial aspects of modern academic scholarship. Accordingly, the faculty of RYI is comprised of scholars from both of these traditions, thus constituting a unique environment of learning and expertise.

Rangjung Yeshe Institute has been supported by Tsadra Foundation grants from 2007 through 2015.