Nalanda Introductory Course

Online Registration – Nalanda Introductory Course (Batch 1)

The registration for batch 2 (NCC2) will open 12th November 2023 and will remain open until 31st Jan 2024, 10 PM IST.

The registration for NCC3 will open sometime in the December of 2024 and registration for Nalanda Diploma Course Batch 5 (NDC5) will open sometime in second half of 2024. 

For the NCC2 registration form – Click Here

For the NCC2 Russian speaking applicants – Click Here

For any queries please email nalandacourses@tibethouse.in

Nalanda Certificate Course – Details and FAQs

1. Introduction
2. Quick Overview
3. Teaching Format
4. Teachers
5. Topics
6. Duration
7. Course Fees
8. Admission Process
9. Scholarship / Financial Aid
10. Applicant Counseling
11. How to Pay
12. Tentative Detailed Schedule
13. FAQs

Quick Overview of the NIC1 – Unique Features

1)    Covering comprehensive subjects based on the rich Nalanda tradition of Buddhist Philosophy, in order to fulfill the wish of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to make this infinitely precious legacy available to as many people as possible, in an easy and accessible form.

2)    Teachings given directly in English in online/in-person classes. Simultaneous interpretation available in Russian (possibly will be available in French and Hindi also).

3)     Three teachings sessions per week (approximately 2 hour each).

4)     All sessions in the online/in-person mode and recordings available.

5)     Complete flexibility on how to pace your own learning.

6)    Highly subsidized fees, with further discounts for monastics, students and past participants of Nalanda Courses.

7)     Course teaching duration of only 7 weeks.

8)     Course teaches features of meditation.

Introduction

There is a genuine need in the modern world to introduce, in a systematic and comprehensive way, various Buddhist subjects studied and practiced in the tradition of Nalanda and Tibetan monastic universities. Keeping in line with that sophisticated tradition, Tibet House offers four types of courses – Nalanda Introductory Course (NIC, 7 week duration), Nalanda Certificate Course (NCC, 5 month duration), Nalanda Diploma Course (NDC, 1 to 1.5 year duration) and Nalanda Masters Course (NMC, 6-year duration). Various batches of these courses have been completed and now the next batch of the Nalanda Certificate Course (NCC3) is now being offered.

 This course is being offered to participants who wish to acquire basic knowledge to acquire tools to become a happier person. This course also allows participants to get fundamental knowledge about various Buddhist subjects to become eligible for the future batches of Nalanda Masters Course (NMC, 6-year duration).

 The study and knowledge of Buddhism is extremely vast and profound. In the monastic tradition, it routinely takes a few decades to properly study all the subjects and undertake this journey.  This is a wonderful and rare opportunity to commit oneself to such a course, even while being a layperson. This course is designed specifically to accommodate people who are more seriously interested in Buddhist philosophy, while being in the midst of busy lives in cities and towns, with other engagements and commitments.  

Teaching Format

Teachings for the majority of the topics in this course will be covered via recordings of the same topics from the earlier conducted Nalanda Diploma and Certificate courses. There are a few topics of this course, which will be taught by the teacher. In addition, there will be weekly review classes conducted by a teaching assistant. All the teachings and review sessions will be imparted in English language (with simultaneous interpretation in Russian and possibly in French and Hindi), with important Tibetan terms explained as and when required during the teachings.

 For each week of the course duration, there will be two sessions (recordings or online/in-person classes).  Once in a week during evening India time hours, online review class will be conducted. Question and answer sessions will be held towards the end of each review class.  Please note this may change depending on the availability of the teacher and other resources that are required.

 Each participant who has duly completed the registration process for this course will be provided access to the online education portal on an individual basis. The links to the recorded and online classes, audio, video recordings and live stream links will be made available on the education portal. This online education portal will be central in terms of participants accessing the links to the classes, review sessions, recordings, teaching calendar, course material and handouts for the course, and keeping in touch with course announcements and other participants.

 The whole course will be conducted across one semester and at the end of that semester, there will be an online quiz. Participants will be required to take the quiz via the education portal. The quiz will be a wonderful way to check one’s learning. Please also note that the submission of the quiz would be a major criterion for participants to receive the completion certificate for this course and admission to any future batches of the Nalanda Masters Course.

Teachers

The primary teacher for this course will be Venerable Geshe Dorji Damdul La, who is also currently the Director of Tibet House, New Delhi.

 There will be teaching assistants, who will also help the primary teacher in conducting review sessions, group discussions and helping participants with relevant assistance related to the course. These teaching assistants have been studying under Venerable Geshe Dorji Damdul la for the last few years.  There could also be possibility of some guest teachers being invited to teach.

Topics

The teaching order of the topics may vary.

Duration

The duration for the teachings of this course will be approximately 7 weeks. The tentative schedule will broadly be as follows:

 Teachings:     From the third week of May-2025 to the first week of Jul-2025.

Quiz         :      Available from the second week of Jul-2025 to 31-Jul-2025

Tentative detailed schedule can be seen in the Tentative Schedule section.

Course Fees

Please note we provide 100% scholarship for monastics. For rest, the total fees in Indian Rupees for the course will be as follows:

•  For students (in recognized schools, colleges and universities etc):

              Course Fees:  Rs 250/-

•  For participants of NMC1, NMC2, NDC1, NDC2, NDC3, NDC4, NDC5, NCC1  and NCC2:

              Course Fees: Rs 500/-

•  For non-monastics and non-students:

              Course Fees: Rs 1000/-

 All the soft copies of various course material will be provided free to all the registered participants. However participants can optionally buy the printed course material available at highly subsidized rates, which may include some published books, transcripts from the previous teachings, handouts or specially compiled material for this course.

 The above fees and printed material are highly subsidized due to the kindness of Ministry of Culture, Government of India.  This allows as many people as possible to avail of the benefits of this course, without regard to their financial means.

Admission Process

Who can apply?

Anyone who genuinely wants to know about Nalanda Buddhist Philosophy can apply. Any person residing anywhere in the world, with a sincere desire to learn, can apply.

How to apply and the admission process

Online Submission of Request for Registration

Step 1)             Fill in the online request for registration form (link: Online Registration Form )

Step 2)             Submit the online form. Once your form is processed by Tibet House team, you will get the steps to complete your application via email. 

Once all the above steps have been completed, the education portal user-id and password will be sent by the Tibet House team to the registered email-id. This would complete your registration.

Please do note that any payment, once made, cannot be refunded by Tibet House.

Tibet House also reserves all rights to give or cancel or refuse admission to this course.

Scholarships/Financial Aid

Under very rare situations of financial difficulties, scholarships / financial aid may be considered on a case-to-case and need basis, as decided by the Selection Committee.

Applicant Counceling

 Do you have further questions regarding this course? Please write an email to the Tibet House Nalanda Course Team (nalandacourses@tibethouse.in)  with your questions and concerns.

How To Pay

The links for payment will be provided by Tibet House team in the confirmation email to complete your request for registration.

Tentative Detailed Schedule

Kindly note that the exact schedule will be available to the registered participants on the education portal.

FAQs

Q1) In which language teachings will be given for this course?

The teachings will be given in English for all the subjects.

Q2) What is the duration of the course?

The teachings for this course will be from the third week of May 2025 to the first week of Jul 2025.

Q3) Who can apply and is there any qualification criteria?

Anyone who genuinely wants to study, understand and apply these concepts in their life, from the rich Nalanda legacy is eligible and welcome to join. One should have willingness and commitment to learn and put effort in learning.

Q4) What will be the format for this course?

All important topics related to Nalanda Buddhist Philosophy will be covered by this course. The teachings will given by Venerable Geshe Dorji Damdul La. The teachings will be in the online/in-person format.

Q5) Will there will live teachings or recordings used for this course?

Our teacher, Venerable Geshe Dorji Damdul La will teach all the topics for this course.

Q6) What will be the mode of teachings for this course – Online / in-person / Offline?

All the registered participants will have access to all live sessions and their recordings. Participants can attend in-person classes at Tibet House, New Delhi or they can attend the online sessions. Participants can access the recordings of these sessions, in case they cannot attend the live sessions. The links will be provided for online classes, live-stream links and audio and video recordings.

Q7) What is the fees and are any further discounts available?

Please note we provide 100% discount for monastics. For rest, the total fees in Indian Rupees for the course will be as follows:

For students (in recognized schools, colleges and universities etc):

Course Fees               : Rs 250

For participants of previous courses – NMC1, NMC2, NDC1, NDC2, NDC3, NDC4, NDC5, NCC1 and NCC2:

Course Fees               : Rs 500

For non-monastics and non-students:

Course Fees               : Rs 1000

Q8) What is the difference between Video Recordings and Live-streams?

The live-streams are unedited and with a lower video resolution. The video recordings are edited and have better resolution. The live-streams are available during and immediately after each session, while the video recordings are available once Tibet House IT team are done with the editing.

Q9) Can Tibet House Delhi provide residential/hostel facilities for the course participants?

We do not have any residential/ hostel facilities for the course participants.

Q10) How many hours do I need to commit?

On an average about 6 hours of sessions time per week are expected to be given. If someone has more time and inclination, they can give more time based on additional optional reading recommendations.

Q11) When will the course begin?

The course is scheduled to begin in third week of May-2025.

Q12) When will the course end?

The expected date for the end of teachings is the first week of Jul-2025.

Q13) Are there any meditation commitments required on behalf of the participants?

This course will teach features of meditation but there are no commitments for meditation required for this course.  Participants are encouraged to meditate more regularly. After all the true meaning of meditation is familiarization with what are causes for happiness, so that we traverse the path to become happier and also help others in becoming happier beings.

Q14) How much is the Course Material fees?

The course material, would be on a cost basis only, which will be very nominal and highly subsidized. Tibet House ships course material world wide. The exact amount will be communicated via email when the course material is distributed.

Q15) What will the teaching schedule like?

There will be three sessions per week on Sunday, Thursday and Friday evenings India time. Each session will be approximately for 2-hour duration. The schedule for the topics, which will be taught by the teacher will be announced on the education portal, closer to the teaching dates.

Q16) Is the online portal only to submit quizzes?

No, the online portal will also be used by Tibet House to make announcements relevant to this Course. This portal will also allow participants to interact with other via Discussion Forums which can be very useful to clarify doubts. Plus there are many other useful features in the portal.

Q17) How can a participant clarify doubts?

For any doubts, registered participants can use forums on education portal to ask questions or ask questions during Q&A session in the review session. The answers will be given by the teaching assistants assigned for this course. There could also be special Q&A sessions with the main teacher during the course duration.

Q18) Is there possibility to make online payments?

Yes, we accept payments only via online means. Once your application will be approved, we will send the link for the payment.

Q19) What type of questions are asked in the online quizzes? Is there minimum that one needs to score?

The questions asked will be objective questions which have multiple choice answers. Yes, participants need to score 40% or above to qualify for obtaining the certificate.

Q20) What if someone does not submit the quizzes before the expected deadlines?

The online quizzes would be a major criterion, which will be used to award the certificate/diploma.

Q21) What if I miss the class taught by the teacher?

You can catch up with the class either via live-streams (they are available after the class also) or via audio/video recordings (available after 3 working days).We do not record any attendance for any class as these courses are designed for one’s own benefit so we will leave it to an individual. So its perfectly fine for anyone to catch up with the classes based on one’s own convenience.

Q22) What topics will be taught in this batch?

Please visit NIC1 page (https://tibethouse.in/nic/) on the Tibet House website for details on the topics.