Kopan Monastery

Categories: Monasteries | Nepal | FPMT

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Kopan Monastery was founded by Lamas Thubten Yeshe and Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who bought the property from Nepal's royal astrologer in 1969. Its name comes from the name of the hill on which it was built.

The name Kopan Monastery is generally used to refer to two separate institutions - the Monastery itself on top of Kopan hill and the Khachoe Ghakyi Ling Nunnery which is located nearby.

Though monastic life at Kopan resembles that of other Tibetan monasteries in many ways, it has become especially famous for teaching Buddhism to visiting Western foreigners. The first of what would become annual month-long (November-December) meditation courses was held in 1971, although Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa had been teaching Westerners since at least 1965. These courses generally combine traditional Lam Rim teachings with informal discussion, several periods of guided meditation, and a vegetarian diet.

Over the decades Kopan Monastery has become somewhat less important in the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, the organization of which it now forms part (though predating it by several years), as the FPMT has grown to encompass centers in numerous other countries. For example, Kopan no longer serves as its administrative headquarters. At the same time, various building projects have transformed Kopan's appearance. The gold roofs of its central temple have come to be used as an orienting landmark by pilots landing at Kathmandu's airport.

Info

Director :

• Khenrinpoche Lama Lhundrup

Location :

• Kopan Hill, near Boudhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal

Mailing Address :

• P.O. Box 817, Kathmandu, Nepal

Telephone :

• +977 1 4821 268

Fax :

• +977 1 4820 267

E-mail :

• kopan@mail.com.np

Website :

• www.kopanmonastery.com, www.kopan-monastery.com