About SINI
Our Impact
Since its founding, SINI has worked to preserve and transmit the Dharma through education, scholarly research, sacred ceremonies, and cross-cultural collaboration. These efforts reach monastics and laypeople across the globe, creating an ever-widening circle of benefit.
At a Glance
Dharma Preservation
Kangyur Karchag & Yeshe De
The Kangyur Karchag project has brought together more than 50 researchers from all five major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism to examine the 368 sutras that compose the Kangyur. This unprecedented scholarly effort has produced the first-ever comprehensive encyclopedia of the Buddha’s teachings in Tibetan, published as an 11-volume series in 2025 and presented to H.H. the Dalai Lama.
SINI’s preservation work is deeply connected to the Yeshe De Text Preservation Project, founded by Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche in 1983. Through Yeshe De, more than 10,000 sets of the Kangyur have been offered to the Tibetan Sangha. Since 1989, over six million copies of sacred Buddhist texts have been printed and distributed worldwide, catalyzing the development of over 3,000 libraries throughout the Himalayas.
English for Dharma Purposes
Monastic English Language Education
Established in 2012, the English for Dharma Purposes (EDP) program grew from one teacher and three students to a three-year residential program currently supporting 28 monastics (including 8 khenpos, 8 geshes, 6 lopons, and 1 khenmo) from more than 14 monasteries across India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
The program’s specially designed three-volume textbook series, authored by Eden Merritt and funded by the Khyentse Foundation, equips monastics with the English language skills to teach the Dharma to global audiences, pursue academic study, and engage in translation work.
Through the Academic Pathways Program, EDP graduates have been placed at Oxford University and the Harvard Divinity School. Former students are now engaged in English-language Dharma teaching in Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Argentina, and Brazil.
Three Cups Monastic Teacher Training
Empowering Dharma Teachers
Launched in January 2025 with the support of the Khyentse Foundation, the Three Cups program equips monastics with modern teaching methodologies to effectively share the Dharma with diverse audiences. The program brings together participants from all four Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
The inaugural edition gathered 35+ monastics over eight days in Sarnath, with keynote teachings from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. The second edition in January 2026 expanded to 38 monastics (29 monks and 9 nuns) representing 30 monasteries and nunneries from India, Bhutan, and Nepal, with 15 returning participants. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche joined as a guest speaker.
Topics span student-centered learning, psychology-informed teaching strategies, AI tools for educators, podcasting as Dharma outreach, and secular meditation instruction for lay audiences.
Tibetan Language Courses
Colloquial & Classical
Since launching in 2021, SINI’s online Tibetan language program has grown into a comprehensive offering spanning beginner through advanced levels, in both live and self-paced formats. The program is built around the three-volume Heart of Tibetan Language textbook series by Franziska Oertle, supported by the Khyentse Foundation. Volume 1 has been translated into Portuguese and a Spanish edition is in progress.
Live courses feature small learning communities, weekly one-on-one conversation sessions with native Tibetan tutors based in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a core team of 11 members from 10 different nationalities. In 2024–2025 alone, the program enrolled 115+ students from all over the world, the largest international student community in its history. The self-paced track offers video webinars, exercises, Anki flashcard decks, and podcast materials for independent study.
The classical Tibetan program provides courses in reading, pronunciation, and translation of Buddhist texts, from introductory to advanced levels.
Four Noble Truths Seminar & Pilgrimage
Study, Pilgrimage & Practice
The Four Noble Truths program is a 15-day journey combining Dharma study at the SINI campus in Sarnath with pilgrimages to the sacred sites of Rajgir, Nalanda, and Bodhgaya. Participants study the Buddha’s foundational teachings with SINI’s khenpos, visit the sites where the Buddha taught and attained enlightenment, and join the annual Nyingma World Peace Ceremony in Bodhgaya alongside thousands of monastics.
The program has been offered since 2014 and continues to bring together an international community of practitioners.
Sacred Ceremonies
Tibet Peace Ceremony, Dharmachakra & Manjushri Namasangiti
Each year, SINI organizes and participates in sacred ceremonies that bring together monastics from across traditions and regions.
The annual Tibet Peace Ceremony, held since 2014, is a five-day non-sectarian gathering that brings together over 1,200 monks, nuns, and lay practitioners from all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Sarnath Dharmachakra Program, established in 2016 in partnership with the LBDFI, fosters cross-traditional exchange between Theravada and Mahayana monastics at the site where the Buddha gave his first teaching.
The Manjushri Namasangiti Sanskrit Chanting Ceremony, established by Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche in 2015, gathers approximately 60 Sanskrit pandits from Varanasi and Gaya at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya.
Academic & Institutional Relations
SINI’s work is made possible through the support and collaboration of leading academic institutions and foundations dedicated to the preservation and transmission of the Dharma.
Oxford University 
Harvard University 
Brandeis University 
Khyentse Foundation 
Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International 
O.P. Jindal Global University 
Nyingma Centers Also supported by the Yeshe De Text Preservation Project