Our Spiritual Teachers
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Lama Thubten Yeshe
Founder of the FPMT |
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Inspiration and guide of the FPMT
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Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Spiritual Director FPMT |
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Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen (born in Tibet in 1947)
was ordained as a novice monk as a six-year old in
the monastic university of Ganden in Tibet. Following
the Chinese invasion in Tibet in 1959, he fled to
india, where he continued his studies. He achieved
the highest scholarly degree in Buddhist philosophy
as a 'Geshe Lharampa', and was appointed as professor
to the Central Institute for Buddhist Studies in Leh
(Ladakh, India). Since 1992 he is the resident teacher
of the Maitreya Institute in Emst. His teachings are
remarkably clear and show his great intelligence.
Geshe-la teaches in Tibetan, which is translated
into Dutch, usually by Hans van den Bogaert.
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Venerable Kaye Miner
was born and raised in Australia. She took teachings
from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the renowned founder of the
FPMT, for some years and worked for the FPMT International
Office for two years before being ordained as a nun
in 1990. From 1991-1996 she was the Spiritual Program
Coordinator at Tara Institute in Melbourne and taught
at other Tibetan Buddhist centers in Australia. At the
request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, she came to the Netherlands
in 1999 to be the Spiritual Program Coordinator and
teacher at Maitreya Institute Amsterdam. From begin 2003 until the end of 2009 she was also director of Maitreya Institute
Emst.
Veneable Kaye Miner teaches mostly in easy to understand English, but has started to teach some courses in Dutch. |
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The teachings of Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen are translated from Tibetan to Dutch (occasionally
English) by the translator Hans van den Bogaert.
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Advanced students of the Maitreya
Institute such as Janny de Boer, Alex de Haan and Jacoba Postma teach the Discovering Buddhism program of
the FPMT and lead meditations and retreats - mostly in Dutch.
Guest teachers |
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The
artist Andy Weber spent seven years
living and studying the iconographical art of Tibetan
Buddhism under the guidance of accomplished masters
in India and Nepal. His unique style of authentic images
for visualization are highly respected, not only by
the growing number of Western Buddhists but also by
Tibetan lamas of all traditions, many of whom have commissioned
his work. His thangka paintings (Tibetan scroll paintings)
can be seen in Buddhist centers and temples throughout
the world, including the Potala Palace in Lhasa, and
his images have become well known and popular through
numerous publications. Now with 25 years of experience
he and his students offer their artwork and their services
to the wider Dharma community. |
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Originally from
California, Sangye Khadro (a.k.a. Kathleen
McDonald) began studying Buddhism in India
in 1973. She was ordained as a nun at Kopan Monastery,
Nepal in 1974. Over the years she has studied with various
Tibetan Buddhist teachers including Lama Thubten Zopa
Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Khensur Jampa Tegchok,
and Ribur Rinpoche. In addition to studying and doing
retreats, she has also been teaching Buddhism and meditation
in various countries around the world since the early
1980s. She is the author of the book How to Meditate,
published by Wisdom Publications. |
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