Frequently Asked Questions
You can fly directly into Salem-Willamette Valley Airport (SLE), also known as McNary Field, located two miles from downtown Salem. For more options, Portland International Airport (PDX) is about 50 miles away and serves as the main major hub. You will need to make your own arrangements to get from either airport to the university.
To get to Willamette University from Seattle, the train is most convenient. Amtrak provides direct train service from Seattle (King Street Station) to Salem, Oregon, which is located across the street from the Willamette University campus. The trip takes approximately 3.5 to 4 hours via Amtrak Cascades or the Coast Starlight.
Ordering deadlines: To ensure that we have the books ready for you by the beginning of the Summer Institute, please place your book orders via the Summer Institute Book website or Nitartha Publication website when you register for the Summer Institute. You will also find the ordering deadlines on the Summer Institute Book website.
Onsite pickup: Students attending on site can pick up their texts at the Nitartha bookstore on the university campus. When you place your order, write to bookstore@nitarthainstitute.org to arrange for the books to be held for you on campus.
Ebooks: These are also available for some books. The links to Apple Book and Google PlayBook can be found in each of the book description sections on our Publications website.
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, two world-renowned Buddhist teachers, share the primary leadership and teaching responsibilities at Nitartha, including curriculum design and teaching the principal Buddhist courses at the Summer Institute. Rinpoche and Acharya graduated with high honors from the nine-year training program at Karma Shri Nalanda Institute in Rumtek, Sikkim, India (an affiliate of the Sanskrit University of Varanasi).
A typical day at the Summer Institute begins with lujong (body training) for onsite students at 7am. Buddhist philosophy courses usually are held in the morning, including some of Nitartha’s curriculum courses and the main Summer Institute teaching. After lunch, onsite students can often enjoy enhancement activities such as Space Awareness exercises and thangka drawing. Then we receive Mahamudra teachings and practice Mahamudra meditation. The Summer Institute also offers Tibetan language courses.
For a complete daily schedule of Sessions 1 and 2 click here (subject to change).
The Session 3 Silent Mahamudra Retreat will offer full days of Mahamudra practice, from 8:30am to 6:00pm, including an afternoon teaching by Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen. Several breaks will be given throughout the day, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner.
All payments must be made in full when you complete the Summer Institute registration form, except for students applying for financial assistance. Participants with limited funds who would not be able to attend without assistance can apply for a payment plan or financial assistance for tuition.
Refunds for the 2026 Summer Institute:
- Cancellations before the May 28 onsite registration deadline for onsite students and June 22 online deadline for online students will be fully refunded.
- After May 28 no refunds will be possible for housing and meals.
- Cancellations by June 4 for onsite and June 27 for online attendance will receive a 50% refund on tuition. No tuition refund is possible after those dates.
Nitartha Institute aims to enable everyone who is interested in attending our courses to access our programs. Therefore, we established the Payment Plan and Financial Assistance (PPFA) program, which provides tuition assistance to any Nitartha participants who would not otherwise be able to attend due to financial reasons. Click here to apply.
Nitartha is open to everyone regardless of their teacher-student relationships. Some Nitartha students are formal students of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, some are formal students of other teachers, and some do not have a formal student-teacher relationship with one teacher.
While there are no requirements to attend Level 1 courses, some prior Buddhist studies would be helpful, especially knowledge about basic topics such as the Four Noble Truths, impermanence, karma, and interdependence.
Nitartha Summer Institute is open to people from all types of religious backgrounds. While some of our formal practice sessions include Buddhist liturgy, you do not need to be Buddhist in order to participate.
Since some of Nitartha’s classes are advanced, it is important to have the right kind of preparation in order to benefit from taking those classes. The prerequisites are designed with that in mind, to help students get the most out of their experience at Nitartha.
As the Buddha taught, meditation and study support each other. Philosophy greatly helps our meditation experience, and our personal experience with meditation deepens our understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
The Summer Institute was designed by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen so that studying the view and practicing Mahamudra meditation support each other. We strongly recommend that students participate in both of these activities to gain the most benefit from Summer Institute.