What is Aryatara Institute?
The Aryatara Institute is a Munich-based non-profit association that aims to make the teachings of Buddha accessible to all people.
We offer an extensive program with approx. 300 events per year. There is an introductory “Discover Buddhism" course and an advanced "Basic Program". There is also the possibility to follow the programs via distance learning.
Preservation of the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism
The Aryatara Institute stands in the tradition of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism and is a Center of the FPMT - the "Society for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition" in Munich. This network of Buddhist centers has made it its mission to make the tradition of Mahayana and its values accessible worldwide. In addition to resident teacher, Venerable Fedor Stracke, teachers associated with the FPMT pay visits to Aryatara Institute. This helps to ensure that the Dharma is taught in a variety of ways according to the different capacities of the students. We have been transmitting our teachers’ methods of Buddhist philosophy for over 30 years. We follow the teachings, views and instructions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has an unbiased attitude towards all teachings and schools of Buddhism. This open-minded attitude has found its way into many Tibetan schools.
Our Program
Our Program
Study programs and meditation, seminars and retreats
Studyprograms
Learning the methods.
For the development of love, compassion and wisdom information is necessary. In introductory and advanced courses we learn Buddhist methods for the spiritual development of the human being from qualified teachers.
Meditations
Introspection.
In guided meditations we direct our attention inwards and develop a healthy mind.
Seminars
Deepening the understanding.
Several times a year we deepen our knowledge and get to know important aspects of the Buddhist teaching in a more intensive way.
Retreats
A break from everyday life.
In a pleasant environment we retreat from everyday activities and devote ourselves to spiritual training.
The heart of our activities is the Buddhist teaching
We ask ourselves how we can be happy and how we can effectively and joyfully bring happiness to others. Buddhism is a religion based on study, investigation and meditation. Through training the mind we are developing and strengthening positive states of consciousness and reduce painful experiences.
It all started with two destitute Tibetan Lamas in an Indian refugee camp in the 1960s: Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Their Buddhist message is so powerful, their vision so stirring that they fascinate travellers from the West not only for a short time. Many give their lives a completely new direction by meeting the two of them. Back in their home countries, the western students of the two Lamas wish to bring the experience of the universal Mahayana idea into their daily lives and share it with others.
In Munich as well a circle of interested people meets to learn more about Buddhist teachings and to meditate. At the end of 1980, the association Aryatara Institut e.V., based in Munich is founded. Events usually take place in private homes and rooms shared with other Buddhist centers. Shortly thereafter in 1981 a rural centre with a small group of inhabitants is established in Jägerndorf in Lower Bavaria. Already in the first year Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche are welcomed for several weeks to give introductions into meditation and tantra. Lectures, seminars and retreats take place there until 1995.
The Aryatara Institute is affiliated with the FPMT, a network of Buddhist centers, which has taken on the task to maintane the access to the Mahayna tradition. At over 160 places in 40 countries are offered study-, meditation-courses and social serivces. The foundation of the FPMT are the teachings of the Buddhist master Lama Tsongkhapa.