Three Cups of Tea
Monastic Teacher Training
We support Buddhist monastic educators to serve as bridge-builders, transmitting timeless wisdom into living knowledge, skillfully adapting pedagogical methods to communicate the Dharma across generations, cultures, and human experiences.
Our logo features three cups, symbolizing content, context, and change (past, present, and future)—illustrating the delicate balance between preserving the Dharma and evolving skillful means for the modern world.
A Critical Moment for Buddhist Education
Even in traditional Buddhist communities, a profound gap is emerging. People raised in Buddhist culture struggle to answer basic questions about their own tradition—Buddhism has become something external, rituals performed by others rather than wisdom lived and understood.
Meanwhile, monasteries are navigating unprecedented change: formal government curricula, university partnerships, and the demands of a digital world. The question is urgent:
How do we ensure these ancient teachings remain alive and relevant—where they first took root?
Bridging Tradition and Innovation
Supporting monastic educators as they honor centuries of wisdom while meeting the needs of today's world
The Three Cups Metaphor
The Three Cups of Tea metaphor represents three essential dimensions of Buddhist education today. Though the tea-like essence of the Dharma remains unchanged, the cups holding it evolve over time and place.
What We Do
We provide training, resources, and community for monastic teachers navigating the space between ancient wisdom and contemporary needs.
A Collaborative Platform for Buddhist Educators
This unique training creates a vital, collaborative platform that offers monastics from all four schools an opportunity to share innovative pedagogical approaches, cultivate strategic resources, expand professional networks, and collectively develop solutions to contemporary Buddhist educational challenges.
Three Areas of Focus
Our work unfolds across three interconnected areas, each supporting monastic educators in their vital role
Training Programs
Workshops and intensive programs that blend traditional Buddhist pedagogy with modern teaching methodologies
Community Building
Creating networks of monastic educators to share experiences, resources, and support across traditions
Resources & Tools
Developing teaching materials, digital tools, and resources that honor tradition while meeting modern needs
Building Connections Across the Himalayas
Monastic educators trained
Monasteries & nunneries
Students impacted
Why Sarnath?
Over 2,500 years ago, in the Deer Park of Sarnath, the Buddha gave his first teaching—turning the wheel of Dharma for the very first time.
Today, the Sarnath International Nyingma Institute (SINI) continues this tradition, serving as a nexus where monastics from all schools of Vajrayana Buddhism throughout Asia come together to explore how ancient wisdom meets modern needs.
Stories from the Field
Read about our work with monastic educators across the region
