Season One · Pilot Project
The Three Cups
Podcast
Giving voice to the challenges and wisdom of monastic education, in support of a living tradition for the generations ahead.
Buddhist Education & Monastic Voices
The Three Cups Podcast is a seasonal media initiative of the Sarnath International Nyingma Institute (SINI). Through rich and reflective dialogue, it examines how monastic education and the transmission of the Dharma are navigating contemporary challenges while adapting to the realities of the modern world.
The project positions monastics as the primary voice, enabling them to share their own stories and perspectives and emerge as active agents of change within a dialogue driven by the community.
The work feeds directly into the development of a program curriculum and teacher manual, and aims to build a lasting following among the monastic community and the next generation of Dharma teachers.
The Podcast
About the Podcast
Through recorded interviews with traditionally trained monastics across the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Three Cups Podcast explores the realities of monastic education today. All interviews are conducted in Tibetan to preserve authenticity and depth.
Meet the Host
Gangkar Metok
Buddhist Education Correspondent & Podcast Producer
Gangkar Metok is an Acharya graduate in Buddhist Philosophy from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath, where she is currently pursuing her PhD. She works as a translator and Tibetan language teacher and is also an artist. Having grown up and studied within the Tibetan community in India, she has a deep interest in Tibetan Buddhism, culture, and education.
As the Buddhist Education Correspondent & Podcast Producer for the SINI Fellowship, Gangkar Metok documents and shares the lived experiences of monastic teachers and practitioners in relation to Buddhist education, monastic learning, and the changing needs of students and communities within Tibetan Buddhist contexts. Through interviews and podcast production, she contributes to preserving their experience, creating a living resource for the next generation of monastic educators. The conversations explore teaching and learning within monasteries and nunneries, as well as the ways monastic teachers respond to the changing needs of lay communities, students, and contemporary society.
A Collaboration
Collaborating with Steve James
The Three Cups Podcast is produced in collaboration with Steve James (Guru Viking Podcast), one of the leading independent podcast producers in the Dharma world. Steve serves as lead mentor and technical advisor for the project.
Editorial guidance and mentorship on interview structure and storytelling
Technical production support across all published episodes
Season One focuses on an audio-only format.
Giving Voice to a Quiet Transformation
The Vision Behind the Podcast
This podcast arises from a deep wish to give voice to the contemporary challenges facing monastic education, as its systems undergo quiet but serious erosion. It offers a space where these questions can be explored with care and respect, in support of living traditions and the enduring role of the formal sangha.
At a time when monastic institutions face both internal pressures and a decline in new entrants to the path, this platform seeks to foster honest dialogue and thoughtful, creative responses. Through rich conversations, insights, and shared experiences, the Three Cups Monastic Education Program highlights innovative approaches and educational initiatives that support the continuity of the Dharma for future generations.
This podcast invites educators, researchers, practitioners, and all those concerned with the future of Buddhist traditions to join in a shared process of reflection and exploration.