Message from our Principal
Dear Friends & Alumni,
On the occasion of the announcement that the Summer Intensives Program will be held live online again in 2022, I wanted to address the factors that are going into these decisions.
With each new semester, during the Covid pandemic, we are faced with a choice to re-open our on-campus programming or to continue to offer programs online. This is a decision we do not take lightly. We are committed to providing our students the high quality of programming that we are known for. To do this we have to consider a range of factors from the interests of students, to those of the faculty and staff, to the uncertainty around the pandemic and what this means for the ability of RYI to run programs, as well as the interests of the monks and the monastery.
As you know, one of the most unique and valuable parts of RYI is its presence in a Buddhist monastery in the heart of Boudha, a Buddhist pilgrimage site and also a Buddhist community. This is something that we want to preserve while at the same time responding to the changing world and technology, where those who cannot come and study in Nepal may have the opportunity to study online.
We are working on developing a more comprehensive online program (both synchronous/hybrid and asynchronous) so we can continue to offer some of our classes online while we offer the full set of classes on campus. We have the pandemic to thank, in some ways, for pushing us towards expanding our presence online, and this is an exciting opportunity to see our campus as a global campus which is not limited to our physical campus in Boudhanath. We therefore hope that going forward RYI classes will be accessible to you wherever you may be.
That said, there is also, of course, the continuing “wildcard” of the pandemic which makes it difficult to make solid long-range plans. As Buddhist practitioners, we know this is always true in some sense, and these times have brought this truth to the forefront.
We are sincerely grateful for your continued support. On behalf of the RYI Team, we wish you a happy Losar and a fruitful 2022.
Roger Hodgson
Principal, Rangjung Yeshe Institute
