Deer Park Institute is a centre for study of classical Indian wisdom traditions. Established in March 2006 on the campus of a former Buddhist institute, it is a project under Siddhartha’s Intent Society. In September 2006, the society was highly honored to receive the patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who deeply appreciates the vision and the small steps already taken.
The core vision of the Institute is to re-create the spirit of Nalanda, a great university of ancient India in which all traditions of Buddhism were studied and practiced, alongside other schools of classical Indian philosophy, arts and sciences.
Primarily a space for non-monastic people to study and practice, Deer Park offers programs of varying lengths, with English as the main language of instruction. All teachings are open to all and free of charge. Students come from a vast range of backgrounds, cultures and interests.
Deer Park is still a very young centre and the curriculum is being developed gradually, but the past 2-3 years have seen some positive steps towards the goal of becoming a modern-day Nalanda. Since opening in March 2006, the Institute has hosted teachings by great masters of all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as courses and retreats in the Zen and Theravadin traditions. Courses on other classical Indian philosophy, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and Kashmiri Shaivism, are gradually being integrated into the program. Language courses in Sanskrit and Tibetan are offered on a regular basis.
The Institute also organises arts retreats and workshops to explore the potent relationship between spiritual practice and poetry, music, calligraphy, ikebana and other arts, both traditional and modern. Following the Nalanda tradition of studying medicine, Deer Park also offers workshops on healing and hatha yoga.
In its first two years, Deer Park focused mainly on short progams, ranging in length from half-day workshops to one-month courses. The inauguration of the 5-month Nalanda Studies program in September 2008 marks the beginning of a new phase, as the Institute moves towards its goal of offering longer-term study programs alongside short courses.
Phone: +91 – 1894 – 268 508
Fax: +91 – 1894 – 268 368
Email: For general enquiries: info@deerpark.in
For program registration or enquiries: program@deerpark.in
Website: www.deerpark.in
