Training 21st Century Teachers
On the initiative and guidance of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, the Milinda program was created as an innovative training program for Dharma teachers. Khyentse Rinpoche named the program after the Bactrian Greek King Milinda (Menander I), who more than a century before Christ, ruled over a region encompassing parts of modern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. King Milinda was a philosopher, as well as a military general, and is known to have had a discussion with the Buddhist monk Nagasena, in which the king asked about complex or unfamiliar points from the Buddhist teachings. Their discussion is recorded in the Pali text called The Questions of King Milinda, which is early evidence of dialogue between Eastern and Western thought. In a similar way, today’s Milinda programme aims to bridge Buddhist thought and modern ways of thinking, as well as traditional and contemporary teaching methods.
“We need to train Tibetan lamas. And then we also need to train western teachers, who actually know how to get a message across. But probably most of all, they need to have the concern (that Buddhadharma may fade or diminish). They need to really teach, not for fame or glory or possessions, they need to care for dharma. That kind of training.”
— Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
