Milestones Icon: Naropa University

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche came to the United States to spread his Buddhist teachings.

When he arrived in Boulder, he altered the city’s educational landscape.

Trungpa started Naropa University (at that time Naropa Institute) in 1974. His vision was to create a university that would combine contemplative studies with traditional Western scholastic and artistic disciplines. In 1986, Naropa was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, making it the first Buddhist, or Buddhist-inspired, academic institution to receive U.S. regional accreditation.

The university is known for its “first summer sessions,” when more than 1,300 students came to Boulder to learn from famous writers including Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, John Cage and many others.

The school claims that first summer changed Boulder from a quiet Midwestern town to “an energetic center of learning.”

In January 1976, Naropa offered its first group of degree programs: BA degrees in Buddhist studies and visual art, an MA in psychology, an MFA in visual art, and expressive arts certificates in dance, theater and poetics.

Trungpa taught at Naropa Institute from 1974 to 1986 and worked with the faculty and the administration in developing the college. After his death in 1987, Trungpa Rinpoche left a legacy of teachings and writings.

Naropa has many traditions, including beginning classes and meetings with a bow. The school said the bow is a traditional gesture of greeting, which communicates both friendliness and respect. It is also a way of acknowledging and honoring the “qualities of warriorship” that each person has the capacity to express and to share with others.

The school’s mission statement says it “educates the whole person, cultivating academic excellence and contemplative insight in order to infuse knowledge with wisdom.

on Facebook on LinkedIn