Make the Ageless Wisdom of Tibet Available to All

As we moved into the spring months, our website continued to attract a wide international audience, with 710,000 unique visitors exploring our resources—averaging nearly 8,000 daily users. The top ten countries accessing our content were Russia, the United States, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Brazil, France, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. This quarter, among the most frequently viewed pages were The Nazi Connection with Shambhala and Tibet (English), The Spread of Buddhism in Asia (Thai), What Is Prayer in Buddhism? (English and Russian), What Is a Mantra? (Korean), and 8 Buddhist Tips for Dealing with Anger (English). With visitors engaging with a wide variety of articles in multiple languages and from all corners of the world, we’re happy to know that the website is proving both accessible to people everywhere, and all sections of the website are useful.

Over on our YouTube channel, we recorded over 150,000 views during the past three months. We released five new videos from our interview with Khandro Kunga Bhuma Rinpoche (Khandro-la), along with enhanced visual content including teasers and, as always, subtitles in 37 languages. Our other social platforms remained highly active, with 12 multilingual video clips produced and optimized for Facebook, Instagram, and X, along with 12 visual quote cards and 12 article-based posts that helped introduce new and returning audiences to our work. We also kept our global community informed through seven newsletters sent to nearly 10,000 Mailchimp subscribers.

One of our major accomplishments this quarter was completing a series of interviews with 15 remarkable Buddhist teachers, scholars, and practitioners during the visit of our video director to Nepal. Highlights included a conversation with activist and teacher Geshe Pema Dorje, an engaging look into the role of chant leading with the Umdze of Kopan Monastery, an in-depth discussion on the Bodong tradition with Bodong Chogtrul Rinpoche, and an exploration of Buddhist philosophy with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi. You’ll find the full list of interviewees below!

Here are some of our major accomplishments from March through May 2025:

Highlights from March – May 2025

Content & Translations

• Composed and published Four Prasangika Lines of Reasoning for Refuting True Existence
• Published the English transcripts of 61 classes from Dr. Berzin’s course on Tsongkhapa’s Letter of Practical Advice on Sutra and Tantra
• Published written interviews with Dr. Philippe Goldin and Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
• Renamed and released Dr. Alexander Berzin: My Autobiography
• Revised Negation Phenomena: How to Focus on Emptiness (4 parts) and Emptiness Meditation in Kalachakra
• Continued translation and analysis of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese sources for The Four Indian Buddhist Tenet Systems Regarding Ignorance
• Completed 282 translations of articles into various languages
• Copyedited and formatted transcripts of 23 classes from Dr. Berzin’s course on Shantideva’s Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior
• Compiled and shortened titles of 216 classes from Shantideva’s Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior and 74 classes from Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend
• Conducted AI transcription and editing of 21 English audio lectures by Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche II
• Transcribed 7 Tibetan audio files of lectures by Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche II
• Compiled IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) spellings for 562 Sanskrit and 116 Pali terms and names

Multimedia & Social Media

• Recorded two Zoom lectures by Dr. Berzin on mental labeling and one lecture on Tibetan Buddhism in comparison with other Buddhist traditions
• Conducted video interviews with the following respected teachers and practitioners:
• Bodong Chogtrul Rinpoche, Head of the Bodong Tradition
• Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Wangdue, Abbot of Segyü Monastery
• Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi, Abbot of Kopan Monastery
• Geshe Umdze Lobsang Sherab, chant master and senior monastic educator
• Geshe Thubten Sherab, director and teacher at Thubten Norbu Ling
• Geshema Namdrol Phuntsok, among the first female geshes in Tibetan Buddhism
• Geshe Pema Dorjee, well-known scholar and social advocate
• Geshe Tenzin Zopa, teacher and former attendant of Geshe Lama Konchog
• Geshe Legtsok, Western Geshe and Buddhist teacher
• Matthieu Ricard (Part II), Buddhist monk, author, and humanitarian
• Venerable Roger Kunsang, director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) 
• Venerable Thubten Gyalmo, Buddhist nun and teacher in Mongolia
• Venerable Sean Price, Western Buddhist monk and translator
• Ani Jinba Palmo, pioneering Western Tibetan Buddhist nun
• Marcia Binder Schmidt, editor, translator, and practitioner
• Edited and released five videos from our interview with Khandro Kunga Bhuma Rinpoche (Khandro-la)
• Created five video clips each for Instagram and X from Khandro-la’s interview
• Prepared 12 visual quotes from video interviews and other sources for Facebook, Instagram, and X
• Produced and uploaded 12 video clips optimized for:
• Facebook: 37-language subtitles
• X: Embedded English subtitles
• Instagram: 9:16 format with embedded English subtitles
• Created 12 article-based posts introducing key content to social audiences
• Designed and dispatched five newsletters to over 9,700 Mailchimp subscribers

Technical Improvements

• Upgraded our database to a newer Postgres version and updated backup systems
• Continued migration of our platform to Rails 8.0
• Developed an API to support the import of Sanskrit and Pali terms into the glossary
• Uploaded and integrated IAST spellings for Sanskrit and Pali terms into the glossary
• Displayed IAST spellings in parentheses across English articles
• Updated the About Us and Donations pages with expanded content in all Latin and Cyrillic-based languages
• Enabled the use of social-media-only images in article pages
• Redirected URLs for 3 English and 20 Japanese articles with revised titles
• Standardized Japanese spelling of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey’s name for search consistency
• Fixed broken hyperlinks on the Content Overview page
• Resolved image display issues on mobile Safari browsers
• Continued development of a custom website visitor counter

Thank You for Your Support

None of this progress would be possible without your steadfast support. Your generosity allows us to continue expanding access to authentic Buddhist teachings for students, scholars, and practitioners around the world. With your help, we remain dedicated to our mission to “Make the Ageless Wisdom of Tibet Available to All.”

Links:

• Study Buddhism website of the Berzin Archives
• Study Buddhism on Facebook
• Study Buddhism on YouTube