kopan monastery is a tibetan buddhist monastery close to boudhanath, at the outskirts of kathmandu, Nepal. it is a member of the muse for the maintenance of the mahayana way of life (fpmt), an worldwide network of gelugpa dharma centers, and as soon as served as its headquarters.

the monastery become set up by using the fpmt's founders, lamas thubten yeshe and thubten zopa rinpoche, who bought the assets from nepal's royal astrologer in 1969. its name comes from the name of the hill on which it become constructed.

Kopan has become especially famous for teaching Buddhism to visiting Western foreigners. The first of what would become annual month-long (November–December) meditation courses was held in 1971. These courses generally combine traditional Lam Rim teachings with informal discussion, several periods of guided meditation, and a vegetarian diet.

Kopan now encompasses two separate institutions: the monastery, atop Kopan Hill, and the nearby Khachoe Chakyil Ling Nunnery (known as the Kopan Nunnery). The nunnery was established in 1979 by Lama Yeshe to provide spiritual and practical education modeled on that received by the monks. In 2009 the nunnery began raising money to expand its housing and education capacity, which has grown from 4 to 400 in less than 35 years, using such sites as GoFundMe.

Kopan Monastery has also recently become a popular recreational destination for Kathmandu residents and tourists. On Saturdays it regularly receives hundreds of visitors. The monastery is not open to the public on other days of the week.