Foundation Program
This program is for more committed practitioners. To join, please contact the Resident Teacher. Please note, on days which we have puja, there will be a puja the first half and a class the second half.
Mondays, 7 - 9 pm
WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE?
The secret of the Foundation Program's success lies in the manageable commitment made by the student and in the clear structure of study. Students sign up to study a book or part of a book, agree to attend every class, learn the material, and to take a test at the conclusion of the study. Class meets once a week for two and a half hours. There are two separate programs; one runs on Monday nights and the other on Wednesday nights. If for a suitable reason a student is not able to attend the class in person, he or she agrees to catch up by listening to a podcast of the class. There is also a commitment to participate in at least one chanted prayer session at the Center per month. Generally, the students take turns to putting up the shrine offerings and setting up the meditation room on the day of their class. In this way they learn about the rituals associated with Buddhist practice.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A CLASS?
Prior to class, students study an assigned portion of the text, usually a few pages long, and memorize the essential points. The class begins with chanted prayers and guided meditation. The teacher then reads the assigned selection from the book while giving commentary to the text. The students then divide into pairs to discuss the material. The teacher and students conclude by deciding what to meditate on in the next class and how to practice during the coming week.
WHAT BOOKS ARE STUDIED?
The purpose of the Foundation Program is to provide a systematic presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism.
Five subjects
The program comprises the following five subjects, based on Buddha’s Sutra teachings and the corresponding commentaries byVenerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso:
1. The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, based on the commentary Joyful Path of Good Fortune
2. Training the Mind, based on the commentaries Universal Compassion and Eight Steps to Happiness
3. The Heart Sutra, based on the commentary Heart of Wisdom
4. Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, based on the commentary Meaningful to Behold
5. Types of Mind, based on the commentary Understanding the Mind
Foundation Program TextsThe Foundation Program (FP) offers the opportunity to engage in a systematic study of five of Geshe Kelsang's books in great depth. The books are commentaries to Je Tsongkhapa's writings and contain the very essence of Buddha's teachings. A student on FP can study one or all of the five books, with the entire program taking four years to complete. |
Joyful Path of Good Fortune, a commentary to Atisha's Lamrim text The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. By studying Joyful Path. we gain the ability to put all Buddha's teachings of both Sutra and Tantra into practice. We can easily make progress and complete the stages of the path to the supreme happiness of enlightenment. From a practical point of view Lamrim is the main body of Buddha's teachings, and the other teachings are like the limbs. |
| Universal Compassion, a commentary to Bodhisattva Chekhawa's Training the Mind in Seven Points. By studying Universal Compassion we gain the ability to integrate Buddha's teachings into our daily lives and solve all our human problems. |
| Heart of Wisdom, a commentary to the Heart Sutra. Through studying the Heart of Wisdom we gain a realization of the ultimate nature of reality. By gaining this realization we can eliminate the ignorance of self-grasping which is the root of all our suffering. |
| Meaningful to Behold, a commentary to Venerable Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. When we study Meaningful to Behold we learn how to transform our daily activities into the Bodhisattva's way of life, thereby making every moment of our human life meaningful. |
| Understanding the Mind, a detailed explanation of the mind based on the works of Buddhist scholars Dharmakirti and Dignaga. By studying Understanding the Mind we understand the relationship between our mind and its external objects. If we understand that objects depend upon the subjective mind, we can change the way objects appear to us by changing our own mind. Gradually we shall gain the ability to control our mind and in this way solve all our problems. |