LATE FALL CLASSES

8 weeks: Monday, October 20th – Saturday, December 13th, 2025

BUDDHIST STUDIES 

The Words of My Perfect Teacher, Part Two

Tuesdays (October 21 – December 9), 7:00pm – 8:30pm PST

In-Person at the Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

Patrul Rinpoche’s The Words of My Perfect Teacher is a revered text in the Tibet tradition that provides a practical guide to the transformation of consciousness and an introduction to Nyingma practices. Written in plain language, Patrul Rinpoche speaks to both the beginner and to those with more advanced training, in presenting preliminary practices needed to advance along the path to enlightenment. The first term was devoted to the Outer Preliminaries that present the fundamentals of Buddhism in general. This term examines the Inner Preliminaries that clear the way to full awakening. More practice will be emphasized this term, particularly those associated with the Longchen Nyingtik, a spiritual treasure cycle of the Nyingma tradition. Participants will need to acquire a copy of The Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group.

 Instructors Mark Henderson and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $160. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/dhs25lf-the-words-of-my-perfect-teacher-part-two/

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The Words of My Perfect Teacher: Daily Practice Program

Mondays through Fridays (October 20th – December 12th), 6:45am – 7:30am PST

In-Person at the Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

This class is open to those who enroll in The Words of My Perfect Teacher (the Tuesday evening course on Patrul Rinpoche’s The Words of My Perfect Teacher). This rigorous meditation practice class will meet five (5) mornings a week (except the first week which will begin on Wednesday, August 20.) We will experientially engage a sequence of meditation practices presented by Patrul Rinpoche, Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang, and selected contemplations and meditation practices composed by Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche. Participants will need to acquire a copy of The Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group.

Instructor: Mark Henderson. Cost $160. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/dhs25lfp-the-words-of-my-perfect-teacher-daily-practice-program/

MEDITATION

Beginning Meditation: Foundations of Well-Being

Wednesdays (October 22nd – November 12th), 6:00pm – 7:00pm PST

In Person at Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

“We can begin by accepting each moment and enjoying it, but most of us do not know how.” (Gesture of Balance, p. 7). Meditation can help us shift our way of relating to ourselves and our experience. We can learn to accept what happens, no matter what arises, and cultivate well-being in our lives. But, first we must learn how to do this! In this beginning meditation class, we will work with relaxation, mindfulness, and movement practices that soften the grip of conceptual mind and help us touch into the natural resources of our own embodiment. This class is geared towards true beginners, but is open to meditators of all levels. This class will be the second of a two-part series, but students are welcome to join without having taken the first class.

Instructor: Emily Provosty. Cost: $60. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/med25lf-1-beginning-meditation-foundations-of-well-being-part-2/

Intermediate Meditation: Wheel of Analytical Meditation

Friday (October 24th – December 12th), 7:00pm-8:30pm

In-Person at Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

Building upon foundational mindfulness practices, this intermediate course guides students through contemplative meditations drawn from Lama Mipham’s Wheel of Analytical Meditation. The course explores themes such as multiplicity, impermanence, suffering, and selflessness through structured analytical reflection. For students with experience in the Tibetan language, we recommend enrolling in the Advanced Tibetan course this term, which will focus on translating and studying the same text.

Instruction is led by Khenpo Kalsang, our distinguished new teacher from the Sarnath International Institute and a graduate of Namdroling Monastery, where he received extensive traditional training in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship and textual interpretation. He was recently selected as an awardee of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative, part of the Harvard Divinity School International Fellows Program, in recognition of his academic excellence and commitment to Buddhist education.

Instructor: Khenpo Kalsang. Cost: $160. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/intermediate-meditation-wheel-of-analytical-meditation/

Advanced Meditation:  Practices for Death and Dying (MED311) 

Thursdays (October 23rd – December 11th), 10:00am – 11:30am PST

“Although you have gained this life of freedom and advantage, it will not last; so keep in mind these instructions for the moment of death.” – Longchenpa 

We will explore a selection of profound teachings and powerful practices to prepare for death, whether our own or in support of loved ones in transition. Through prayers and aspirations central to the Mahayana tradition, we can attune our minds to the omnipresent blessings of the Enlightened Ones.

We will also engage the experiential wisdom of the Vajrayana path, contemplating pith instructions on the unique opportunity for liberation at the time of death, as revealed by great masters such as Longchenpa, Jigme Lingpa, and others. 

Instructors: Lama Palzang and Pema Gellek. Cost: $160. Prerequisite: three years of meditation experience or consent of the instructors. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/advanced-meditation-practices-for-death-and-dying/

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KUM NYE

Being Still

Wednesdays (October 22 – December 10, no class on October 29), 8:00am – 9:00am PST

Online Only

‘In Kum Nye…we begin by developing stillness of body, breath, and mind. Simply sitting still and relaxing gives us a chance to appreciate feelings of which we are normally unaware.’ 

‘In the beginning, you may think that sitting still means the body does not move; you may hold yourself still. But it is possible to learn to be still without becoming rigid. As you continue to practice, you will discover you do not need to make an effort to relax. Eventually you will experience complete alertness and stillness.’  Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

This term we will work with the chapter Sitting. We will develop the foundational practice of Kum Nye – the Seven Gestures – as relates to the quality of stillness. Being in this posture, in stillness, allows us to contact internal openness, and allows feelings to express themselves. We will incorporate movement, massage, and practices 3-5, to support the refinement of the posture and the inner massage of feeling. Appropriate for beginners and more advanced students

Instructor: Donna Morton. Cost: $120. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/being-still/

Advanced Kum Nye: Awakening the Mind through Kum Nye

Tuesdays (October 21st – December 9th), 6:00-7:30pm PST

Online Only

“Our internal evolution can continue to unfold, expanding awareness and pointing ever more surely towards the full development of the awakened mind” Joy of Being by Tarthang Tulku

This class picks up on a previous class that explored how Kum Nye leads into meditation. In this class we explore the terrain of meditation experience where we allow our internal understanding to encompass all experience, going beyond any conceptual frame of reference, beyond language, beyond any ordinary knowing. Developing our experience in this way may point towards a glimpse of the awakened mind.

Instructor: Santosh Philip. Cost: $160. Prerequisite: Three years Kum Nye experience. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/advanced-kum-nye-awakening-the-mind-through-kum-nye/

NYINGMA PSYCHOLOGY 

Essence of the Lotus Trilogy: Wisdom of Padmasambhava

Term Six: Lotus Language and the Meaning of our Journey – 2

Fridays (October 24–December 12), 10:00am–11:30am PST

In-Person at Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

“So much of what it means to be human is related to our use of language,” Tarthang Tulku writes in Lotus Language, the second book of his Lotus Trilogy. We continue the study and exploration of Lotus Language by focusing on the way language rules and focuses the meaning we give to our lives. Paying attention to the way language shapes experience, we learn that we need not be so committed to our adopted identities. We come to appreciate a greater potentiality in our being. Seeing through the processes of language, we begin to understand in a new way how we can embody knowledge. Invoking Padmasambhava’s blessing, we open sensitivity to the depth of meaning present in the Lotus Trilogy. Through meditations inspired by our reading and discussion, we begin to see how body, speech, and mind are avenues for awakening. 

Instructors: Lama Palzang, Pema Gellek, Abbe Blum, and Hugh Joswick

Each term offers an intensive weekend of study and practice, followed by a longer retreat at the end of the second year. See program description here: https://nyingmainstitute.com/trilogy/

From Poison to Medicine: Transforming Negative Emotions  

Mondays (October 20 – December 15, no class on December 8), 7:00pm-8:30pm PST 

In-Person at Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

Just as a river naturally purifies itself when we stop polluting it, our minds have an innate capacity to heal and find balance when we learn to work skillfully with disturbances. Discover how the five poisons of Buddhist psychology—attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, and jealousy—manifest through direct observation of your own lived patterns, and learn practical approaches to transform your relationship with these universal human experiences.

Each week, we will explore one emotion and its antidote, discovering how awareness itself becomes the medicine. Rather than fighting or suppressing difficult states, we’ll learn to meet them with curiosity and presence, allowing them to become teachers rather than tormentors.

Throughout this series, we will cultivate a foundation of calm and clarity through meditation, gentle movement, and contemplative practices that support our capacity to observe the heart and mind with wisdom and compassion.

This course may be taken as a prerequisite for the 9-month Knowledge of Freedom program starting in February 2026. 

Instructors:  Laurie Hopman and Pauline Yu. Cost: $140. Registration: https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/from-poison-to-medicine-transforming-negative-emotions/

TIBETAN LANGUAGE

Intermediate Tibetan XIV

Thursdays (October 23rd – December 11th), 6:15pm-7:45pm PST

Online only

Continued Reading and translation of traditional texts and prayers in the classical Tibetan language.

Instructor: Mark Henderson. Cost: $160. Registration: ​​ https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/intermediate-tibetan-xiv/

Tibetan Language Tutorial: Wheel of Analytic Meditation

Wednesdays (October 22nd – December 10th), 7:00pm-8:30pm PST

In-Person at Nyingma Institute and Online via Zoom

This course is designed for students with prior knowledge of Tibetan grammar and vocabulary who wish to deepen their fluency in classical Tibetan texts. Emphasis will be placed on reading and interpreting classical Buddhist literature while strengthening understanding of core grammatical structures.

The core text for this term will be Lama Mipham’s Wheel of Analytical Meditation (dpyad sgom ’khor lo ma). Students are encouraged to take the complementary Intermediate Meditation course, which focuses on meditative application of this text.

Instruction is led by Khenpo Kalsang, our distinguished new teacher from the Sarnath International Institute and a graduate of Namdroling Monastery, where he received extensive traditional training in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship and textual interpretation. He was recently selected as an awardee of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative, part of the Harvard Divinity School International Fellows Program, in recognition of his academic excellence and commitment to Buddhist education.

Instructor: Khenpo Kalsang. Cost: $160. Registration:  https://nyingmainstitute.com/courses-new/tibetan-language-tutorial-wheel-of-analytic-meditation/