Late Spring Classes: April 27 – June 19, 2020

8-week courses by field of study.

Meditation (MED)

Advanced Meditation: Healing Meditations and Mantras for the Kaliyuga (MED 314)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 27 – June 15) 

Lama Palzang will introduce healing meditations and powerful prayers and mantras from the Tibetan tradition invoked for protection, healing and longevity. The mantras and prayers for protection from infectious diseases in this time of Kaliyuga will include the Vajra Armour mantra and the Mantra of A Hundred Thousand Diamond Blazes, compiled by Lama Mipham.  The class will chant mantras for healing, such as the Medicine Buddha mantra, and mantras for longevity associated with the Three Deities of Long Life, Amitayus, White Tara, and Ushnisha Vijaya (Namgyalma). 

Instructor:  Lama Palzang. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Three years of meditation experience or consent of the instructor. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677222 

Intermediate Meditation: Openness Mind in Challenging Times (MED 206) 

Mondays, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (April 27–June 15) 

Meditation is a way of opening our lives to the richness of experience, Tarthang Tulku writes in Openness Mind. In this kind of meditation we learn to embrace and learn from whatever we experience. Even in the most challenging times, we can cultivate this awareness. In this class, we work with meditation practices to open the mind to what is. Students will learn to look directly at the patterns of thought that trap them in tension and frustration, and work with practices to loosen and relax old strategies. These meditation practices open to a new way of being in the world. 

Instructor: Bob Byrne. Cost: $144. Prerequisites:  Open to anyone who practices meditation. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677667 

Beginning Meditation: Developing Inner Awareness (MED 106)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 29 – June 17) 

Tarthang Tulku writes that “Meditation is the foundation of self-development and well-being.”  When we are relaxed and awake, meditative awareness naturally expands. We can open ourselves to a path of self-knowledge that leads ultimately to enlightenment. In this class, we find ways to transform agitation and sleepiness to a vibrant clarity, strengthening our inner awareness so that we become more friendly with our mind.  

Instructor: Santosh Philip. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Open to all. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677681 

Buddhist Studies (DHS)

Path of Liberation: Resolve for Ultimate Goodness (DHS 206)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 28– June 16) 

All living beings have the nature of a Buddha, yet this nature is obscured by veils of obscurations. We live in ignorance of this great treasure, like a poor, blind man, unaware that a jewel of infinite value lies buried under his hearth. Traditional teachings and practices can help us develop confidence in our ability to discover the Buddha nature within. We will study teachings on Bodhicitta (the “seed of enlightenment”) and continue to work on mind-training practices that overcome the destructive forces of anger, attachment, and ignorance in our lives.

Instructors:  Hugh Joswick and Mark Henderson. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: DHS205. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677688 

In the Words of the Buddha (DHS 101)  

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 29–June 17) 

Take a journey through the essential sutras of the Buddhist tradition. Each week we will engage key passages from the sutras complemented by silent sitting, guided contemplation, or practices that evoke the presence of the Buddha. Our intention is to contact these primary sources and to humbly bring them into dialogue with our own lives, approaching the sutras with respect, curiosity, and wonder. Readings will include selections from first, second, and third turning teachings, and will change with each term.

Instructors: Pema Gellek, Richard Dixey, and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings.

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677692 

Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS 114) 

Wednesdays, 9:30 –11:00 AM (April 29–June 17)

Learn how to chant traditional prayers in the Tibetan language. Practice materials will be provided showing the Tibetan text, phonetic pronunciation, and English translation. In addition to providing background teachings, students will be guided in the pronunciation, melody, and rhythm of selected traditional Buddhist prayers. 

Instructors: Lama Palzang and Mark Henderson. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677693 

Kum Nye (KNR)

Advanced Kum Nye: Generating Happiness from Within (KNR 304) 

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 28  – June 16) 

Advanced Kum Nye practices relieve the tension that closes the senses and deprives the mind of joyful ease. This course focuses on attuning body and mind to inner resources for meaning and satisfaction, generating happiness that can be sustained throughout each day. 

Instructor:  Santosh Philip. Cost: $144. Drop-in: $20/class. Prerequisites: Two years of Kum Nye practice. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677695 

Intermediate/Mixed Level Kum Nye:  Joy of Being—Discovering Easening:  Tuning Our Embodiment (KNR 209) 

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30  (April 30–June 18)

This spring semester of the ongoing Joy of Being class explores what Tarthang Tulku calls “easening”—giving ease to mind, senses, body and being. Practices heal the body and massage the mind, lessening the  grasping quality that comes with perceiving and narrating experience. Loosening our identification with emotionality, anger, and pain, we become the experience of Kum Nye and open into its blessings . 

Instructor: Abbe Blum. Cost: $144. Drop-in: $20/class. Prerequisites: You are welcome to join this Joy of Being class if you have prior Kum Nye experience and are interested in having Kum Nye take root in your everyday life.  

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677697 

Beginning Kum Nye: Body of Knowledge: Deepening Relaxation, Opening the Senses and Activating Healing through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (KNR 113)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April 27–June 15) 

This spring term of the yearlong introduction to Kum Nye is a vehicle for both new and ongoing Kum Nye students to explore their motivation for practice. Drawn from Tarthang Tulku’s first Kum Nye book, Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, we engage in exercises that promote deep relaxation, opening the senses and stimulating healing energies that explore our “body of knowledge” (27). We encourage ourselves, patiently opening into whatever takes place in our practice—from flow of feeling to holding back, from waiting to relax to welcoming the unfamiliar. We take up Tarthang Tulku’s call: “….your motive in practicing is not merely to benefit yourself. If you want to do your best for future generations of humanity, for your friends and family, you must begin by taking good care of yourself.” 

Instructor: Abbe Blum. Cost: $144. Drop-ins are welcome at $20 per class. Prerequisites: Prior Kum Nye experience would be helpful but is not required. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677701 

Nyingma Psychology (NPS)

Aging Wisely: Expanding Perspective (NPS 118) 

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April  28 – May 19) 

In this four week course for seniors and anyone aging we will explore the rich opportunities this stage of life can offer and how we can enhance our everyday lives. Through traditional Tibetan Buddhist Nyingma psychology and meditation practices, as well as discussions, we can reframe our experience of aging to include a deeper appreciation of what is available to us right now.  

Instructors:  Olivia Hurd and Suellen Ehnebuske. Cost: $72 (4 weeks). Prerequisites: Open to all. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677712 

Caring: Finding Beauty and Radiance in Difficult Times (NPS 120)

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (April  30 – June 18)
Even in the most challenging of times, we can still find ways to care for ourselves and appreciate life’s beauty.  Using Tarthang Tulku’s Caring and Love of Beauty, we cultivate the resources to care more fully and open ourselves up to the possibilities of beauty, friendship, and meaningful action. 

Instructors: Pema Gellek and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Open to all. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677715 

Time, Space, Knowledge (TSK)

Time, Space and Knowledge: Being Visionary and Visionary Being  (TSK 112)

Wednesdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM (April 29 – June 17) 

This class is an ongoing exploration of Tarthang Tulku’s Time, Space and Knowledge vision. We will inquire into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge. In a sense, what we will be doing is activating and realizing our human potential as visionary beings: our practice informs our living and our living informs our practice. The primary text is Dynamics of Time and Space, although we will also engage other works by Tarthang Tulku in the TSK series. 

Instructor: Ken McKeon. Cost: $144. Drop-in: $20/class. Prerequisites: Anyone with an interest in exploring experience on a fundamental level is welcome. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677739 

Tibetan Language (TIB)

Beginning Tibetan V (TIB 105) 

Thursdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM (April 30–June 18) 

In this beginning language class, students continue studying grammar and working with selections from classical Tibetan texts. 

Instructor: Mark Henderson. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: TIB104. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677745 

Intermediate Tibetan III (TIB 203)  

Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (May 1 – June  19)  

Reading and translation of Nargarjuna’s Precious Garland: Buddhist Advice for Living and Liberation.

Instructor: Mollie Hughes. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Intermediate Tibetan Level I, or consent of the instructor. You should have enough knowledge of Tibetan to look up words and also understand the basics of grammar. Referencing English translations for help is expected. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677749 

Advanced Tibetan: Advanced Study (TIB 304) 

Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM (May 1 – June 19)  

This advanced Tibetan course consists of continuing reading and translation in the classical Tibetan language. It is for those who already have a good grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and working with Tibetan texts.

Cost: $144. Instructor: Barr Rosenberg. Prerequisites: Consent of the instructor. 

Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1677752