Late Fall Term / 8 Weeks

No classes on Thursday, November 26th in observance of Thanksgiving.

Meditation (MED)

Advanced Meditation: Bodhicitta and the Four Immeasurables (MED317)
Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 26 – December 14)
“Bodhicitta” might be described as the most precious jewel of mind, the superlative spirit of altruism, or simply as the heart of awakening. Following in the steps of the bodhisattvas, we too can endeavor to generate this transformative orientation within ourselves, with the aid of the four immeasurables: equanimity, love, compassion, and joy. In this class, Lama Palzang will guide students through traditional practices for developing bodhicitta and the four immeasurables.
Instructor: Lama Palzang. Cost: $144. 
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1796677 

Intermediate Meditation: Breathing, Deepening, and Dreaming (MED222) 
Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 26 – December 14)
This 7-week practice course for experienced meditators consists primarily of sitting, with a minimum of instruction. We will tune and refine the breath in a sequence of practices sourced from Tarthang Tulku’s Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (KNTY). We will also touch upon the sections “Deepening Through Meditation” and “Reality and Illusion” from Openness Mind (OM).
Instructor: Pauline Yu. Cost: $126. Prerequisites: Two years of meditation experience or consent of the instructor. This class can be taken together with the Meditation Practice Intensive (MED501) on Saturday, December 19.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1796883 

Intermediate Meditation, Deepening Meditation: Weekly Shamatha Practice (MED225)
Mondays, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM, PST (October 26 – December 14)
Do you find yourself lagging behind in your commitment to meditation practice? Did you think that the virus-lockdown would have freed you to deepen your meditation only to find yourself more distracted than ever? If you want to deepen your practice, and develop the calm confidence that only regular meditation can bring, join Bob Byrne, an experienced meditation instructor and longtime student of Tarthang Tulku, for weekly practice and discussion. Shamatha meditation will be emphasized along with guidance to develop concentration, deepen feeling, and provoke insight into openness. 
Instructor: Bob Byrne. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Open to all meditators. Drop-ins are welcome ($20 per session).
Register: https://nyingmainstitute.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797244 

Beginning Meditation: Quieting the Mind (MED101)
Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 28-December 16)
This class will introduce traditional meditation practices, including body movement (Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga), breath awareness, chanting, and visualization, in order to begin to quiet distracting thoughts and movements of mind, opening mind to a clearer experience. Also, there will be some lecture and discussion to help clarify experiences. The text used will be Hidden Mind of Freedom by Tarthang Tulku. Readings are assigned and encouraged to help support your meditation practice. In addition, a daily meditation practice is encouraged to bring about the transformative experience that you may be seeking.
Instructor: Santosh Philip. Cost: $144. For beginners and those wishing to review basic techniques.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797283 

Buddhist Studies (DHS)

Path of Liberation: The World as Sacred Space (8th quarter) (DHS210)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 27 – December 15)
Powerful Buddhist symbols point toward a comprehensive vision in which the universe itself arises as a mandala—a sacred space in which the journey to awakening is assured. We explore this vision, studying how every aspect of experience can be transformed. We also look at the sacred symbols that have been created by the Nyingma organizations and how the mandala structures its operations, both outer and inner.
Instructors: Mark Henderson and Hugh Joswick. Cost: $174, includes workshops. Prerequisites: Previous course (DHS208) or consent of the instructors.
Includes 2 workshops: Path of Prayer to the Land of Bliss (DHS415), Saturday, November 14, 10 AM-1 PM and The Power of Buddhist Symbols (DHS416), Saturday December 5, 10 AM-1 PM
Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1796898 

Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS114)
Wednesdays, 9:30 – 11:00 AM, PST (October 28 – December 16)
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=1797332 

Reading the Sutras: Following the Words of the Buddha (DHS101)
Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 28 – December 16)
Reading the Sutras is an ongoing course that examines in detail essential sutras in the Buddhist tradition. We read the sutras not as historical texts but as a practical encounter with the teachings of the Buddha. Our goal is to develop a respect for the sutra tradition and to foster an internal examination of how these texts can speak to our twenty-first century experience. This term we study the King of Samadhis Sutra (Samadhirajasutra). This much quoted Mahayana sutra examines the nature of emptiness and discusses various aspects of the conduct and motivation of the Bodhisattva. One of the earliest Mahayana texts, the Sutra is known for its description of the equal nature of all phenomena and for its lengthy stories of the Buddha’s past lives.
Instructors: Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick, Richard Dixey. Cost $144. Prerequisites: Sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings.
Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797348 

Kum Nye (KNR)

Kum Nye 2: Stimulating and Transforming Energy (KNR111)
Section One, Evenings:  Mondays, 7:00 to 8:30 PM, PST with Abbe Blum (October 26 – December 14)
Section Two, Mornings:  Thursdays,  7:00 – 8:30 AM, PST; 10:00 – 11:30 AM, EST  with Anita McNulty (October 29–December 17)
This is the second semester of a year-long introduction to Kum Nye Tibetan yoga, a gentle healing system based upon ancient Eastern medical and meditative traditions. It has been adapted by Tibetan Lama, Tarthang Tulku for the West in Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga: A Complete Guide to Health and Wellbeing. In this course, we continue our exploration of the practice of Kum Nye through breathing, touching feeling directly, opening the senses and developing the inner and outer massage of feeling.
We will study and work with the 4 energy centers ( chakras ) in the body.
This is a continuation of the Teacher training sequence; however anyone is welcome to join. Some experience of Kum Nye practice may be helpful, but is not required. This series may be taken in any sequence and on a drop in basis for those not in the Teacher training.
Monday Evenings Instructor: Abbe Blum. Cost: $144, Drop-in: $20/class. 
Register for Monday PM: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1798489 
Thursday Mornings Instructor Anita McNulty. Cost: $126, Drop-in: $20/class. Note: No class on Thursday, Nov. 26 due to Thanksgiving. 
Register for Thursday AM: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1798501 

Intermediate/Mixed Level Kum Nye:  Joy of Being Easing Up on Ourselves:  Touching the Inner Essence of Relaxation, Continued(KNR210)
Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 29 – December 14) 
In this later fall semester of the ongoing Joy of Being class, we continue to cultivate touching the inner essence of relaxation. Practices invite the joy that can “flow through us like a deep current, supporting us in all manner of experience” (p.126;138).  Tuning in closely to the field of perception, we relax conceptual activity through “easening”— Kum Nye heals the body and massage the mind, lessening the  grasping quality that comes with perceiving and narrating experience.
Instructor: Abbe Blum. Cost: $126, Drop-in: $20/class. Based on Tarthang Tulku’s Joy of Being. Prerequisite: familiarity with Kum Nye through at least one prior class or attending Sunday sessions. Note: No class on Thursday, Nov. 26 due to Thanksgiving. 
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1798504 

Kum Nye: Four Week Self Massage (KNR106)
Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (November 27 – December 18)
A four-week “hands-on” class in Kum Nye Self-massage. Students are led through gentle, slow massage routines that promote physical, emotional, and mental relaxation in order to deepen their sense of physical presence and general well-being.
Instructor: Santosh Philip. Cost $72. Open to all.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797358 

Advanced Kum Nye: Transforming Inner Energy (KNR305)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 27 – December 15)
“Kum Nye is a way to relax body and mind, to awaken the senses, to nurture ourselves with enjoyment and create a rich foundation for all life activities.” Tarthang Tulku, Joy of Being.
Further intensity in the practice of Kum Nye loosens inner blockages so that vitality circulates freely through body and mind. This intermediate/advanced course introduces exercises that challenge and inspire.
Instructor: Santosh Philip. Cost: $144, Drop-in: $20/class. Prerequisite: one year of Kum Nye practice. 
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797371 

Anatomy of a Kum Nye Exercise: #106 Trinity of Practice: Breath, Energy and Awareness (KNR130)
Selected Wednesdays, 8:30 – 9:30 AM, PST
This early morning class covers both Early and Late Fall terms. Dates include: August 26, September 9 and 23, October 7 and 28, November 11, and December 2 and 16.
What would it be like to take nearly 4 months to learn and deeply embody a single challenging Kum Nye practice? We will work intimately with the breath and inner awareness, as we build the physical elements of this practice over time, until we can fully engage it – physically, mentally, and energetically. This practice builds deep strength and concentration, and stimulates and revitalizes inner energies. Commitment to daily practice between classes is required to get the full benefit of this course.
Instructor: Donna Morton. Cost: $96. Prerequisites: completed at least one Kum Nye course or workshop, or with permission of the instructor.
Register: This class is a continuation from last term; if you’d like to join please send us an inquiry. 

Nyingma Psychology (NPS)

Aging Wisely: Strengthening Inner Confidence (NPS117)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 27 – December 15)
How can we experience the later years of life with increasing awareness of our greatest refuge, our inner strength? How can we make this resource available in each moment? Rather than experiencing old age as a disadvantage, we can use our elder years to mine our inner resources – connecting with heart and spacious mind, emotions, feelings, senses – who we are beyond our thoughts. In this class, we will consider old age, illness, and death from new perspectives that can transform awareness of what is precious, right now. We will use Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (slow gentle movements), meditations and wisdom teachings from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to awaken and enliven our experiences. All ages welcome, including those with aging parents.
Instructors: Olivia Hurd and Suellen Ehnebuske. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: Open to all. 
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797390 

The Way of Caring: Healing the Heart, Level 2 (NPS222)
Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30, PST (October 29 – December 17)
In this class, we focus on countering reactivity, opening up habitual responses and reactions so that we can discover a wider field of awareness. We learn how to listen deeply to the messages from the head, throat, heart, and gut to have a more balanced awareness. Challenging the stories we have come to believe about ourselves, we learn to trust and open our hearts to a radical caring that makes life deeply fulfilling. This is the second class of a year-long course, The Way of Caring.
Instructors: Pema Gellek and Hugh Joswick. Cost $126. Prerequisites: Open to all.
Note: No class on Thursday, November 26th in observance of Thanksgiving.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797393 

Tools for Difficult Times (NPS121)
Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, PST (October 29–December 17)
This class will offer practices to ease stress no matter what the difficulties, balance emotions, cultivate patience, and transform anxiety to promote well-being. Practices in each class will include Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, guided meditations and silent sitting. Emphasis will be on encouraging observation of your meditation experience, noticing what practices lead to fewer thoughts, opening mind and heart, feeling integrated and balanced: noting changes and ‘openings’ from week to week, both in and out of meditation, and applying this knowledge to your life experience.
Instructor: Olivia Hurd and Suellen Ehnebuske. Cost $126; Drop-in: $20/class. Prerequisites: Open to all.
Note: No class on Thursday, November 26th in observance of Thanksgiving. 
Register:  https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797823 

Tibetan Language (TIB)

Beginning Tibetan Level II (TIB102)
Mondays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM, PST (October 26 – December 14)
In this beginning language class, students continue studying grammar and working with selections from classical Tibetan texts.
Instructor: Mark Henderson. Cost: $144. Prerequisites: TIB101.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797832 

Intermediate Tibetan II (TIB202)
Thursdays, 6:15 -7:45 PM, PST (October 29 – December 17)
Continued reading and translation of traditional texts and prayers in the classical Tibetan language.
Instructor: Mark Henderson. Cost: $126. Prerequisites: Beginning Tibetan Level V, or consent of the instructor. Note: No Class on Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26th.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797835 

Advanced Tibetan: Advanced Study (TIB302)
Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM, PST (October 30 – December 18)
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.
Instructor: Barr Rosenberg. Cost: $144. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor.
Register: https://register.asapconnected.com/classdetail.aspx?org=4698&pk=1797854