Classes

Please find the day-by-day class listings below. For the full descriptions, please visit our online registration site.

September Term: 9/2/19 – 9/28/19

Monday

Advanced Meditation: Cultivating Self-Understanding Through Shamatha and Vipashyana (MED313)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/2/ – 9/23 (4 classes), Meditation

Lama Palzang highlights techniques for stabilizing and deepening meditation in order to continually renew one’s commitment to cultivating wisdom on the path. Instructor(s): Lama Palzang. Cost: $72.

Beginning Kum Nye: Healing and Invigorating Energy (KNR115)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/2 – 9/23 (4 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

Explore foundational Kum Nye practices that activate positive healing processes and nurture body, breath, and mind. This series works closely with the theory and nitty-gritty aspects of the Guiding Practice section of the first Kum Nye book. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Cost: $72.

Insights from Buddhist Psychology: Learning to Care for Ourselves (NPS107)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/2 – 9/23 (4 classes), Nyingma Psychology

Attitudes, aspirations, emotions, and concepts shape who we are and determine what we do more than any outside influence. Recognizing their power and discovering their inherent changeability are keys to truly caring for ourselves. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick, Pauline Yu. Cost: $72.

Tuesday

Evening Chant / Tuesdays, 6:15 – 6:45 PM

Tibetan prayer, chanting, and meditation for spiritual growth. Open to all. Cost: Free.

Four Foundations of Mindfulness (DHS204)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/3 – 9/24 (4 classes), Buddhist Studies

Mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena establishes a basis for the growth of wisdom and has served as the basis for Buddhist practice and understanding for over two millennia. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson. POL program. Cost: $72.

Advanced Kum Nye: Generating Happiness from Within (KNR304)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/3 – 9/24 (4 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

Advanced Kum Nye practices attune body, mind, and spiritual path. In this class, we enliven contact with the energy centers located in the head, throat, heart, and navel area. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Cost: $72

Intermediate Meditation: Deepening Understanding Through Meditation (MED213)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/3 – 9/24 (4 classes), Meditation

Learn to look directly at the patterns of thought that trap us in tension and frustration. Opening to feeling and working with practices that loosen and relax old strategies of coping, we open to a new way of being. Instructor(s): Bob Byrne. Cost: $72.

Wednesday

In the Words of the Buddha (DHS101)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/4 – 9/25 (4 classes), Buddhist Studies

An introduction to the essential sutras in the Buddhist tradition. We examine first, second, and third turning teachings in order to give a general overview of the Mahayana approach to the sutras. Through recitation, reflection, and study of these sutras, we begin to understand the Buddha’s startling vision of reality. Instructor(s): Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick, and other faculty. Cost: $72.

Beginning Meditation: Meditation for Healing (MED105)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/4 – 9/25 (4 classes), Meditation

Learn tools to deepen relaxation so that the body can heal itself naturally and cultivate positive

energy through expanding awareness of feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip, Olivia Hurd. Cost: $72.

ONLINE: The Four Main Schools of Tibetan Buddhism (DHS220)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/4 – 9/25 (4 classes), Buddhist Studies

An introduction to the history, main figures, and characteristics of the main schools in Tibetan Buddhism. This knowledge is essential for placing the teachings in historical context. This class will be conducted online and will require a Zoom connection on a personal computer. Instructor(s): Richard Kingsland. Cost: $72.

Thursday

Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS113)

Thursdays, 1:30 – 3:00 PM, 9/5 – 9/26 (4 classes), Buddhist STudies

Practice chanting traditional Tibetan prayers without prior knowledge of the Tibetan language. Practice materials show the Tibetan text, phonetic pronunciation, and English translation. Instructor(s): Lama Palzang, Mark Henderson. Cost: $72

Surveying Dimensions of Mind (NPS205)

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/5 – 9/26 (4 classes), Nyingma Psychology

Challenge your usual ways of thinking about meditation and the nature of mind. In this class, we explore exercises from Dimensions of Mind that open the treasures of mind and awaken knowledge of inner freedom. Instructor(s): Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick. Cost: $72.

Kum Nye Joy of Being: Relaxing Deeply, Healing and Tuning Our Physical Senses (KNR208)

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/5 – 9/26 (4 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

Vital channels into the heart of our being, the senses can function as gateways to healing and insight, nourishing body, breath, and mind. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Cost: $72.

Beginning Tibetan: Level V (TIB105)

Thursdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM, 9/5 – 9/26 (4 classes), Tibetan Language

Continuing reading and study of grammar in Tibetan scriptures. Beginning Tibetan: Level 1 starts in Fall Quarter. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson. Cost: $72.

Friday

Advanced Tibetan Tutorial (TIB301)

Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM, 9/6 – 9/27 (4 classes), Tibetan Language

Ongoing Tibetan translation and study at an advanced level. Knowledge of Tibetan or consent of the instructor required. Instructor(s): Barr Rosenberg. Cost: $72.

Kum Nye Dancing (KNR108)

Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/6 – 9/27 (4 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

This drop-in class is an introduction to yogic and Kum Nye dancing. It includes instruction and practice. Kum Nye Dancing is based on ancient Tibetan movement systems for healing and is an opportunity to develop a vibrant knowledge of our individual embodiment. Instructor(s): Lama Palzang. Cost: $20/class or $72 for all 4.

Intermediate Tibetan (TIB204)

Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 9/6 – 9/27 (4 classes), Tibetan Language

Translation of selected readings with grammar instruction for translating classical Tibetan texts at an intermediate level. Instructor(s): Mollie Hughes. Cost: $72.

Saturday

View Workshops

Sunday

9:00 – 9:45 AM / Meditation. Drop-in: $5

10:00 – Noon / Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga. Drop-in: $15

5:00 – 5:45 PM / Chanting. Cost: Free

6:00 – 7:00 PM / Dharma Talk or Sunday Gathering. This program varies each week, please find details here — Talks! Cost: Free

Fall Quarter: 10/7/19 – 12/14/19

Monday

Advanced Meditation: Cultivating Self-Understanding Through Shamatha and Vipashyana (MED313)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/7 – 12/9 (10 classes), Meditation

Drawing from his background and training in Nyingma studies and practices in Tibet, Lama Palzang highlights techniques for stabilizing and deepening meditation in order to continually renew one’s commitment to cultivating wisdom on the path.Instructor(s): Lama Palzang. Cost: $180.

Listening to the Body: Healing Body and Mind (KNR105)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/7 – 12/9 (10 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

This is the first semester of a year-long introduction to Kum Nye Tibetan yoga, a gentle healing system adapted by Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku for the West. We learn to listen to our bodies, opening our senses and touching our feelings directly. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Cost: $180.

Intermediate Meditation: Unfolding Meditation (MED214)

Mondays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/7 – 12/9 (10 classes), Meditation

Through meditation practice, we gain inner confidence to handle whatever comes our way. This class develops the meaning of meditation as a practice for every moment. Instructor(s): Bob Byrne. Cost: $180.

Tuesday

Evening Chant / Tuesdays, 6:15 – 6:45 PM

Tibetan prayer, chanting, and meditation for spiritual growth. Open to all. Cost: Free.

Who Owns Mind? (DHS203)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/8 – 12/10 (10 classes), Buddhist Studies

Using classical insight meditations, students will be guided in a search for an independent self who controls and owns the mind and experience, glimpsing how mind, free of the confines of self, might function. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick, Mark Henderson. Path of Liberation program. Cost: $180.

Advanced Kum Nye:

Transforming Inner Energy (KNR305)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/8 – 12/10 (10 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

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(s): Santosh Philip. Cost: $180.

Transforming Negative Emotions (NPS102)

Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/8 – 12/10 (10 classes), Nyingma Psychology

Introspective practices and insights from the Buddhist tradition can transform the destructive power of ‘everyday’ negative emotions. This course gives specific antidotes for anger, fear, anxiety, and attachment. Instructor(s): Olivia Hurd, Pauline Yu. Cost: $180.

Wednesday

In the Words of the Buddha (DHS101)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/9 – 12/11 (9 classes), Buddhist Studies

An introduction to the essential sutras in the Buddhist tradition. We examine first, second, and third turning teachings in order to give a general overview of the Mahayana approach to the sutras. Recitation, reflection, and study of sutras. Instructor(s): Instructor(s): Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick, and other faculty. Cost: $162. No class on 11/27.

Beginning Meditation: Quieting the Mind (MED101)

Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/9 – 12/11 (9 classes), Meditation

Traditional meditation practices, including body movement (Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga), breath awareness, chanting, and visualization, begin to quiet distracting thoughts and movements of mind, opening mind to a clearer experience. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Cost: $162. No class on 11/27.

Big Space, Open Sky (TSK111)

Wednesdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM, 10/9 – 12/11 (9 classes), Time, Space, and Knowledge (TSK)

Space welcomes us each moment of our lives. Without its presence, how could we move from chair to door or, more subtly, from thought to thought, or sound to recognition? Come explore new options and new ways of being and human being as presented in Tarthang Tulku’s visionary path of Time, Space, and Knowledge. Instructor(s): Ken McKeon. Cost: $20/class or $162 for all 9. No class on 11/27.

Thursday

Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS113)

Thursdays, 1:30 – 3:00 PM, 10/10 – 12/12 (9 classes), Buddhist Studies

Skillful Means . . . Caring (NPS116)

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/10 – 12/12 (9 classes), Nyingma Psychology

Caring invites us to cultivate a fresh attunement and deeper connection with self and others, and points us towards inhabiting pure being. Instructor(s): Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick. Cost: $162. No class on Thanksgiving (11/28).

Kum Nye Joy of Being: How to Change the Pattern Through Relieving Busyness and Attuning to What Supports the Whole of Our Being (KNR208)

Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/10 – 12/12 (9 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

Asking how to change the pattern of what limits beauty, clarity, and ease, the second year of this ongoing Joy of Being class continues to tune and deeply relax body, breath, and mind. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Cost: $162. No class on Thanksgiving (11/28).

Beginning Tibetan: Level I (TIB 101)

Thursdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM, 10/10 – 12/12 (9 classes), Tibetan Language

Introduction to basic Tibetan for reading and translating classical Tibetan texts. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson. Cost: $162. No class on Thanksgiving (11/28).

Friday

Advanced Tibetan Tutorial (TIB301)

Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM, 10/11 – 12/13 (10 classes), Tibetan Language

Ongoing Tibetan translation and study. Knowledge of Tibetan or consent of the instructor required. Instructor(s): Barr Rosenberg. Cost: $180.

Kum Nye Self Massage: The Healing Power of Touch (KNR106)

Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/25 – 11/15 (4 classes), Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga

A four-week hands-on class in Kum Nye self-massage. You will be led through slow massage routines that promote relaxation and deepen your sense of physical presence. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Cost: $72.

Intermediate Tibetan (TIB205)

Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM, 10/11 – 12/13 (10 classes), Tibetan Language

Translation of selected readings with grammar instruction for translating classical Tibetan texts at an intermediate level. Instructor(s): Mollie Hughes. Cost: $180.