Courses
Spring Quarter: March 25 – May 31, 2019
Classes are 10-week series. There are 2 which allow drop-ins: Sunday 10 AM Kum Nye; Tuesday 6:15 PM Time, Space, Knowledge with Ken McKeon.
Please visit our CALENDAR page for a day-by-day course schedule, and for the full Academic Calendar.
Buddhist Studies (DHS)
In the Words of the Buddha (DHS101)
Wednesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (March 27 – May 29)
Take a journey through the essential sutras of the Buddhist tradition. Each week, we will engage key passages complemented by silent sitting, guided contemplation, or practices that evoke the presence of the Buddha.
This class is also intended to provide a forum with a communal orientation, a coming together to share and reflect together on the sutras. 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.
Join us on this pilgrimage to meet the Buddha through his teachings. Readings will include first and second turning teachings.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Pema Gellek, Hugh Joswick, Abbe Blum, Santosh Philip, Pauline Yu.
Exploring the Heart of Mahayana (DHS214)
Mondays, 7 – 8:30 PM (March 25 – May 27)
Sutra study is a study of ourselves, a study of reality. This quarter we will read together The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena, and then selections from The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in 10,000 Lines.” Both Sutras are available online. New students are welcome!
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Bob Byrne.
An Awakened Vision of Being (DHS201)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (March 26 – May 28)
This course is a journey into the Buddha’s vision of what embodiment means. Students will study the teachings of the Buddhist Abhidharma, be introduced to the life-story of the Buddha and the symbolism of the form of the Buddha as presented in traditional art and sculpture, and recognize the stages on the Buddhist path.
Cost: $220. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick and Mark Henderson. This course is the first in the 2-year Path of Liberation program. Includes two workshops — Visions of Enlightenment (DHS401) on April 6 and Faith in Dharma (DHS402) on May 4.
Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS114)
Thursdays, 1:30–3 PM (March 28 – May 30)
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.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Lama Palzang and Mark Henderson. Prerequisite: sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings.
Meditation (MED)
Advanced Meditation: Cultivating Vast Compassion (MED311)
Mondays, 7 – 8:30 PM (March 25 – May 27)
Over the centuries, Tibetan Buddhism has transmitted and refined powerful practices for cultivating compassion. Bring more compassion and caring into your life as we come into contact with practices and teachings related to Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who embodies compassion, and hear what the great masters have to say about the importance of this unsurpassed, heart-opening quality. We will be introduced to prayers, visualizations, and meditative practices that encourage us explore these questions in our lived experience: How is compassion inseparable from wisdom? How can it take us beyond the self? Why is compassion essential to the spiritual path?
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Lama Palzang. Prerequisite: Three years of meditation experience, or consent of the instructor.
Beginning Meditation: Calm and Clear (MED103)
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (March 28 – May 30)
A regular meditation practice allows us to become calm and to stay clear. We discover in meditation a foundation for self-development. As we continue to practice, almost imperceptibly the quality of everyday life begins to change. We find that we act with more creativity and care, truly engaged in our own lives and more responsive to others.
Meditation can calm the mind, leading to greater mental clarity, and to insight. Students learn how to foster both through traditional techniques including awareness of the movements of mind, of breath and body, chanting and visualization.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. For beginners and those wishing to review basic techniques.
Kum Nye (KNR)
Deepening Relaxation and Opening the Senses through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (KNR113)
Mondays, 7–8:30 PM (March 25 – May 27)
This third semester of introduction to Kum Nye focuses on exercises and writing from Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga that activate and deepen a positive healing process—relaxing holding and gaining access to the senses, opening space, and expanding feeling. Prior Kum Nye courses or experience is recommended but not required.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Open to all levels of students.
Intermediate Kum Nye: The Joy of Being (KNR206)
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (March 28 – May 30)
Embodying Kum Nye: Getting the Juice of Experience
“Kum Nye opens the senses more widely to beauty and joy and restores our inner light, enabling us to get the juice of all kinds of experience.” Joy of Being, 62
This third semester of introduction to Joy of Being continues working with Part 3, “Senses and Perception.” Through relaxation—refining breathing, feeling and seeing—we can turn all manner of mental and physical experience into a positive flow of energy that stimulates good feelings and positive energy. Kum Nye practices and meditations open up space in our tight pressured existence so we can create a new home of feeling. Establishing a foundation, we may “gain some insight into our own spiritual qualities and how they can be further developed” (Joy of Being, 63).
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Prerequisites: This course is intended for those with some experience of Kum Nye through Sunday Kum Nye programs, and/ or beginning Kum Nye courses. Or admission through consent of instructor.
Advanced Kum Nye: Open Field of Being (KNR306)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (March 26 – May 28)
“Kum (sKu) is body, a nexus of sensitivity; Nye (mNye) is a method of exercise that brings results — through Nye, the body experience is transmuted. The result of Nye is a floating quality sometimes called bliss . . . “
Advanced Kum Nye movement, breath, and visualization practices from Tarthang Tulku’s Joy of Being form the core of this class. Exercises will be offered on different levels of engagement in order to challenge the advanced student.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Prerequisites: two years of Kum Nye practice.
Nyingma Psychology (NPS)
Skillful Means of Caring (NPS116)
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (March 28 – May 30)
This 10-week course presents practical, direct, transformative practices and teachings from Tarthang Rinpoche’s recent book Caring. We will explore how we can experience greater depth of love and caring for ourselves and others, shift from reactivity to responsiveness, and awaken to being fully present for our lives in all situations — with our loved ones, at work, and in difficult circumstances.
Through inquiry, contemplations, and meditative practices, we will engage the mysterious experience of knowing, which is deeply connected with caring. Caring invites us to cultivate a fresh attunement and deeper connection with self and others, and points us towards inhabiting pure being. From the tender heart of caring, we can act skillfully and dynamically in the world, and fully open to the field of potential that is our life.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Pema Gellek and Hugh Joswick.
Time, Space, Knowledge (TSK)
Time, Space and Knowledge: Perspectives and Practice (TSK108)
Tuesdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM (March 26 – May 28)
This course consists of experiential forms of inquiry into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge. Our focus this quarter will be on knowledge.
Cost: $180. Drop-in: $20/class. Instructor(s): Ken McKeon.
Tibetan Language (TIB)
Beginning Tibetan I (TIB101)
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (March 28 – May 30)
Working from an unpublished Tibetan language guide created by Dharma Publishing, this class introduces students to basic Tibetan for reading and translating classical Tibetan. Please note that this is not a modern spoken Tibetan language course, rather our focus is on learning the language in order to engage with Buddhist prayers and texts. For those who wish to study and practice Buddhism, it is of great benefit to learn literary Tibetan.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson.
Intermediate Tibetan III (TIB203)
Fridays, 7–8:30 PM (March 29 – May 31)
In this course, students prepare translations of alternating passages and present their assigned sections to the class. This is a small, supportive group, ideal for engaging sacred texts and the Tibetan language in an approachable and hands-on way. It also includes some review of basic grammar.
Cost: $180. Instructor: Mollie Hughes. Prerequisite: 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.
Tibetan Tutorial: Advanced Study (TIB302)
Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM (March 29 – May 31)
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: $180. Instructor: Barr Rosenberg. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor.
Buddhist Studies (DHS)
Exploring the Heart of Mahayana (DHS214)
Mondays, 7 – 8:30 PM (January 7 – March 11)
Mahayana sutras, with their poetic and visionary ways of questioning and expanding reality, can elude our attempts to parse them conceptually and yet speak beautifully and directly to our hearts. Working with English translations of classic Mahayana sutras, we will engage in pure listening and heartfelt discussion regarding the ineffable “what” that these classics of the second-turning of the Dharma point towards.
In this course we will be working with the Avatamasaka Sutra, also known as the Flower Ornament Sutra. New students with a strong interest in Sutra study are welcome to join.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Bob Byrne. No class on January 21. Register online.
The World as Sacred Space (DHS210)
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (January 8 – March 12)
Powerful Buddhist symbols point toward a comprehensive vision in which the universe itself arises as a mandala. We explore this vision, studying how every aspect of experience can be transformed.
Cost: $202. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick and Mark Henderson. Prerequisite: DHS209 or equivalent. Includes two workshops — Path of Prayer to the Land of Bliss on Feb. 2 and Power of Buddhist Symbols on Feb. 23. No class on January 22. Register online.
Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers (DHS114)
Thursdays, 1:30–3 PM (January 31 – March 14)
This class presents a special opportunity for individuals to learn chanting of traditional prayers without prior knowledge of 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 correct pronunciation, melody, and rhythm of selected traditional Buddhist prayers.
Cost: $126. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson. Prerequisite: sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings. Register online.
Meditation (MED)
Advanced Meditation: Deepening Ease and Stability (MED310)
Mondays, 7 – 8:30 PM (January 7 – March 11)
This course is for practitioners who would like to focus on developing shamata, calm abiding meditation. Deepen your relaxation, alertness, and stability through this time-tested, classic technique for developing balanced concentration. We will start with a few Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practices before easing into silent sitting.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Prerequisite: Three years of meditation experience, or consent of the instructor. No class on January 21. Register online.
Beginning Meditation: Developing Inner Serenity (MED102)
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM (January 10 – March 14)
Meditation allows us to tap a deep source of inner peace that can protect us from suffering and frustration. Through sitting meditation, walking meditation and mantra practice, you will learn to relax tension and cultivate equanimity.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. For beginners and those wishing to review basic techniques. Register online.
Intermediate Meditation: Opening the Path (MED214)
Wednesdays, 7-8:30 PM PM (January 9 – March 13)
“Meditative awareness is accessible to all who search for it; it can always be reached by delving into the nature of experience… But this may be very difficult to understand without first knowing how to transmute our emotions and how to transcend our obstacles. When we can do this, then all that we do will be helpful.” Tarthang Tulku.
This course looks at how to identify and overcome the most common obstacles to meditation: sleepiness, overactive thoughts, and “dreaminess,” in order to strengthen concentration and awareness. In the process, we expand our understanding of meditation to include all aspects of experience. Readings from Openness Mind.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick. Prerequisite: One year of meditation experience or consent of Instructor. No class on January 23. Register online.
Intermediate Meditation: Overcoming Obstacles (MED202)
Wednesdays, 10–11:30 AM (January 9 – March 13)
In this course students learn to overcome the most common obstacles to meditation: sleepiness, overactive thoughts, and “dreaminess.” The course also includes practices and teachings that further develop concentration and awareness.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Pauline Yu. Prerequisite: One year of meditation experience or consent of Instructor. No class on January 23. Register online.
Kum Nye (KNR)
All-Levels Kum Nye: Awakening and Healing through the Senses (KNR109)
Fridays, 10–11:30 AM (January 11 – March 1)
As we practice Kum Nye and deeply relax, the physical body and senses coordinate and integrate with mind. We become acquainted with stillness. We discover presence and vitality as the basis of our inner nature. Together we explore the operation of our senses as two-way channels that help integrate and heal the division between our inner and outer environments.
Cost: $126. Drop-in: $18/class. No class on February 15. Instructor: Peggy Kincaid. Register online.
Discovering and Healing Ourselves through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (KNR111)
Mondays, 7–8:30 PM (January 7 – March 11)
This second semester of the year long introduction to Kum Nye focuses on Kum Nye exercises that activate a positive healing process that nurtures us mentally and physically, contacting and integrating body and mind. Practices promote deep relaxation, stimulation of body and sensory awareness, and also relieve tension and blockages in physical, subtle energy, and emotional systems. Prior Kum Nye courses or experience is recommended but not required.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Open to all levels of students. No class on January 21. Register online.
Intermediate Kum Nye: The Joy of Being (KNR206)
Thursdays, 7–8:30 PM (January 10 – March 14)
Embodying Kum Nye: Re-Engineering the System
“Day and night, in crowds or alone, we can use our senses to practice distilling the pure juice of all perceptions and experiences, and allowing all the dross to drop away. When we learn how this works, Kum Nye can truly make our day.” Joy of Being, p. 60.
This second semester of introduction to Joy of Being works with Part 3, “Senses and Perception,” to begin to “reverse-engineer” negative, unbalancing patterns and ineffective inner programming. We explore Kum Nye practices and meditations that open up space in our tight pressured existence so we can create a new home of feeling. We can skillfully shape our lives in positive ways, and establish more control of our time and our lives.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Abbe Blum. Prerequisites: This course is intended for those with some experience of Kum Nye through Sunday Kum Nye programs, or beginning Kum Nye courses. Or consent of instructor. Register online.
Advanced Kum Nye: Transforming Breath, Energy, Feeling (KNR301)
Tuesdays, 7-8:30 PM (January 8 – March 12)
“Kum Nye is based on comprehensive understanding of the body: how its inner systems operate, how they are interconnected, and how they are activated by energy circulating through them.” —Tarthang Tulku, Joy of Being.
Advanced Kum Nye practices transform the body/mind on an energetic level. This experiential course integrates breath, movement, and feeling. We become more present and embodied.
Breathing and movement exercises stimulate and direct the energy of body and mind; visualization practices awaken and sustain inner vitality; and meditation practices foster serenity. These practices are simple and yet profound, gentle and yet deeply transformative.
Cost: $162. Instructor(s): Santosh Philip. Prerequisites: two years of Kum Nye practice. No class on January 22. Register online.
Nyingma Psychology (NPS)
Exploring Dimensions of Mind (NPS114)
Thursdays, 7:00 – 8:30 PM (January 10 – March 14)
Tarthang Tulku challenges our usual ways of thinking about meditation and the nature of the mind. He asks us to move to a deeper understanding of the nature of mind and see how we have come to accept and embrace limitations that prevent access to a deeper way of knowing.In this class, we explore exercises from Dimensions of Mind that open the treasures of mind and awaken the knowledge of inner freedom.
Cost: $180. Instructor(s): Hugh Joswick. Register online.
Time, Space, Knowledge (TSK)
Time, Space and Knowledge: Perspectives and Practice (TSK108)
Tuesdays, 6:15 – 7:45 PM (January 8 – March 12)
Winter Is upon us. Trees are bare, light is spare. Yet in January we typically think of resolving to turn over a new leaf. The paradox might prompt us to look more carefully and openly at just how our lives unfold. The teachings of TSK, especially those oriented towards Time, can be a good friend in such an effort. If you are intrigued, come join the ongoing inquiry Tuesday evening 6:15-7:45.
This course consists of experiential forms of inquiry into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge.
Cost: $162. Drop-in: $18/class. Instructor(s): Ken McKeon. No class on January 22. Register online.
Tibetan Language (TIB)
Beginning Tibetan I (TIB101)
Tuesdays, 1:30–3 PM (January 29 – March 12)
Working from an unpublished Tibetan language guide created by Dharma Publishing, this class introduces students to basic Tibetan for reading and translating classical Tibetan. Please note that this is not a modern spoken Tibetan language course, rather our focus is on learning the language in order to engage with Buddhist prayers and texts.
Cost: $126. Instructor(s): Mark Henderson. Register online.
Intermediate Tibetan II (TIB202)
Fridays, 7–8:30 PM (January 11 – March 15)
In this course, students prepare translations of alternating passages and present their assigned sections to the class. This is a small, supportive group, ideal for engaging sacred texts and the Tibetan language in an approachable and hands-on way. It also includes some review of basic grammar.
Cost: $180. Instructor: Mollie Hughes. Prerequisite: 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 online.
Tibetan Tutorial: Advanced Study (TIB301)
Fridays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM (January 11 – March 15)
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: $180. Instructor: Barr Rosenberg. Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor. Register online.