9 Month international program
Deepening Dimensions of Mind
“Our responsibility is to open to the rich opportunities we have available to us. That is the direct way to cultivate transformation. As we open ourselves, we give more, and we also receive more. It simply depends on being ready. We can speak of freedom, or blessings, or knowledge: the words are not so important. It may be better just to say what we are releasing: releasing worries, releasing entanglements, releasing all the basic emotions. When there is no ‘belonging to’ we can heal fear, anger, or greed. These kinds of patterns open easily.”
— Dimensions of Mind, p. 277
Program Overview
9 Month Online International Program, Sept. 2024 – May 2025
- 31 weekly classes
- Weekly self-observation, practice and reading assignments
- 1 weekend webinar-retreat: October 2024
- 1 workshop by Jack Petranker: May 2025
- Run jointly from Europe and USA
- Audio recordings of classes will be made available for private use by participants only.
- Co-organized by Nyingma Institute Berkeley and Nyingma Centrum Nederland
- Program costs € 585 or $585, can be paid in 9 monthly installments of € 65 or $65 per month
- Based on Dimensions of Mind by Tarthang Tulku, Dharma Publishing 2016
Exploring mind, Understanding Mind
As a book within Tarthang Tulku’s Understanding Self and Mind series, Dimensions of Mind is an aid and guide to “activate a self-search engine into the boundless dimensions of mind”. Combining classic Buddhist approaches with experiential ways of questioning mind, the book takes us deeper into understanding the workings of our minds. We will be asked to explore if our understanding mind is inseparable from our ability to be of benefit to self and other. We will engage in a process of inquiry and look at the structures of mind that condition our suffering. We also will explore ways to stay centered in experience and find a radical freedom in the play of appearances.
Our nine-month program will follow the order of topics as presented in Dimensions of Mind, but we will also feature readings and exercises from other Tarthang Tulku books: including Knowledge of Freedom, Openness Mind, and Joy of Being. And we will focus on meditation as a way to work with whatever level of mind we experience.
Who can attend
This program is a sequel course to the international Knowledge of Freedom program but others with a firm foundation in Dharma practice, meditation, the Time Space Knowledge vision, or other introspective disciplines are warmly invited to attend. This new nine months program provides an excellent bridge to deepen your practice and to open up to the treasures that our minds may be hiding in plain sight.
Program Structure
The program will consist of 31 weekly online classes on Thursday 10-11:30 am (California) / 7- 8.30 pm (Europe).
Online weekend retreat on October 18-19, 2024 – Cultivating the Four Immeasurables
Led by Hugh Joswick and Mark Henderson
The retreat consists of daily webinars running 3 hours: 10:00 -13:00 AM (PST) / 19:00 – 22:00 hrs (CET).
Online workshop on Saturday May 3, 2025 – Dimensions of Mind
Led by Jack Petranker
19:00 – 21.00 CEST, 10-12 am PST
The retreat and workshop are included in the program costs.
The September retreat can also be attended by students not enrolled in the program for € 120 (or $120)
Part One: “Cultivating the Immeasurables”
7 classes, Sept. 5 – Oct. 23 (no class Sep 26)
Plus a retreat Cultivating the Four Immeasurables led by Hugh Joswick en Mark Henderson – Fri Oct 18– Sat Oct 19
This first part of the program grounds us in a thorough understanding of the Four Immeasurables (love, compassion, joy, and equanimity). These boundless qualities open positive perspectives in all dimensions of time, space, and knowledge. From that base of positive potential, we are invited to fully embody our experience – letting go more and more of the limiting conditioning that aims to protect us from dangers imagined to be present.
Part Two: “Tracing the Patterns of Mind”
7 classes, Nov 12 – Dec 19 (no class Oct 31, Nov 28, Dec 26 and Jan 2)
The second part of our program examines the patterns that structure and hinder our spiritual growth and development. We will explore in particular the structures of I, me, mine, and mind – what Tarthang Tulku calls the gateways to samsara. Until we understand the structures of how we get caught in dualistic patterns, no amount of practice and study will be of much benefit.
Part Three: “Self-liberation”
6 classes, Jan 9 – Feb 20 (no class Feb 13 Longchenpa, no class Feb 27)
The third part will deepen understanding of how we get trapped in the conceptual structures of language, ideas, and identity. However, if we can learn to exercise our faculties in new ways, we can learn to transform our perceived limitations into self-liberation.
Part Four: “In the Center”
12 classes, March 6 – May 22 (no class May 1)
Plus online workshop by Jack Petranker on Saturday May 3 – 19.00-21.00 CEST, 10-12 AM PST.
In the last section of the program, we will focus on being in the center, what that means, and how to be free of all obstacles by giving up positioning and identification with restrictive self-images. Once you give up your fear of giving up, you may find greater joy and connection with others. If we can accept the invitation to transformation, and share our inquiry with others in an easy, open, effortless way, then that sharing may open an immeasurable benefit for us all.
Learn More
If you have any questions about the program or wonder if the program will be a good fit for you, please email us at and we will be happy to answer your questions or schedule a zoom interview with one of the programs’ teachers.
Instructors
Abbe Blum is a long time student of Tarthang Tulku and a seasoned teacher, presenting Kum Nye, Lotus Trilogy and Nyingma Psychology at Nyingma Institute and Dharma College. She worked as one of the editors on several of Rinpoche’s latest books. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley, an M.A. from Cambridge University, England, where she was a Marshall scholar, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Yale University. She currently teaches in the School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry at Saybook University.
Elske van de Hulst worked in the theatre as an actress, director and author, between 1969 and 1995. She taught at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten and for many years was a member of the Dutch Arts Council. In 1998 she started studying the theatre of the mind, guided by Tarthang Tulku’s books, and has not stopped since. She is now a co-dean at Nyingma Centrum Nederland and teaches Knowledge of Freedom, Revelations of Mind and Lotus Trilogy teachings in Amsterdam and elsewhere.
INFORMATION SESSION
If you have any questions about the program or wonder if the program will be a good fit for you,
please come to the presentation and Q and A session with the primary teachers of the program.
The online Q and A session will be held on Thursday August 29, 10:00 – 11:00 AM PST, 19:00 – 20:00 hrs CET.
Please reserve by registering so we can send you a zoomlink.