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Spring 2010 Classes - Descriptions

The following classes are described on this page:

The Eight Verses for Training the Mind

Meets Mondays, 6:30-7:50 PM
Instructor Venerable Lobsang Tashi with Palden Oshoe, translator
Prerequisites None - This course is suitable for both beginning and intermediate-level students
Suggested Reading The Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Geshe Sonam Rinchen
Tuition $250.00 for the semester, payable in full or in two $125.00 installments
Description How do we free ourselves from the demon of self-concern? These instructions are found in The Eight Verses for Training the Mind, one of the most important texts from a genre of Tibetan spiritual writings known as lojong (literally "mind training"). The root text was written by the eleventh-century meditator Langritangpa. His Holiness the Dalai Lama refers to this work as one of the main sources of his own inspiration and includes it in his daily meditations. Ven. Lobsang will also teach the practice of Tong-len (giving and taking), a practice to transform our self-cherishing attitude into compassion and love for others.

The instructor, Ven. Lobsang Tashi, is a senior monk of Namgyal Monastery.

Opening the Eye of New Awareness

Meets Tuesdays, 6:30-7:50 PM
Instructor Geshe Tenzin Sherap with Palden Oshoe, translator
Prerequisites Prior knowledge of the subject is helpful but not required
Suggested Reading Opening the Eye of New Awareness by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Wisdom Publications
Tuition $250.00 for entire semester payable in full or in two $125.00 installments
Description Written in 1963 -- just four years after his escape from Tibet and four years after completing his education -- Opening the Eye of New Awareness is the Dalai Lama's first religious work. Originally intended for Tibetan lay people, Westerners, and "those who do not have the leisure to study the great texts," this is the Dalai Lama's own summation of Buddhist doctrines and practices as they have been practiced in Tibet for a thousand years. It is a work of consummate scholarship by a twenty-seven-year-old monk, wise beyond his years. This short text is difficult and is intended for serious students of Tibetan Buddhism.

The instructor, Geshe Tenzin Sherap, is a lharampa geshe from Ganden Jangtse Monastic University with additional Tantric studies at Gyumey Tantric Monastery. He taught at Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, India after completing his training.

Working With Anger -- From Shantideva's A Guide To The Bodhisattva's Way Of Life

Meets Wednesdays, 6:30-7:50 PM
Instructor Tenzin Gephel
Prerequisites None - This course is suitable for both beginning and intermediate-level students
Suggested Reading Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective by H.H. the Dalai Lama
Tuition $250.00 for entire semester payable in full or in two $125.00 installments
Description Buddhist traditions unanimously state that compassion and love are the foundation of all paths of practice. To cultivate the potential for compassion and love inherent within us, it is crucial to counteract their opposing forces of anger and hatred. The techniques and methods found in Shantideva's sixth chapter of A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life and in His Holiness the Dalai Lama's commentary on it titled Healing Anger, are relevant and effective -- and show the power that patience and tolerance have to heal anger and to generate peace in the world.

The instructor, Ven. Tenzin Gephel, is a senior monk of Namgyal Monastery and Institute

Buddhist Tenets: The Sautrantika System

Meets Thursdays, 6:30-7:45 PM
Instructor Geshe Tenzin Sherap
Prerequisites None - This course is suitable for both beginning and intermediate-level students of Buddhist philosophy
Suggested Reading Cutting Through Appearances by Geshe Sopa and Jeffrey Hopkins, Mind in Tibetan Buddhism by Lati Rinpoche, and Knowledge and Liberation by Anne C. Klein
Tuition $250.00 for entire semester payable in full or in two $125.00 installments
Description This course is a presentation of the Sautrantika tenet system (The Sutra School), based upon a root text titled The Precious Garland of Tenets by Gon-chok-jik-may-wang-bo. Geshe Sherap will also draw upon material from The Presentation of Tenets by Jang-gya-rol-bay-dor-jay (translated in Anne C. Klein's Knowing, Naming, and Negation). The Sautrantika system is the basis for the Tibetan system of logical reasoning and provides the basic presentation of awareness and knowledge, and also gets into the topic of direct perception and conceptual thought. It is an important preparation for understanding the higher systems of the Mind-Only and Middle Way Schools.

The fundamental issue in the Sautrantika system is the confluence of conceptual thought and direct perception in human experience. For over six hundred years, study of these issues in Tibet has focused on elaborations of a philosophical perspective known as Sautrantika. Several years in the Tibetan monastic curriculum are devoted to study of the Sautrantika tenet system, for it is here that the basis for Madhyamika epistemology is found. Thought, direct perception, and their respective objects, are all involved in the complex perceptual process of learning to name the world we experience. Conceptual and verbal references to the known are here described as operating by way of exclusion, that is, through a negative route which mentally separates the intended object from all else.

The instructor, Geshe Tenzin Sherap, is a lharampa geshe from Ganden Jangtse Monastic University with additional Tantric studies at Gyumey Tantric Monastery. He taught at Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, India after completing his training.

The following Spring Tibetan language courses are a continuation of the Fall courses; however, qualified new students are welcome to join the class at the beginning of the Spring semester.

Beginning Colloquial Tibetan

Meets Mondays, 8:00-9:15 PM
Instructor Palden Oshoe
Prerequisites None - This course is very suitable for beginners
Suggested Reading Fluent Tibetan, Vol. I, Snow Lion Publications
Tuition $150.00 for each 5-week session, or $300.00 for entire semester
Description This course is an introduction to the modern Tibetan language in both its spoken and written forms. Students will learn the Tibetan alphabet and basic grammar, and develop speaking and comprehension proficiency through extensive use of drill and conversational practices. Fluent Tibetan, Vol. I will be used as the main text for the course, and will be supplemented with selected handouts from the instructor.

Intermediate Colloquial Tibetan

Meets Tuesdays, 8:00-9:15 PM
Instructor Ven. Thupten Woser
Study Materials Fluent Tibetan, Vols. I & II, Snow Lion Publications
Tuition $150.00 for each 5-week session, or $300.00 for entire semester
Description In this class students will continue to develop speaking and comprehension proficiency through extensive use of drill and conversational practice. Fluent Tibetan, Vols. I & II will be used as the main texts for the course, and will be supplemented with selected handouts from the instructor.

Advanced Intermediate Conversational Tibetan

Meets Thursdays, 8:00-9:15 PM
Instructor Ven. Tenzin Thutop
Study Materials Handouts will be provided by the instructor
Tuition $150.00 for each 5-week session, or $300.00 for entire semester
Description The instructor will conduct Tibetan-only conversation with those who wish to move on to more advanced colloquial Tibetan. Handouts from the instructor will be used as the basis of the course material for study and practice.
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