FALL SEMESTER CLASS SCHEDULE November 4 – December 13, 2024

FALL SEMESTER CLASS SCHEDULE

November 4 – December 13, 2024

Namgyal Zoom Classes:  Namgyal will host all fall classes a hybrid of Zoom and in-person. Audio recordings of the Zoom session for a class will be available for download the next day after class. 

 Classes will start later than usual this fall due to the gap between the departure of Geshe Jamyang Dakpa and the arrival of Geshe Ngawang Gyasto in October.  Classes will start November 4^th and run for six weeks. 

 The cost for Zoom class access is $100.  To register for classes, contact office@namgyal.org.  Payments can be made by check or online through the Namgyal website.

 Senior Citizen Discount: A discount of 15% will be granted to seniors (age 65 or older), applicable

to full-time tuition or tuition for individual classes.

1.  TOPIC: Buddhist Science and Philosophy:  The Physical World Part 1

Instructor:  Geshe Ngawang Gyasto

Translator: Palden Oshoe

Mondays 6:30-7:45

Tuition: $100 for six-week semester

 For over 25 years, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama has engaged in annual Mind-Life Conferences with Western scientists from various disciplines to explore the commonalities and differences in Buddhist and Western views on the nature of reality and the mind.  One outcome of these discussions is that His Holiness convened a group of renowned Buddhist scholars to compile all the treatises from classical Indian Buddhist texts that covered the topics of Buddhist science and philosophy.  The first volume in this series provides a compilation and synthesis of teachings on the Indian Buddhist view of the physical world.  In this class, Geshe-la will take students through the first part of this volume, which provides an overview of the methodology used in Buddhist science to classify and analyze phenomena.  This class provides a unique opportunity for students to gain understanding and have discussion about foundational concepts in the classical Indian Buddhist view of the world. 

 Text: Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics Vol. 1:  The Physical World

Conceived and Introduced by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Edited by Thupten Jinpa

2. TOPIC: LAM RIM (Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) Part 1: Entering the Path (Initial Scope)

Instructor:  Geshe Ngawang Gyasto

Translator: Palden Oshoe

Mondays 6:30-7:45

Tuition: $100 for six-week semester

 The Stages of the Path (Lam Rim) texts are a genre of teaching in Tibetan Buddhism that provide a systematic overview of all the practices necessary for the attainment of enlightenment.  Such texts cover all the scopes or levels of teachings and practices that are essential to a practitioner’s gradual and sustained development on the path.  The foundational teachings and practices of the initial scope include contemplating the preciousness of this human life, reflecting on impermanence and going for refuge.  This is an excellent opportunity for students to gain an understanding of many of the fundamental concepts, teachings and practices in Tibetan Buddhism.

 Text: Lama Tsongkhapa’s the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Vol. 1

 3. TOPIC: Text Study:  Eight Verses for Training the Mind

 Instructor:  Geshe Ngawang Gyasto

Translator: Palden Oshoe

Mondays 6:30-7:45

Tuition: $100 for six-week semester

 The Eight Verses for Training the Mind is a classic mind training text that many teachers including His Holiness the Dalai Lama recite and reflect on daily.  These eight verses outline a number of difficult situations we all encounter in our daily lives such as interacting with unruly negative people, those who abuse and slander us and persons by whom we feel betrayed.  Each verse provides an alternative way to see these situations, and enables us to transform our thoughts and emotions in response to them.  During this weekend intensive, Geshe-la will provide commentary on the Eight Verses for Training the Mind along with discussion of how to apply these verses in daily life.  This is an excellent teaching for beginners to become familiar with mind training practices.  More experienced students will also benefit from discussion and deeper reflection on how to use this approach to transform our minds.

 A copy of the text will be sent to students at the beginning of the course.

 4. TOPIC: Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism Part 1.1:  Approaching the Buddhist Path

Instructor:  Deana Bodnar

Thursdays 6:30-7:45

Tuition: $100 for six-week semester

 This course will provide an introduction to key points and practices in Buddhism.  The course will focus on reading and discussion of a book written by His Holiness 14^th Dalai Lama and an American Buddhist nun, Thubten Chodron.  This text provides an excellent overview of important concepts and principles in Buddhism and connects these to modern life for Westerners.   Topics covered include: 1) basics of the Buddhist view; 2) Buddhist view of mind and working with emotions; 3) overview of the core teachings given by Buddha Shakyamuni; 4) overview of various meditation and mind-training practices and 5) exploration of how these practices can support our mental peace and happiness in our daily life out in the world.  The goal of the course is to give students a basic framework for understanding different teachings and practices within Buddhism and explore how we can integrate them into our daily lives to support our spiritual development.  Each class will also provide time for questions and discussion about these topics as well time for meditation practice.

 Recommended Reading: Approaching the Buddhist Path by His Holiness the 14th Dalia Lama and Thubten Chodron (Wishom Publications)

 Deana Bodnar has been a student and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism at Namgyal Monastery for over 20 years.  She has previously taught classes on the Neurobiology of Meditation.