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Buddhist Study
Our Online Courses bring these teachings to students who can't participate in person at our centre. You can take the courses on their own or, in some cases (as indicated below), as part of our core curriculum, The Way of Shambhala. We offer all programs on a suggested-donation basis (see our Generosity Policy). Visit our Programs area to learn about upcoming courses. For more information contact Russell Rodgers, Co-Director of Practice & Education, at nelsonbuddha@gmail.com.
Taming the Mind This course introduces students to the view and practice of the hinayana (foundation teachings). The readings, based on a seminar taught by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, describe the path of renouncing confused existence and the joy of developing discipline on the path to liberation. Sakyong Mipham emphasizes the importance of understanding what we’re doing, and presents the path in a vast, multiple lifetimes perspective. Walking the Bodhisattva Path In the readings for this course, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche presents the mahayana path of dedicating one's life and practice to rousing awakened heart and engaging the practices of a bodhisattva warrior for the benefit of all sentient beings. The Bodhisattva Warrior: Six Paramitas The six paramitas (transcendent actions) are the means by which bodhisattva warriors actualize their aspiration to attain complete enlightenment for the benefit of all.
This course presents the principles of transmission and the student-teacher relationship as a key aspect of the study and practice of Shambhala Buddhism, explores the meaning and development of devotion, and introduces the central lineage figures of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition.
Karma—cause-and-effect action—can be broken down into twelve links, or nidanas. Understanding how these links work together enables us to see how the vicious circle of confusion and suffering arises and therefore how it can cease, allowing innate wisdom to manifest.
Lojong ("mind training") cultivates realization in emptiness and compassion, the essential qualities of the bodhisattva warrior. This practice-oriented course explores the mahayana slogans of Atisha, a 10th century Indian Buddhist master, whose teachings left a deep imprint on all Tibetan lineages. The contemplative practice of exchanging self for other—tonglen—is emphasized in conjunction with the day-to-day application of the slogans. Life of Buddha & History of Sangha This course presents the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha and the evolution of the early Buddhist community of practitioners. It also surveys the spread of Buddha’s teachings through various cultures over the past 2,500 years, giving us a greater appreciation for the unique transmission of buddhadharma now taking place in the West.
When the teaching of the Heart Sutra (one of the Buddha’s discourses on emptiness) first occurred, its proclamation of emptiness was so powerful that several highly realized disciples died of heart attacks. Yet today we can read it without missing a beat. In this course we study and contemplate the sutra line by line and bring these teachings alive so that we too could take them to heart.
This course introduces the principles of tantra, or fruition practice. The readings are drawn mainly from the book Journey Without Goal, compiled from a series of lectures Chögyam Trungpa gave at the Naropa Institute in 1974. These teachings provide a direct and experiential picture of the teacher-student relationship, devotion and empowerment, mandala principle, visualization and formless meditation, and the fruition qualities of the five wisdom energies.
Shamatha: Nine Stages This program is a chance for practitioners to deepen their understanding and realization of shamatha, or calm abiding meditation. The teachings describe the stages through which our shamatha practice typically develops. Maitri: Five Wisdom Energies Maitri here refers to a meditation practice created by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1973. The practice highlights and tunes us into our different psycho-emotional styles or energies, allowing us to experience how we embody and relate to them in either a sane or neurotic way. Opening up and embracing these energies with warmth and appreciation—maitri—helps us transform self-centeredness into compassionate wisdom. The Three Jewels This weekend explores what it means to take refuge in the three jewels—Buddha, dharma and sangha—and to become a Buddhist. It is both essential preparation for students aiming to take the refuge vow and open to anyone interested in exploring the topic of refuge yet not ready to make a formal commitment. The Four Foundations Of Mindfulness The four foundations of mindfulness—mindfulness of body, feeling, mind and mental events—represent one of the most widely practiced teachings on Buddhist meditation. This program, suitable for practitioners at all levels, demonstrates the degree of precision that can be applied to meditation practice and the degree of insight that can arise at the same time. Union of Shamatha-Vipashyana Full awakening requires realizing the inherent unity shamatha’s precision and peace and vipashyana’s insight into and appreciation of the vastness of our world. This weekend deepens our shamatha practice, and offers glimpses of vipashyana and its union with shamatha. Sadhana of Mahamudra The Sadhana of Mahamudra is a short liturgy practiced by the Shambhala community on the new and full moon days of the lunar calendar. It was written by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche while he was on retreat in Bhutan in 1968. This retreat marked a profound turning point in his presentation of the buddhadharma in the West. The text presents a vajrayana, fruitional view, bringing together the devotion mahamudra of the Kagyü lineage and the crazy wisdom or ati of the Nyingma lineage. As such, it provides a powerful touchstone for understanding our vajrayana heritage. Mahayana & the Bodhisattva Vow The entrance into the mahayana, the "great vehicle" of deep insight and vast action, is marked by taking the courageous vow of the bodhisattva. Through this vow, we dedicate our life and practice toward complete awakening and the benefit of all beings. The liturgy of the vow serves as the core contemplative component for this weekend in conjunction with the practice of rousing bodhichitta, or awakened heart. The weekend is open to anyone and is required preparation for those aspiring to take the bodhisattva vow. |
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Online Courses 
The Kootenay Shambhala Centre offers training in Tibetan Buddhism—largely through Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies courses and programs (summarized below)—to anyone who meets the prerequisites.
Learn more about meditation and buddhism at shambhala.org
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