Discovering the Heart of Buddhism is a structured training in Buddhism and Buddhist meditation
Discovering the Heart of Buddhism gives you the opportunity to:
- Engage in a comprehensive and structured training in Buddhist study, reflection and
meditation
- Discover the truths of buddhism through your experience. All you need is an open and enquiring mind
- Connect to the heart of buddhism without the confusion often causedby Eastern cultural trappings
- Explore some of the most profound buddhist teachings, which are essential for everyone whether new or very experienced
- Make contact with and receive guidance from senior students and an experienced lama
- Share the fruits of years of study in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism
What does Discovering the Heart of Buddhism provide?
- Four specially written course books with reflective exercises and meditations.
- Personal guidance from Lama Shenpen Hookham, the teacher in person or by email or telephone.
- Regular discussion with an experienced senior student, your "contact person".
- A booklet on formless meditation and an accompanying CD with guided meditation sessions and additional instructions.
- Openness Clarity Sensitivity, a book by Lama Rigdzin Shikpo, focusing in detail on meditation.
- Access to Sanghaspace, the online home for students of Lama Shenpen. In Sanghaspace, you will have access to a wide range of teachings as well as the ability to discuss the course with fellow students.
How long does it last?
You set your pace through the course. However, for most people the course takes at least 12 months to complete. Once you have enrolled on Discovering the Heart of Buddhism, your enrolment is valid for up to 24 months, giving you plenty of time to complete the course.
The practice itself can last a lifetime, going deeper each time you approach it.
Who is it for?
- Discovering the Heart of Buddhism is an experiential course suitable for anyone who wishes
to explore the practice of Buddhism in a direct, authentic and systematic way.
- The themes of the course are the heart of Buddhism, essential whether you have read about and practised Buddhism for some time or whether you are completely new to it.
- You set your own pace, and continuing study reveals deeper levels of meaning in the themes.
- Participation is flexible and the course can be completed entirely from your own home
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How is meditation involved?
Meditation is central to Discovering the Heart of Buddhism, as it deepens and stabilises our exploration of our experience. The simplicity of being that we discover in meditation spills over into our lives, and this natural process is helped by pausing to reconnect with our awareness during the day.
As a participant in Discovering the Heart of Buddhism you will be able to receive meditation instruction and periodic meditation interviews with your contact person and with Lama Shenpen.
This guidance is supplemented by inspiration and practical advice from a specially written book on meditation, Openness Clarity Sensitivity, as well as the deepening process of reflecting on the materials in the coursebooks.
To take full advantage of the course you need to commit yourself to at least 15 minutes of meditation a day, and to simple awareness exercises at odd moments throughout the day
read more about meditation and daily life awareness practice
How is it tailored for Westerners?
Discovering the Heart of Buddhism is designed to help you discover the truths of Buddhism through your own experience, not through adopting a set of blind beliefs.
It presents the underlying principles of Buddhism in familiar English words and enables you to connect to the heart of Buddhism without the confusion often caused by Eastern cultural trappings.
The traditional formulae for presenting Buddhism were evolved to help people in Buddhist cultures, where people were brought up to have a strong conviction in Buddhist ideas about the world. But in the West we do not share many of these ideas, and so we need to be introduced to Buddhism more carefully. We have to begin with what we can know for sure-our direct experience-and from there we can allow a sense of the vaster and profounder vision that Buddhism offers to dawn within us.
How much personal contact is there?
All students on Discovering the Heart of Buddhism are welcome to discuss their experiences in meditation or with the courses materials at any point with Lama Shenpen.
Not only will you have access to Lama Shenpen, but also to a contact person
who serves as a Dharma friend, someone who can encourage you and with whom you can discuss your inspiration, difficulties and experiences on the Discovering the Heart of Buddhism course.
Lama Shenpen and your contact person can be contacted by email, phone or letter. It is also possible to talk to meet them face-to-face if you are able to come to retreats and weekend courses held in the UK.
Find out more about Lama Shenpen Hookham
How much does it cost?
There are two rates for Discovering the Heart of Buddhism depending on how you choose to pay:
- The full rate is £369, if you choose to spread the cost by paying monthly. (The first payment will be for UK£50 and the eleven remaining payments will be for UK£29, for a total payment of £369).
- We offer a discounted rate of £295, if you choose to pay up front. Since it helps our finances if you pay at the beginning of the course, if you are able to do this we offer a 20% discount—that is a saving for you of £74. If you do not live in the UK and want to know what the cost would be in your currency, we can calculate that for you on your payment form.
Only pay if you value what you receive
As a Buddhist charity we're not trying to make a profit, and we only want to receive money from people who value what we're doing and want to support it.
That's why we offer a 3 month satisfaction pledge - if at any point in your first three months of enrolment you decide it's not working out for you, then you can return the initial materials to us and either:
- Get a full refund if you pay up-front, or
- Stop making any further payments if you pay monthly.
We are a registered charity (The Shrimala Trust, UK no. 1078783) and we aim to keep the cost as low as possible for the quality of materials and service offered. We are only able to offer the course at this rate because our team of volunteers and low-paid staff are very generous with their time. There is a bursary fund that helps those who are not able to pay the full rate for the course. Bursaries of up to 50% may be available. Email office@ahs.org.uk to find out more.
What do I do now?
Gail administers Discovering the Heart of Buddhism and she or the office staff can answer any questions you might have.
To get started now, you can enrol online.
We will then send you the first instalment of course materials, including instructions on getting started with the meditation.I want to enrol now.
You've just read the complete information about Discovering the Heart of Buddhism above, but if you would like you can print this information out to read in your own time, in the form of a Course Guide.I want to print out a Course Guide.
If you have any question about Discovering the Heart of Buddhism, then do please send me an email, or phone the office on +441766 523110 (in the UK 01766 523 110).
