FROM HERE TO ENLIGHTENMENT: EDUCATING SENTIENT BEINGS

By Olga Planken

My action group was concerned with establishing Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Basic Program in the centers. This program of studies is intended for students who, having done introductory courses, want to commit themselves to Buddhism and to study in more depth.

Rinpoche had initially proposed eight subjects for such a program:

1.         The Graded Path to Enlightenment

2.         The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

3.         Mind Training

4.         Mind and Awareness

5.         Buddhist Tenets

6.         Seventy Topics

7.         The fourth chapter of Ornament for Clear Realization

8.         Sublime Continuum

During the conference Rinpoche expressed the wish to add to the curriculum three more subjects:

9.         Tantric Grounds and Paths

10.       Teachings on death, bardo and rebirth (the practice of taking the three kayas into the path), and

11.       Teachings on a deity-practice

The aim of our group was to outline ways to help centers implement this program, with an emphasis on addressing students’ and centers’ specific needs and circumstances. In other words: Helping to give the centers what they need to run the Basic Program.

To fulfill this aim we intend (with the help of a number of people who came forward during the conference) to produce and/or initiate production of the following:

Guidelines consisting of three parts, plus appendices:

• A presentation of the Basic Program
• An overview of typical center situations
• Different packages with all kinds of information, tips, etc.

This also means suggestions about how to include meditation, retreats, guidance for the individual practice of students, etc. as part of the program.

Separate appendices, which will be updated regularly:

• Bibliography
• List of available support materials
• List of teachers with their specialized skills
• A regularly available overview of what Basic Programs are running, where, etc.

We aim to have the guidelines and overview ready and available for use by the end of 1997/beginning 1998.

Once the guidelines have been produced we may be available to help and advise specific centers with the implementation of the program if needed.

We also hope to initiate the setting up of a separate facility to run home-study or correspondence courses, making use of the materials that become available from Basic Programs in different centers, possibly in different languages, etc.

Ways to adapt the program in order to give students the opportunity to become trained as teachers on the Basic Program level will be considered.

Also the matter of certification will come up in this context. We thought of having a Basic Program available in at least a few centers that meets sufficient requirements so that a teacher’s certificate can be awarded upon completion. Besides this we think in terms of flexible certification, adapted for the different levels of implementation of the program in different kinds of centers, also allowing for students to collect completion of all the subjects in different places. In this respect it may be useful to bear in mind that completion of the Basic Program will only be a recommendation for entering the Masters Program (see below) and not a requirement.

An “instant feedback sheet” handed out during the conference gave us some idea of the problems centers currently have with regard to setting up a Basic Program. Since the absence of a qualified teacher or translator is often the reason for not having this program, we are aware that we should look into ways of helping to solve this problem, or at least monitor progress made in this area.

Our criteria for success: having Basic Programs in more centers in the short-term, and in all centers in the long-term.

 

FPMT Education Project

Masters Program of Buddhist Studies and Practice

Classes begin in January 1998 in the revised Masters Program (created by Lama Thubten Yeshe) at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, Italy:

The Ornament of Clear Realizations (Abhisamayalamkara) by Maitreya, will be taught by Acharya Geshe Jampa Gyatso.

For brochure, write to:

Ven. Joan Nicell

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa

56040 Pomaia, Italy

Phone (39) (050) 68 56 54

Fax (39) (050) 68 59 76

Email iltk@sisius.pisa.it