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Nitartha Institute's New 9 Day Program |
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Nitartha Institute Levels I & II:
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| "A really superior approach to learning dharma." |
| —Student |
Nitartha Institute will offer its initial course sequence in a 9 day format at the beautiful urban dharma center, Nalanda West. In addition, the second level sequence will also be offered for those that have completed Level 1. Each are equivalent to attending the first or second two-week sessions at the Nitartha Summer Program. The spiritual director of the Institute, The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, has also been invited to teach at the program though we do not have confirmation of his ability to do so at this time.
The focus of Level 1 is a close and thorough examination of mind itself, its different classifications and functions, its ways of knowing phenomena, and the classifications and nature of those phenomena--mind's objects. The exploration includes an examination of the different aspects of perception and its relationship to our conceptual world.
Session I curriculum courses, Mind & Its World I and Clear Thinking I, are designed to introduce students to the precision and clarity of the valid cognition teachings, as presented by Buddha and explicated by the great Indian masters Dignaga and Dharmakirti in the 7th-8th centuries. Along with these teachings on valid cognition are beginning explorations of the tenet systems of two of the great Hinayana schools, the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika. Two classics of the Tibetan study curriculum, the Lorik (Classifications of Mind) and the Dudra (Collected Topics), form the basis for the study.
The purpose of these teachings is to reveal our fundamental confusion about what is real in our everyday world. They are not intellectual exercises. They are pragmatic explorations of our ordinary mind, its relationship with the world of phenomena and of thoughts, and exactly where we get confused by our projections and how. The teachings reveal how we can lead our lives with less confusion, and offer effective tools for clear communication with our world.
The studies will be supplemented with hands-on experiential exercises in clear thinking and analytical meditation. The cultivation of contemplative skills is essential to understanding and progressing along the path of meditation, bringing further clarity to one’s mind, practice and relationship to one’s world.
Level 2 continues with the exploration of mind through investigating karma, how our actions affect ourselves and the world. In the courses Mind & Its World 2 and Clear Thinking 2 this investigation includes looking at the nature and function of causes and conditions, mind and its accompanying mental events from the Abhidharma tradition, and the profound view of pratityasamutpada, or interdependent origination.
For a more detailed look at the courses, please click here.
| “If you do not understand the Lorik then you will not understand mahamudra.” |
| —Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche |
A Day at Nitartha
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