Study Programs
General Program(GP)
The General Program introduces basic Buddhist view, meditation and action, along with various other teachings and practices, all within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition of Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa. The focus of the program is to help practitioners deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism. The simple yet practical instructions are easy to incorporate into our daily lives.
The program consists of drop-in classes, supplemented by optional day courses, weekend courses, and meditation retreats.
All the teachings are based on commentaries by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
The General Program is taught at every Kadampa Buddhist Center and is an ideal starting point for those interested to find out more about Buddhism and meditation.
General Program (GP) classes include evening and afternoondrop-in meditations across Taipei and other cities in Taiwan, and other day courses and retreats.
All classes are open to everyone.
Foundation Program (FP)
Class times: Sundays 2—5pm
Enjoy studying, meditating and discussing Dharma with a vibrant and friendly community of Sangha friends. We are currently studying Joyful Path of Good Fortune, the complete Buddhist path to Enlightenment. Contact the Education Program Coordinator epc@meditationtw.org to enroll.Classes are in Mandarin with English translation available.
Teacher Training Program
The Teacher Training Program (TTP) provides more extensive study and an opportunity to train as a qualified teacher of Kadampa Buddhism. It involves the study of seven more of Geshe Kelsang’s books, covering both Sutra and Tantra teachings. Teacher Training Program will be offered at Manjughosha Centre in the future.
Integrating Dharma into our Lives
(From a talk by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso)
Our present understanding and experience of Dharma is quite superficial. We are like someone who has entered a huge food store and seen many things but sampled only a few. We may have received many different teachings from many different Teachers, but we have taken in very little, just a few morsels. Therefore our actual experience remains superficial. There is a gap between us and the Dharma. It feels as if Dharma is there and we are here. Our mind is not mixed with Dharma and so we cannot apply it in our daily lives.
As a result our ordinary everyday problems remain. For example, we may have received many teachings on Lamrim and read many books. Intellectually we find it relatively easy to understand and we accept it all, but we find it difficult to integrate into our daily lives, and so we cannot use this Dharma to solve our daily problems. When we study Dharma our mind remains passive, like someone watching television. It does not engage in the subject and mix with it. Therefore our daily life and our Dharma remain completely separate and unrelated.
Why is this? It is because we are not studying systematically according to a specially-designed program. If we just pick at Dharma randomly we will never gain a deep and stable experience, and our wisdom will never become like a full moon.
The Foundation and Teacher Training Programs, therefore, are real wishfulfilling jewels for Dharma practitioners. By participating in them we can improve our wisdom and Dharma experience and use Dharma to solve our daily problems. We can become our own protector by protecting ourselves from danger and suffering, and our own doctor by curing our mental pain with Dharma medicine. We shall be able to set a good example for others to follow and help others by giving teachings and advice. In this way we will make both our own and others’ human lives extremely meaningful.