NYINGMA INSTITUTE - SCHOOL CATALOG
Nyingma Institute School Catalog
MISSION
The mission of the Nyingma Institute is to promote, foster, encourage, teach, and disseminate the Tibetan Nyingma traditions of Buddhism and to make those teachings available to the West in forms appropriate to the contemporary world.
The objective of the educational services of the Nyingma Institute is to provide non-degree academic programs in the following areas: Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga), Nyingma Studies, and Buddhist Studies.
The students for whom these services are intended are individuals who wish to obtain a thorough understanding of Tibetan Buddhist studies as well as those who wish to prepare themselves to participate more fully and effectively as members of the Nyingma community.
The expected outcome for graduates of Nyingma programs is the deepening of understanding of Tibetan Buddhist teachings. In addition, some graduates may be prepared to participate more fully and effectively as members of the Nyingma community.
SCHOOL HISTORY
Over many centuries, Tibetan Nyingma masters have awakened the full potential of human consciousness through meditation, study, and work. In 1969, Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku brought the Nyingma tradition to the United States where it has become a catalyst for positive change. In 1972, Tarthang Tulku founded the Nyingma Institute to bring the unique Nyingma teachings and practices to life. Since that time, thousands of students have studied and learned to meditate here.
APPROVAL TO OPERATE
The Nyingma Institute is a private institution approved to operate by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. Approval to operate means that this institution is compliant with the minimum standards contained in the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (as amended) and Division 7.5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. The Bureau can be reached at: 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833 or P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818; Web site Address: www.bppe.ca.gov, Telephone and fax #’s: (888) 370-7589 or by fax: (916) 263-1897 or (916) 431-6959 or by fax: (916) 263-1897.
OWNERSHIP
The Nyingma Institute is a non-profit corporation, governed by its Board of Trustees and officers. Board members are:
Pema Gellek Member, Board of Trustees
Sylvia L. Gretchen Member, Board of Trustees
Olivia Hurd Member, Board of Trustees
Hugh Joswick Member, Board of Trustees
Lama Palzang Member, Board of Trustees
Santosh Philip Member, Board of Trustees arr M. Rosenberg Member, Board of Trustees
June D. Rosenberg Member, Board of Trustees
Pema Gellek is the Institute’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operational Officer.
Hugh Joswick is the Institute’s Chief Academic Officer.
Other officers include the Special Assistant for Regulatory & Program Issues (Jack R. Petranker) and the Corporate Secretary (Pauline Yu).
SCHOOL OFFICIALS, FACULTY, AND STAFF
Pema L. Gellek, M.A.; Nyingma Studies from childhood Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operational Officer, Co-Dean, Instructor
Lama Palzang; Nyingma Studies from childhood Co-Dean, Instructor
Hugh P. Joswick, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1995 Chief Academic Officer, Program Director, Instructor
Jack R. Petranker, J.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1973 Special Assistant for Regulatory & Program Issues
Pauline Yu, B.A.; Nyingma Studies since 2007 Corporate Secretary, Instructor
Carol Verde; Nyingma Studies since 2006 Facilities Manager
Paul Spalek, Nyingma Studies since 2015 Registrar
David Abercrombie, B.S.; Nyingma Studies since 2005 Instructor
Abbe Blum, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1987 Instructor
Bob Byrne, M.A.; Nyingma Studies since 1973 Instructor
Mary E. Gomes, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1994 Instructor
Mark G. Henderson, J.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1975 Instructor Mollie Hughes, M.A, Nyingma Studies since 2007 Instructor
Olivia Hurd, B.F.A.; Nyingma Studies since 1998 Instructor
Peggy Kincaid, M.A.; Nyingma Studies since 1994 Instructor
G. Kenneth McKeon, M.A.; Nyingma Studies since 1974 Instructor
Donna L. Morton, B.S.; Nyingma Studies since 1998 Instructor
Santosh V. Philip, M.A.; Nyingma Studies since 1996 Instructor
Elissa Slanger, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1982 Instructor
Barr M. Rosenberg, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1974 Instructor
Erika L. Rosenberg, Ph.D.; Nyingma Studies since 1994 Instructor
All Instructors have a minimum of three years of experience, education, and training in Nyingma Studies.
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
The Nyingma Institute campus is located in two adjacent buildings in Berkeley, California: the Main Building at 1815 Highland Place, built in 1912, and the New House at 2727 Hearst Street, remodeled in 2001. Together these buildings have a total of 20,000 square feet. The Institute has three classrooms, one research/lending library, two library/reading areas, a student bookstore, two meditation rooms, three project rooms, a dining room and communal reading/study hall, 20+ residential rooms, meditation gardens, outdoor porches and terraces, and parking facilities. Class sessions are held at both 1815 Highland Place, Berkeley, CA 94709 and 2727 Hearst Street, Berkeley, CA 94709. No special equipment is required for Institute programs. The Institute provides chairs and cushions for students and faculty have use of both white boards and electronic display screens as teaching aids. Class size ranges from 6-50 students. Classrooms are assigned based on availability and class size.
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
Name of Program No. of Hours
Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program 130
Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program 256
Path of Liberation Program 256
Four Month Human Development Training Retreat 560
BUSINESS HOURS
Business Offices
Monday thru Friday: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Educational Services and Bookstore
Monday thru Friday: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Saturdays: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sundays: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM
TRAINING HOURS
Please see current Class, Workshop, and Retreat Schedules for specific program training hours.
HOLIDAYS
Community Retreat: February 1-3, 2018
Fourth of July: July 4, 2018
Thanksgiving Day: November 22, 2018 Christmas Break: December 17-25, 2018
QUARTERLY SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM START DATES
The Nyingma Institute instructional year is organized into four 10-week quarters and one 4-week September session. For Winter Quarter 2018 thru Fall Quarter 2018, the dates are as follows:
January 8-March 16, 2018 (Winter Quarter)
March 26-June 1, 2018 (Spring Quarter)
June 11-August 17, 2018 (Summer Quarter)
September 3-September 28, 2018 (September Session)
October 8-December 14, 2018 (Fall Quarter)
Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program
Start dates: Winter Quarter, 2018 and all subsequent quarters.
Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program S tart dates: Winter Quarter, 2018, and all subsequent quarters.
Path of Liberation Program
Start dates: Spring Quarter 2017.
Four-Month Human Development Training Program August 26-December 14, 2018
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
KUM NYE (TIBETAN YOGA) PROGRAM
Course Length: Minimum 1 year (52 weeks); maximum 2 years (104 weeks), minimum of 130 Contact Hours.
Course Schedule: Required and elective classes are offered during evenings from 7:00-8:30 PM, in the mornings from 10:00-11:30AM, or afternoons from 1:00-2:30PM. Most elective workshops are held on Saturdays from 10:00 AM—4:45 PM. Elective retreats are offered throughout the year. Retreats typically begin on Mondays at 10:00 AM and end on Saturdays at 4:45 PM.
Course Description: Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) is a natural healing system based on Tibetan medicine and the body-mind disciplines of Buddhism. In this program, students will learn Kum Nye’s basic movement, massage, and breathing practices, which were designed by Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku to promote physical and emotional health as they bridge the gap between the material and the spiritual.
Components of the Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program include five required classes in Kum Nye and one elective class, four elective workshops and one elective week-long retreat in Kum Nye or a related area. Each class, workshop, and retreat presents a focused set of exercises and instruction designed to lead to a specific goal, such as balancing emotions or releasing stress.
Course Objective: Upon completion of the Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program, students will understand the basic principles of Kum Nye, will have knowledge of basic massage, movement and breathing practices, and should have an ongoing daily Kum Nye practice of at least one-half hour a day.
Program Requirements: Six classes, four workshops, and one one-week retreat. Five of the six classes are required and must be chosen from the Kum Nye 100-level courses; one is an elective. The four workshops and the one-week retreat are electives. Students choose electives in conjunction with their student advisor. In the event that the student cannot attend the required week-long retreat, classes and workshops with the same number of classroom hours may be substituted with written consent of Program Director.
Required Classes: (5 or 6 classes of KNR 100-level courses for a total of 66 hours)* See catalog for KNR 100-level courses
Elective Classes: (Choose 1 class) (15 hours)*
KNR106 Kum Nye Self Massage (7.5 hours) (counts as half a class)
KNR107 Sunday Morning Tibetan Yoga (20 hours)
KNR108 Special Topics in Kum Nye (10-15 hours)
KNR109 Healing Power of Touch (6 hours) (counts as half a class) Certificate Program students will receive an additional 1.5 hours of instruction.
KNR113 Deepening Relaxation and Opening the Senses through Kum Nye
KNR202 Integrating Body and Mind (15 hours)
KNR205 Balancing and Integrating Body and Mind (15 hours)
MED101 Quieting the Mind (15 hours) MED102 Developing Inner Serenity (15 hours) MED103 Calm and Clear (15 hours):
MED104 Self-Observation (15 hours)
NPS105 Heart Practices for Daily Life (7.5 hours) (counts as half a class)
Elective Workshops: (Choose 4 workshops) (20 hours)*
KNR401 Renewing and Refreshing the Senses (5 hours)
KNR402 Expanding Enjoyment and Ease (5 hours)
KNR403 Opening the Heart (5 hours)
KNR404 Balancing Emotions through Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
KNR405 Tasting Relaxation (5 hours)
KNR406 Joy and Spaciousness (5 hours)
KNR407 Tibetan Yoga for Sustaining Inner Balance (5 hours)
KNR408 Mindfulness through Kum Nye (5 hours)
KNR411 Revitalizing Inner Energy (5 hours)
KNR412 Inner Alchemy: Transformation through Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
KNR413 Embodiment of Beauty (5 hours)
KNR415 Stress Reduction through Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
KNR416 Special Topics in Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
KNR419 Kum Nye Massage (2.5 hours) (counts as half a workshop)
KNR420 The Art of Sitting Comfortably (2.5 hours) (counts as half a workshop)
KNR421 Opening to the Power of the Natural World (7 hours)
KNR422 Healing Inner Space (15 hours) (counts as three workshops or half a retreat)
KNR423 Surrendering to Calmness (15 hours) (counts as three workshops or half a retreat)
KNR426 Touching the Heart with Breath
MED401 How to Meditate (2.5 hours) (counts as half a workshop)
MED402 Healing Sound (5 hours)
MED403 Calm and Clear (5 hours)
MED406 Light Awareness: Visualization in the Tibetan Tradition (5 hours) NPR401 Dream Lotus Evening (2.5 hours) (counts as half a workshop)
Elective Nonresidential Retreats: (Choose 1 retreat) (29 hours)*
KNR414 Generating Happiness from Within (15 hours) (counts as half a retreat)
KNR422 Healing Inner Space (15 hours) (counts as three workshops or half a retreat)
KNR423 Surrendering to Calmness (15 hours) (counts as three workshops or half a retreat)
KNR501 Tasting Relaxation (29 hours)
KNR502 Integrating Body and Mind through Tibetan Yoga (29 hours)
KNR503 Kum Nye: Touching Present Energy (29 hours)
KNR505 Tibetan Yoga for Healing and Energy (29 hours)
MED501 Silent Retreat (29 hours)
MED502 Finding Inner Peace (29 hours)
MED506 Reflection and Insight (29 hours)
- In individual cases, to further the educational goals of the student, classes, workshops, and retreats may be substituted for those on these lists with the written consent of the Program Director and the Chief Academic Officer.
TWO-YEAR NYINGMA STUDIES PROGRAM
Course Length: Minimum 2 years (104 weeks); maximum 4 years (208 weeks), minimum of 256 Contact Hours.
Course Schedule: All classes, workshops and retreats are elective. Elective classes are offered 7:00—8:30 PM or in the daytime from 10—11:30 AM, or 1—2:30 PM. Most elective workshops are held on Saturdays from 10:00 AM—4:45 PM. Elective retreats are offered throughout the year. Retreats typically begin on Mondays at 10:00 AM and end on Saturdays at 4:45 PM.
Course Description: This program is designed to allow students to sample teachings from all areas of Nyingma studies, coming to a more comprehensive and deeper knowledge of the Nyingma tradition. Working closely with an advisor, students select courses from any of the following, with a focus on intermediate and advanced offerings: Nyingma Meditation, Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga), Nyingma Psychology, Time, Space, and Knowledge, Skillful Means, Nyingma Practices, Tibetan Language, and Dharma Studies. Some students may choose to concentrate on a single area, such as Nyingma Meditation or Tibetan Language; others may choose studies in several different areas. Components of the Two-year Nyingma Studies Program include classes, workshops, and retreats. All are electives.
Course Objective: Depending on course selections, upon completion of the Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program, students will have a foundational understanding of the basic areas of Nyingma studies.
Program Requirements: Classes, workshops, and retreats chosen from the catalog, totaling 256 contact hours. All are electives. Course selections are made in conjunction with a Student Advisor.
PATH OF LIBERATION PROGRAM
Course Length: Minimum 2 years (104 weeks); maximum 4 years (208 weeks), a minimum of 256 Contact Hours.
Course Schedule: Required classes are offered on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 PM. Most required workshops are held on Friday nights from 7—9 PM and Saturdays from 10:00 AM—4:45 PM. Elective retreats typically begin on Mondays at 10:00 AM and end on Saturdays at 4:45 PM.
Course Description: The Path of Liberation Program is a training in Buddhist study and practice that is structured by the teachings of kaya, vacca, citta, guna and karma. Students will be introduced to the basic cognitive and experiential teachings of the Buddha. Texts will be drawn primarily from the Mahayana tradition.
Course Objective: Upon completion of the Path of Liberation Program, students will have a basic understanding of fundamental Buddhist teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eight-fold Noble Path, Karma and Klesha, Interdependent Co-operation, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. They will be familiar with Buddhist history and important works of literature. They will further understand the living spirit of Buddhist teaching and practice.
Program Requirements: Ten classes, sixteen workshops, and 30 extra hours of electives of their choice.
Required Classes: (10) (132 hours)
DHS201 An Awakened Vision of Being (15 hours)
DHS202 Transmitting Insight; Penetrating Illusion (15 hours)
DHS203 Who Owns Mind? (15 hours)
DHS204 Four Foundations of Mindfulness (6 hours)
DHS205 Compassion in Action (15 hours)
DHS206 The Resolve for Ultimate Goodness (15 hours)
DHS207 Gateway to Knowledge (15 hours)
DHS208 Deluded Mind/Awakened Mind (15 hours)
DHS209 Majestic Aspirations (6 hours)
DHS210 The World as Sacred Space (15 hours)
Required Workshops: (16) (94 hours)*
DHS401 Visions of Enlightenment (5 hours)
DHS402 Faith in Dharma (5 hours)
DHS403 Turning the Mind to the Dharma (5 hours)
DHS404 Training for Freedom (5 hours)
DHS405 Question of Identity: Ten Kinds of Self (5 hours)
DHS406 Cultivating Unlimited Love (5 hours)
NPR402 Cultivating Compassionate Love (14 hours)
DHS 407 Making Mind the Matter (5 hours)
NPR408 Honoring the Buddha (5 hours)
DHS418 Introduction to Longchenpa (5 hours)
DHS 419 Kamalashila and the Stages of Meditation (5 hours)
MED413 Filled with Devotion (5 hours)
DHS408 The Wheel of Life (5 hours)
MED415 Cutting off Negative Thoughts (5 hours)
DHS413 The Perfections of Patience and Strength (5 hours)
DHS414 The Perfections of Meditation and Wisdom (5 hours)
DHS415 Path of Prayer to the Land of Bliss (5 hours)
DHS416 Power of Buddhist Symbols (5 hours)
Elective Workshops or Non-residential retreat (30 hours)
NPS401 Transforming Negative Emotions (5 hours)
KNR403 Opening the Heart (5 hours)
KNR404 Balancing Emotions through Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
KNR405 The Self-Image (5 hours)
NPS409 Attaining Inner Confidence (5 hours)
KNR405 Tasting Relaxation (5 hours)
MED404 Visualization to Clear the Mind (5hours)
TSK402 Names and Namelessness (5 hours)
KNR411 Revitalizing Inner Energy (5 hours)
MED410 Translucent Person, Radiant World (5 hours)
MED411 Bliss (5 hours)
Choose one week-long retreat from the 500-level Retreats in the catalog
- In individual cases, to further the educational goals of the student, classes, workshops or a retreat may be substituted for those on this list with the written consent of either the Program Director or the Chief Academic Officer.
FOUR-MONTH HUMAN DEVELOPMENT RETREAT PROGRAM
Course Length: 16 weeks, minimum of 560 Contact Hours.
Course Schedule: Instruction sessions are held Mondays through Fridays from 10—11:30 AM; 1:30—3:00 PM; 6:15—7:45 PM; 4:30 —7:45 PM; and at 7:00-8:30 PM, for a total of 5.75 hours of instruction daily. Saturdays include 6.25 hours of practice and instruction. Students may choose to attend additional classes and all Sunday programs at no extra charge.
Course Description: This retreat provides students with an intense four-month period of study and practice of Nyingma teachings. The retreat curriculum is a program in human development, working both cognitively and experientially with mind, body, and spiritual awareness. Students develop insight into the nature of consciousness, emotion, thought, embodiment, and feeling. Exercises release the hold of negative habitual patterning within body and mind, allowing previously untapped human qualities to emerge. Participants are instructed in how to integrate their new knowledge and way of being within daily life so that what is learned in the retreat continues to unfold and develop.
Course Objective: Upon completion of the Four-Month Human Development Training Retreat, students will understand how habitual patterns of thought and emotions arise, how to transform negative energy patterns to allow previously untapped human qualities to emerge, and how to integrate their new knowledge and way of being within daily life so that what is learned in the retreat continues to unfold.
Retreat Requirements: Attendance at instruction sessions and participation in discussion and practices.
Weekday Instruction Schedule, Mondays-Fridays: (460 hours)**
7—8:15 AM (1.25 hours)
10:00—11:30 AM (1.5 hours)
4:00—5:30 PM (1.5 hours)
7:00-8:30 PM (1.5 hours)
Total: 5.75 hours per day
Saturday Instruction Schedule: (100 hours)**
7—8:15 AM (1.25 hours)
10:00—11:30 AM (1.5 hours)
Noon-1 PM (1 hour)
2:00—3:30 PM (1.5 hours)
3:45—4:45 PM (1 hour)
Total: 6.25 hours per day (or more, depending on particular workshop schedule)
Classes may include: *
MED305 Advanced Meditation (6 hours)
DHS209 Majestic Aspirations (6 hours)
NPR103 Dream Yoga and Authentic Communication (6 hours)
NPR109 Healing through Mantra (6 hours)
KNR104 Kum Nye to Balance Feelings (6 hours)
KNR109 Kum Nye Self-Massage: Healing Power of Touch (6 hours)
KNR204 Kum Nye: Opening the Energy Centers (6 hours)
MED201 Intermediate Mediation: Sustaining Meditation (15 hours)
MED301 Advanced Meditation: Pure Vision; Pure Land (15 hours)
NPS201 Path of Self-Mastery (15 hours)
KNR105 Kum Nye: Expanding Enjoyment and Ease (15 hours)
KNR205 Balancing and Integrating Body and Mind (15 hours)
NPS104 The Art of Happiness or NPS103 Working with Emotions (15 hours)
NPS111Dimensions of Mind Part II (15 hours)
NPS114 Practicing Dimensions of Mind (15 hours) KNR106 Kum Nye Self-Massage (7.5 hours)
Saturday Workshops may include: *
MED412 Healing through Breath (5 hours)
KNR405 Tasting Relaxation (5 hours)
KNR406 Joy and Spaciousness (5 hours)
KNR412 Inner Alchemy: Transformation through Tibetan Yoga (5 hours)
MED403 Shamatha and Vipassana (5 hours)
MED405 Wheel of Analytic Meditation (5 hours)
MED406 Light Awareness: Visualization in the Tibetan Tradition (5 hours)
MED409 Silent Mind, Peaceful Mind (5 hours)
MED410 Translucent Person: Radiant World (5 hours)
MED411 Inner Bliss (5 hours)MED419 Music, Mantra, and Meditation (5 hours)
MED420 Developing Mindfulness through Chanting and Visualization (5 hours)
NPR401 Dream Lotus (2.5 hours)
NPR402 Cultivating Compassionate Love (14 hours – this is a 3 day workshop during Thanksgiving weekend)
NPS406 Activating Joyous Feeling (5 hours)
NPS407 Transforming Personal History (5 hours)
SKM404 Topics in Skillful Means (5 hours)
NPR405 Medicine Buddha Practice (5 hours)
NPR411 Beauty and Merit: Seven Branch Offering (5 hours)
DHS405 Question of Identity (5 hours)
DHS406 Cultivating Unlimited Love (5 hours)
- In individual cases, to further the educational goals of the student, classes, workshops or retreats may be substituted for those on these lists with the written consent of the Program Director or the Chief Academic Officer. **Daily schedule may vary slightly from week to week.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS ______________________________________________________________________________
DHS101 Words of the Buddha – 15 Hours The Buddha expressed an enlightened wisdom that has been preserved in thirty-six Tibetan volumes known as the Kanjur. This course offers readings and reflections on selections from the Buddha’s words. The particular texts studied will vary and this course may be repeated.
DHS102 Tibetan Sacred Texts – 15 Hours
Through poetry, story, exposition, biography, and history Tibetan writers convey the power and beauty of the teachings of enlightenment. This course presents selections from Tibetan texts, focusing on timeless themes of wisdom and compassion. The particular texts studied will vary and this course may be repeated with the Instructors’ consent.
DHS103 Yogins of Tibet – 15 Hours
Tibet was known for its accomplished yogins—men and women who lived simply, dedicating themselves wholly to reaching the heights of realization. Reading their stories and writings, we understand how they won the hearts of the Tibetan people.
DHS104 Opening to the Dharma: A Precious Life – 15 Hours
The Buddha's teachings emphasize that a human birth offers a rare and precious opportunity. In this class students cultivate insights into the nature of existence that turn us toward the path of enlightenment.
DHS105 Opening to the Dharma: Depths of Experience – 15 Hours
A new vision of being emerges as we examine the constituents of body/mind/world. We question the “self” and refine our ability to inquire and examine. Prerequisite: consent of Instructor.
DHS106 Opening to the Dharma: The Great Vision of the Mahayana– 15 Hours
Teachings on fundamental insights and practices of the Mahayana, the path of perfect realization, will be explored. The focus will be on openness and compassion, the six perfections (paramitas), and the vows of the Bodhisattva. Prerequisite: consent of Instructor.
DHS107 Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha – 15 Hours
The gentleness, serenity, and compassion found in the Buddha’s path are based on a fundamental realization that self-centered grasping leads only to suffering. This class introduces fundamental Buddhist teachings that pave the way for further understanding of this peaceful, joyful way of life.
DHS108 Faith, Doubt, and Inquiry – 7.5 Hours
How do we balance open-minded inquiry with the calm certainty of faith? In this five-week course students analyze the meaning of faith, inquiry, and doubt from a Buddhist perspective.
DHS109 Three Foundations for Liberation – 7.5 Hours
The path to liberation depends on three trainings: conduct that supports clarity, meditation that transforms the operations of mind, and wisdom that penetrates illusion. This five-week course explores these trainings, drawing on the classic text known as the Path of Purification, by Buddhaghosa.
DHS110 Mindfulness: Exploring Tibetan Practice—15 Hours
Classic Tibetan teachings reveal hidden dimensions of mindfulness practice. A radical shift in how we know mind, body, feelings, and phenomena takes place, establishing a firm basis for the growth of wisdom. Class will include theory, but will emphasize putting these teachings into practice in our daily life.
DHS111 Opening to the Dharma: Birth of Enlightenment—15 Hours
Examining the qualities of the Buddha, we sense broader possibilities for our own lives. While enlightenment differs radically from ordinary experience, it takes birth from within present awareness and action. This course introduces the Buddha and provides an overview of his teachings, illuminating this living body of knowledge and its importance in the modern world.
DHS112 Special Topics in Buddhist Studies—6 Hours
Special topics such as mindfulness are covered in this short course. For the mindfulness topic, both the cognitive and noncognitive aspects of mindfulness practice are explored in depth.
DHS 113 Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers - 15 Hours
This class presents a special opportunity to learn chanting of traditional prayers without prior knowledge of the Tibetan language. Practice materials will be provided, including the Tibetan text, phonetic pronunciation, and English translation.
DHS 114 Guide to Chanting Tibetan Prayers - 6 Hours
This class is a continuation of DHS113, in which students learn chanting of traditional prayers without prior knowledge of the Tibetan language. Practice materials will be provided showing the Tibetan text, phonetic pronunciation, and English translation.
DHS115 Invoking the Enlightened Ones of the Tibetan Tradition - 15 hours
Tibetan Buddhism encompasses a rich pantheon of Buddhas, Deities, and Bodhisattvas. In this course, we will learn to invoke Padmasambhava, Avalokitesvara, Tara, Manjushri, Vajrasattva, and Samantabhadra through beloved practices including prayer, mantra, and visualization.
DHS201 An Awakened Vision of Being – 30 Hours
This course is a journey into the Buddha’s vision of what embodiment means. Students will study the teachings of the Buddhist Abhidharma; will be introduced to the life-story of the Buddha and the symbolism of the form of the Buddha as presented in traditional art and sculpture; and will learn to recognize the stages on the Buddhist path.
DHS202 Transmitting Insight; Penetrating Illusion – 30 Hours
At every moment we receive messages transmitted from our body, from our mind, and from the world around us. These messages form the basis of all that we know and do. The Dharma teaches us to ‘watch the watcher,’ to bring our attention to how the senses operate and how knowledge of ourself and the world develops. This course focuses on how information from the body, mind, and world is transmitted and received. The Abhidharma and Lojong (Mind Training) teachings form the textual basis of the course. Prerequisite: DHS201 or equivalent.
DHS203 Who Owns Mind? – 30 Hours
We sensitively explore consciousness, looking for the source of thoughts, feelings, impulses, and actions. We search for an independent ‘self’ who controls and owns the mind and experience. Following an ancient analysis from the time of the Buddha, we glimpse how mind, free of the confines of ‘self’, might function. Our primary practices are mindfulness in all things and the “Four Immeasureable” states (love, compassion, joy, and equanimity). Prerequisite: DHS202 or equivalent.
DHS204 Four Foundations of Mindfulness – 6 Hours
The Buddha taught that mindfulness—the steady and sustained contemplation of the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena— leads to wisdom. Training in these “Four Foundations of Mindfulness” leads to an unshakably present state of mind, and is the foundation for further study and practice. Prerequisite: DHS203 or equivalent.
DHS205 Compassion in Action – 30 Hours
What does it mean to live a life dedicated to compassion and wisdom? We look to the ways of life that the Buddha established and read biographies of great masters, men and women from India and Tibet. We also continue to cultivate our own inner capabilities for compassionate wisdom and deepen our knowledge of cause and effect. Taking steps in the direction of the path, our entire orientation begins to shift from being centered on our own benefit to being centered on the benefit of others. In this quarter we deepen understanding of interdependent coproduction (Pratitya Samutpada), study the lives of great masters of the Indian and Tibetan tradition, and reflect on how the Buddhist vision can manifest in the Western world. Prerequisite: DHS204 or equivalent.
DHS206 The Resolve for Ultimate Goodness – 30 Hours
All living beings have the nature of a Buddha, yet these qualities are obscured by veils of karma and kleshas. We live in ignorance of this great treasure, like a poor, blind man, unaware that a jewel of infinite value lies buried under his hearth. Traditional teachings and practices can help us develop confidence in our ability to discover Buddha nature within. We will study teachings on Bodhicitta (the ‘seed of enlightenment’) and work on mind training practices to overcome the destructive forces of anger, attachment, and ignorance in our lives. Prerequisite: DHS205 or equivalent.
DHS207 Gateway to Knowledge – 30 Hours
We deepen our search for awakened mind through an in-depth study of topics from the Gateway to Knowledge (Tib. mKhas-’jug and its commentary) by the great Tibetan teacher Lama Mipham. With penetrating analysis, we look again at inner and outer phenomena and the sense fields. We explore teachings on ‘what is possible and what is impossible’ along with teachings on time and the arising of the system of suffering. Prerequisite: DHS206 or equivalent.
DHS208 Deluded Mind/Awakened Mind – 30 Hours All the teachings of the Dharma are informed by knowledge of the inner workings of consciousness. As the mind is further cultivated, what seemed confused or difficult becomes magically workable. ‘Deluded mind’ is no longer an obstacle: all that arises can be brought onto the path of liberation. Prerequisite: DHS207 or equivalent.
DHS209 Majestic Aspirations – 6 Hours
We will study the Pranidhana Raja, a text beloved in the Mahayana tradition that expresses the Bodhisattva’s vows and commitments in poetic form. Prerequisite: DHS208 or sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings.
DHS210 The World as Sacred Space – 30 Hours
Powerful Buddhist symbols point toward a comprehensive vision in which the universe itself arises as a mandala—a sacred space in which the journey to awakening is assured. We explore this vision, studying how every aspect of experience can be transformed. We also look at the sacred symbols that have been created by the Nyingma organizations and how the mandala structures its operations. Prerequisite: DHS209 or equivalent.
DHS211 Buddhist Studies Tutorial – 15 Hours
In this class, students closely read primary sources, which can include Indian Buddhist works in translation (such as the Bodhicharyavatara) or Tibetan Buddhist works such as the Ngal-gso-skor-gsum. If a text or commentary has not been published in English translation, the instructor will provide a translation of the sections of the text relevant to the class. Class may be repeated as content changes quarterly.
DHS212 The Vimalakirti Sutra – 15 Hours
Amid the glittering profusion of Mahayana Buddhist Scriptures, The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti stands out like a diamond, located between the treasures of the Transcendent Wisdom scriptures and the array of Light found in the Avatamsaka (Flower Ornament) sutra. We will read, discuss, and practice from the Vimalakirti text in our best attempt to make it relevant to our lives today.
DHS 213 Thus Have I Heard: Reading of the Prajnaparamita Sutra – 15 Hours
The Prajnaparamita, or Perfection of Wisdom sutras, develop the view of shunyata, or emptiness, in Mahayana Buddhism. Through recitation and meditation we cultivate receptivity and openness to this transcendent, non-conceptual wisdom.
DHS214 Exploring the Heart of Mahayana Sutras – 15 Hours
This class will explore the Sutra, “Manjushri’s Attainment of Buddhahood,” along with the introduction to the Avatamsaka Sutra, through readings and discussions that penetrate their cosmo-poetic and visionary way of questioning and expanding reality.
DHS401 Visions of Enlightenment – 7 Hours
The form of the Buddha reflects the reality that all living beings can cultivate the same wisdom and compassion that the Buddha achieved. The ways that a Buddha is embodied will be covered: the Dharmakaya, the Sambhogakaya, and the Nirmanakaya, including the process of achieving this perfect embodiment through studying the Jatakas (birth stories of the Buddha), and contemplating the form of the Buddha as it is represented in Tibetan art and sculpture. Also included, is a meditation evoking the presence of the Buddha written by the 19th century Nyingma Master, Lama Mipham. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS201 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS402 Faith in Dharma – 7 Hours
The awakening of faith in the Dharma means that we have surrendered our heart to truth. This workshop outlines the steps to such faith. Students will learn to distinguish belief from faith and skepticism from inquiry. Class discussion and practice will focus on how to build inner confidence in our own abilities as we seek guidance from those who are wiser. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS201 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS403 Turning the Mind to the Dharma – 7 Hours
Students will study the “Four Thoughts” that turn the mind to the Dharma: Contemplating Freedom and Good Fortune, Impermanence, Suffering, and Karma. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS202 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS404 Training for Freedom – 7 Hours
Classic Buddhist education uses three trainings—sila (ethics), samadhi (meditation), and prajna (wisdom)—to develop wholesome knowledge and power. This workshop will introduce you to these traditional tools for clearing away the network of confusion and karmic patterns. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS202 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS405 Question of Identity: Ten Kinds of Self – 7 Hours
Who creates, controls, enjoys, defiles, or purifies experience? Am ‘I' substantial, or have 'I' as Tarthang Tulku writes, "entered into an illusory partnership with an entity that has no existence of its own"? Experiential exercises will shed light on these questions, while lecture will examine the ten kinds of self as described by the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the Nyingma master Lama Mipham. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS203 or consent of the Instructor.
DHS406 Cultivating Unlimited Love – 5 Hours
Love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartial equanimity can be practiced in a manner that extends beyond all limits. These four ways of pure abiding mutually interact and purify each other. Practicing them, students can discover an inner wellspring of wholesome peace that goes beyond the limits of the ordinary world, for the benefit of all. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS203, DHS211, or consent of the Instructor.
DHS407 Making Mind the Matter – 5 Hours
In order to make the Dharma relevant to our lives, we explore the activity of our mind. Working specifically with the “Three Trainings” of sila, samadhi, and prajna, we gain insight into how samsara is being fabricated and by whom, and what patterns of ego, personality, and identity are being put in place. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS206 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS408 The Wheel of Life – 7 Hours
The symbolic imagery of the Tibetan wheel of life demonstrates fundamental Buddhist teachings about the chain of causality and how conscious life evolves. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS207 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS409 The Six Transcending Perfections – 5 Hours
Six areas of Bodhisattva practice extend all the way to enlightenment: giving, ethical discipline, patience, vigorous effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom. For millennia beginning practitioners have embraced these practices, the Six Paramitas, and matured into great masters. The teachings that have come down to our time vividly present the meaning and beauty of this compassionate way of life. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS211 or consent of the Instructor.
DHS410 Developing Bodhichitta – 5 Hours
Bodhichitta, the “Seed of Enlightenment”, can take root and flourish in every living being. The choice is up to us. Students study verses from Shantideva’s Introduction to the Bodhisattva Way, teachings on how to give rise to Bodhicitta and compassionate love. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS211 or consent of the Instructor.
DHS411 Buddhist Studies Tutorial Workshop – 5 Hours
A close study of primary texts and teachings. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS211 or consent of the Instructor. Workshop may be repeated for credit since content varies by quarter.
DHS412 Dharma Studies Workshop/Retreat – 13 Hours
Topics in traditional Buddhist studies are offered with an emphasis on how the teachings are integrated into patterns of behavior. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS211, Human Development Training Program, or consent of the Instructors. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS413 The Perfections of Patience and Strength – 7 Hours
Based on the Bodhicaryavatara and its Tibetan commentaries, students will study the perfections of patience (ksanti) and strength (virya). Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS208 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS414 The Perfections of Meditation and Wisdom – 7 Hours
Through study of Chapters Eight and Nine of Bodhicaryavatara and its Tibetan commentaries, students will learn the types of meditation and appropriate topics of meditation. Selected verses from the chapter on Wisdom will help illuminate the depth and complexity of its study. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS208 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS415 Path of Prayer to the Land of Bliss – 7 Hours
We study texts and teachings about the Buddhafield of Sukhavati, and the Buddha Amithaba. Students will learn what a Buddhafield is. They will hear examples of rituals that are used to connect human consciousness with Buddhafields. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS210 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS416 The Power of Buddhist Symbols – 7 Hours
All the colors and landscape elements in a Tibetan painting, everything in a thanka has symbolic meaning. This workshop introduces Buddhist symbols that are found worldwide, such as the Stupa, and analyzes each symbolic element within it. Other symbols are included, found only in the Tibetan tradition. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS210 or consent of the Instructors.
DHS417 Invoking Tara the Liberator – 7 Hours
Tara is the feminine form of Avalokiteshvara and a much beloved meditational deity in the Tibetan tradition. Using mantra, story, and devotional practices, students will be introduced to Tara practice and compassion.
DHS418 Introduction to Longchenpa – 7 Hours
Each year the Nyingma Institute celebrates the great Nyingma teacher, Longchenpa, with three days of continuous, intensive chanting. This workshop will introduce selected writings of this 14th century Tibetan master, discuss his life and accomplishments, clarify his monumental importance in the lineage, and provide practices that accelerate our understanding and appreciation of this greatest of masters.
DHS419 Kamalashila and the Stages of Meditation – 7 Hours
Kamalashila accompanied Santaraksita to Tibet in the 8th century at the request of King Tri-song Detsen. He played an important role in establishing Buddhism in Tibet and was the principal defender of the Indian gradual way of enlightenment over the Chan method of sudden enlightenment. In a great debate at Samye monastery, c. 793, Kamalashila bettered his opponent, who advocated a direct awakening of mind through meditation, by arguing for a gradual path that required training in the whole field of Buddhist study. Kamalashila thereby established the Indian tradition of study and practice in Tibet and the gradual path of development. In this workshop we will examine a principal writing of Kamalashila on the stages of meditation, the Bhavanakrama. Lecture, practice, and discussion will bring this key text in Tibetan history to life.
DHS420 Exploring Mahayana Sutras Through Imagery and Texts – 7 Hours
This class will explore the Prajnaparamita Sutra and other key Mahayana Sutras through readings and discussions that penetrate their cosmo-poetic and visionary way of questioning and expanding reality, for the purpose of understanding our own transformative process going forward.
DHS421 Invoking the Lotus-Born – 7 Hours
Padmasambhava, the central founder of Tibetan Buddhism and the Nyingma tradition, is revered as a ‘second Buddha.' In effect, he is no different from the nature of your own mind. Through the means of mantra, visualization practice, and contemplation upon his miraculous life and accomplishments, a system of devotion to Padmasambhava will be presented.
DHS501 Awakening the Heart – 30 Hours DHS502 Openness Mind – 30 Hours
DHS503 Awakening Vision– 30 Hours DHS504 Joy of Being– 30 Hours DHS505 Embodying Wisdom– 30 Hours
This series of retreats is a journey into the Buddha’s vision of what embodiment means. Students will use teachings and practices from Nyingma Psychology to integrate body and mind; will learn to release unnecessary tension and stress through Tibetan Yoga; will study the teachings of the Buddhist Abhidharma found in the mKhas-‘jug by the great teacher Lama Mipham; will learn about the symbolism of the form of the Buddha as presented in traditional art and sculpture; will learn to recognize the stages on the path and its view, result, and application; will deepen experiential knowledge of the mind through training in meditation. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS506 Tuning the Senses Retreat – 30 Hours DHS507 Finding Freedom – 30 Hours
DHS508 Integrating Body with Mind – 30 Hours
DHS509 Discovering the Marks of Existence – 30 Hours
DHS510 Lightening Mind– 30 Hours
At every moment we receive messages transmitted from our body, from our mind, and from the world around us. These messages form the basis of all that we know and do. The Dharma teaches us to ‘watch the watcher,’ to bring our attention to how the senses operate and how knowledge of ourselves and the world develops. In this series of retreats students will learn: how knowledge is transmitted from the outside world to the senses and from the senses to the mind and heart. (Through study of the sense-fields (dhatus) and the ayatanas and experiential exercises from Tibetan Yoga.); how to attune themselves to their senses in ways that evoke insight to penetrate illusions; the teachings of the three marks of existence and the four thoughts that turn the mind to the Dharma, reversing the operation of suffering; basic teachings from mind training (Lojong), Tibetan Yoga, and Nyingma Psychology that help to integrate heart and mind. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS511 Mind’s Hall of Mirrors – 30 Hours DHS512 Base of Suffering– 30 Hours
DHS513 Reversing the Direction – 30 Hours
DHS514 Expanding Heart and Mind– 30 Hours
DHS515 Mindfulness and Faith– 30 Hours
This series of retreats uses tools of analysis and introspection to explore consciousness, looking for the source of thoughts, feelings, impulses, and actions. Using classical ‘insight’ meditation students will be guided in a search for an independent ‘self’ who controls and owns the mind and experience, glimpsing how mind, free of the confines of ‘self’, might function. Students will also: study teachings on karma and klesha; cultivate the ‘Four Immeasurable’ qualities of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity that expand the mind and heart; deepen mindfulness; learn about the Bodhisattva’s aspiration and the role that faith and devotion play in Dharma study. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS516 Interdependent Arising – 30 Hours
DHS517 The Compassionate Response– 30 Hours
DHS518 How the Buddha Taught– 30 Hours DHS519 Stories of Liberation– 30 Hours DHS520 Immeasureable Path– 30 Hours
Buddhist teachers have said that, “The depth and vastness of the Dharma restore the foundation, purpose, and direction of human life, inspiring a way of living oriented toward loving-kindness, compassion, and selflessness.” In this series of retreats students will explore what it means to live a life dedicated to compassion and wisdom, looking at the biographies of great masters, men and women from India and Tibet. They will also continue to cultivate inner capabilities for compassionate wisdom and deepen the knowledge of cause and effect through studying interdependent coproduction (Pratitya Samutpada). Finally, they will look at the way this vision is manifesting in the Western world. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS521 Miraculous Body of Knowledge– 30 Hours
DHS522 Working the Mind– 30 Hours
DHS523 Entering Openness – 30 Hours
DHS524 Practices from the Heart– 30 Hours DHS525 The Sunlight of Merit and Wisdom– 30 Hours
All living beings have the nature of a Buddha, yet this nature is obscured by veils of karma and kleshas. Traditional teachings and practices help students develop confidence in their ability to discover Bodhicitta (the ‘seed of enlightenment’). Mind training practices will help to overcome the destructive forces of anger, attachment, and ignorance in our lives. This retreat also explores: the qualities of a spiritual teacher and the qualities of a worthy student; how to practice guru yoga and go to refuge; the twelve actions of a fully enlightened Buddha; meditations from the Path of Heroes such as Tong-len; Practices that heighten awareness of the ‘seed of enlightenment’. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS526 The Transmission of Insight– 30 Hours
DHS527 Fields of Awareness– 30 Hours
DHS528 Attuning to Dharma– 30 Hours
DHS529 Time and the Arising of Suffering– 30 Hours DHS530 The Possible and the Impossible– 30 Hours
Students deepen their search for awakened mind through an in-depth study of topics from the Gateway to Knowledge (Tib. mKhyas-‘jug) by the great Tibetan teacher Lama Mipham. These will include ‘what is possible and what is impossible’; time; and the arising of the system of suffering. Meditation practice will focus on analyzing the constituents of inner and outer phenomena and the sense fields. Kum Nye practice will help to deepen the analysis. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS531 Parting the Veil of Delusion – 30 Hours
DHS532 Regaining the Power of Mind – 30 Hours
DHS533 Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being– 30 Hours
DHS534 Refining Mind– 30 Hours
DHS535 Guidelines for Self-Mastery – 30 Hours
All the teachings of the Dharma are informed by knowledge of the inner workings of consciousness. As the mind is cultivated through meditation and analysis, what seems confused or difficult becomes workable. ‘Deluded mind’ is no longer an obstacle: all that arises can be brought onto the path of liberation. In this series of retreats students will learn: advanced teachings from Nyingma Psychology on how to penetrate the veils of ignorance within ordinary consciousness; Lojong teachings from the Path of Heroes with an emphasis on meditation practice; and traditional teachings from Tibetan authors on the nature of mind. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
DHS536 The Emerging Mandala – 30 Hours DHS537 Lineage of Light – 30 Hours DHS538 Inner and Outer Symbols of Enlightenment – 30 Hours DHS539 Aspiration and Accomplishment – 30 Hours DHS540 Majestic Purpose (30 hours)
Powerful Buddhist symbols point toward a comprehensive vision in which the universe itself arises as a mandala—a sacred space in which the journey to awakening is assured. In these retreats students will explore this vision, studying accounts of what a mandala is and how experience can be transformed. This will lead to an in-depth exploration of the meaning of sacred Buddhist symbols, especially focusing on those that have been created by the Nyingma organizations. Students will also study: the form of the mandala and how it informs the operation of Buddhist organizations; the symbolic language of Tibetan art; teachings on the efficacy of Tibetan ritual projects such as prayer-wheels and prayer flags; teachings on the Buddha Fields. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR101 Kum Nye: Promoting Spaciousness – 15 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practices are presented that allow us to focus on the quality of spaciousness that we possess within body and mind, as well as the open spaces around us in our lived experience and throughout the universe. This attention to space enlivens and opens us to feeling qualities of spaciousness, as it gently moves awareness beyond perceived limits and boundaries. Students learn to open the senses wider, and to navigate the space of sensations, emotions, and perceptions, toward a greater integration of body and mind.
KNR102 Kum Nye: Working with Lower Body Energy – 15 Hours
In this course, Kum Nye exercises will be presented that energize the lower body: belly, hips, legs, and spine. Bringing awareness to the lower part of the body grounds and counteracts the tendency for energy to be ‘stuck’ in our heads, manifested as crowded, noisy, persistent thoughts, so that we may contact the vitality and balance of our full embodiment.
KNR103 Kum Nye: Releasing Tension and Restoring Balance – 15 Hours
Kum Nye movement and awareness exercises help release physical and emotional tension. Practices in this course will be presented that give students exercises as tools to restore body/mind/senses integration and balance, deepen their connection to the body and spiritual awareness.
KNR104 Kum Nye to Balance Feelings – 6 Hours
Gentle movement practices expand and balance feelings, integrating body and mind. A sense of contentment and stability naturally arise, as students connect more fully with their senses.
KNR105 Beginning Kum Nye: Listening to the Body, Healing Body and Mind – 15 Hours
This is the first semester of a year long introduction to Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, a gentle healing system adapted by Tarthang Tulku for the West. We learn to listen to our bodies, open our senses and touch our feelings directly. We explore how we can integrate body and mind in all our activities, which leads to vitality and relaxation. Anyone who wants to learn Kum Nye systematically is encouraged to start here. It is also possible to take beginning Kum Nye classes and topics in any order.
KNR106 Kum Nye Self-Massage – 7.5 Hours
A five-week ‘hands-on’ class in Kum Nye self-massage. Students will be led through slow massage routines that promote relaxation to deepen a connection to our embodiment.
KNR107 Sunday Morning Tibetan Yoga – 20 Hours
Students learn to re-awaken a spirit of ease and appreciation with gentle Tibetan Yoga practice that relaxes body, breath, and mind. A range of Kum Nye movement, massage, and breathing exercises is given in each session.
KNR108 Special Topics in Kum Nye – 10-15 Hours
This class features special practices from Kum Nye that may include breath work, massage, movement, and visualization. The focus is on allowing each participant to discover his or her own healing process through Kum Nye. The class is especially appropriate for those with physical limitations and elders. Class hours may vary to accommodate students’ needs. May be repeated for credit since content changes.
KNR109 Awakening and Healing through the Senses – 6 Hours
As we practice Kum Nye and deeply relax, the physical body and senses coordinate and integrate with mind. We become acquainted with stillness. We discover presence and vitality as the basis of our inner nature. Together we explore the operation of our senses as two-way channels that help integrate and heal the division between our inner and outer environment.
KNR111 Discovering and Healing Ourselves through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga – 6 Hours
This second semester of the year-long introduction to Kum Nye focuses on exercises that activate a positive healing process, nurturing and integrating mind and body. Practices promote deep relaxation, stimulation of body and sensory awareness; they also relieve tension and blockages in physical subtle energy, and in the emotions. Prior Kum Nye courses or experience is recommended but not required.
KNR112 Touching the Heart with Breath – 6 Hours
We explore the vitalizing, joyful, spacious qualities of breath by focusing on the heart. This Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga course is suitable for all levels and accepts drop-ins.
KNR113 Deepening Relaxation and Opening the Senses through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga – 6 Hours
This third semester of the year-long introduction to Kum Nye focuses on exercises and writings from the book, Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, that activate and deepen a positive healing process – relaxing holding, and gaining access to the senses, opening space, and expanding feeling. Prior Kum Nye courses or experience is recommended but not required.
KNR171 Beg Kum Nye: Un-stressing Ourselves: Discovering the Power of Feeling, Relaxing and Tuning In – 6 Hours
Each of these four classes offers simple movement, breathing, and awareness practices that help to discover how we might live our lives more fully, clearly and joyfully through deeper acquaintance with our own feeling resources.
KNR201 Inner and Outer Massage of Feeling – 15 Hours
This class provides a foundation for understanding the basis and development of Kum Nye, and the three levels on which its exercises can be experienced: through breath, awareness, and body movement. Self-massage practices which promote deep relaxation will be included.
KNR202 Integrating Body and Mind – 15 Hours
How can we resolve and heal conflicts between the needs of the body and the demands of mind? Gentle Kum Nye exercises will be presented that allow feelings and sensations to flow more freely. These feelings become a pathway to a more natural state of balance in which body and mind harmonize as a wholistic experience of being.
KNR203 Stimulating Inner Energy – 15 Hours
When inner energy is flowing smoothly, health and vitality flourish. This class works with exercises that stimulate the free flow of inner energy.
KNR204 Kum Nye: Opening the Energy Centers – 6 Hours
Exercises will include body movements to stimulate awareness of the ‘energy centers’ of the head, throat, heart, and belly. Tension is loosened allowing energy to flow freely throughout the body.
KNR205 Balancing and Integrating Body and Mind – 15 Hours
Specific exercises to allow feelings and sensations to flow freely in body and mind will help students reach a natural state of balance. Greater harmony naturally develops not only within our embodiment, but also between self and others.
KNR301-306 Advanced Kum Nye – each class 15 Hours
Advanced Kum Nye movement, breath, and visualization practices from Tarthang Tulku’s Joy of Being form the core of these classes. Exercises will be offered on different levels of engagement to challenge the advanced student. Each quarter will focus on a different set of practices. May be repeated, since content changes. Prerequisite: two years of Kum Nye practice.
KNR307 Advanced Kum Nye: Generating Happiness from Within—6 Hours
Advanced Kum Nye practices relieve the tension that closes the senses and deprives the mind of joyful ease. This course focuses on attuning body and mind to inner resources for meaning and satisfaction, generating happiness that can be sustained throughout each day. Prerequisite: two years of Kum Nye practice.
KNR401 Renewing and Refreshing the Senses – 5 Hours A day of restful Tibetan Yoga exercises will be presented to refresh the senses. Students will be taught ways to nourish each of the senses, inviting an ecstatic interaction between the ‘inner’ senses and the outer object. Students will also learn how to contact feeling tones within each sense.
KNR402 Expanding Enjoyment and Ease – 5 Hours
A coordinated series of Kum Nye practices is offered that expand the senses and foster appreciation and ease. These exercises will help students to develop joyful relaxation within daily activities, allowing them to approach the new activities with inner confidence.
KNR403 Opening the Heart – 5 Hours
The heart holds the key to leading a happy life in harmonious and loving accord with others. Kum Nye practices open the heart to deep levels of feeling and appreciation. This workshop includes exercises that loosen physical tension in the chest and upper back.
KNR404 Balancing Emotions through Tibetan Yoga – 5 Hours
Kum Nye exercises relax and heal both body and mind. Movement, breathing, and awareness exercises transform tension and restore emotional balance, easing the stress of everyday life. Students will master exercises that can be used both in formal practices and amidst daily activities.
KNR405 Tasting Relaxation – 5 Hours
The relaxation that comes through Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga is like a rich nectar that flows through the body and feelings. This workshop presents practices that allow participants to ‘taste’ this deep relaxation.
KNR406 Joy and Spaciousness – 5 Hours
Gentle Kum Nye movement and breathing practices enhance a sense of spaciousness and develop joyous feelings. Taught mostly outdoors, the beauty of nature will help foster and expand inner joy.
KNR407 Tibetan Yoga for Sustaining Inner Balance – 5 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga movement, breath, and sitting practices balance body and mind as they stimulate deep feelings of joy. Students learn techniques that help sustain a balanced and joyful outlook throughout the day.
KNR408 Mindfulness through Tibetan Yoga – 5 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practices take us to direct sensory experience, free from labels or identification. Touching the very roots of perception, they activate the latent power of penetrating insight. This workshop presents Tibetan Yoga practices that develop and maintain mindful attentiveness of body and feeling. Prerequisite: Kum Nye or meditation experience.
KNR409 Integrating Flow of Feeling in the Energy Centers – 3 Hours
Practices in this 3 hour workshop stimulate awareness and address tension in the head, throat, heart and belly centers. Learning how energy flows through - or may be blocked - in various centers, we can encourage positive energy, clarity, and more balance in our lives. This workshop is intended to support the Kum Nye students taking the weekly “Working with Energy Centers” class. Others are welcome to join in.
KNR410 Energizing Body and Mind – 5 Hours
This workshop introduces exercises that directly stimulate inner vitality. Students contact a pure ‘neutral energy’ that flows effortlessly between body, mind, and world. Prerequisite: 1 year Kum Nye practice.
KNR411 Touching the Heart of Kum Nye – 5 Hours
The basic process of Kum Nye is to relax and balance our energies by integrating mind, body and senses. To balance our energies, we touch our feelings deeply, expanding the flowing rhythms they bring to us. We discover what it means to be relaxed and balanced.
KNR412 Inner Alchemy: Transformation through Tibetan Yoga – 5 Hours
Remarkable transformation occurs through Kum Nye, mobilizing the body’s natural healing as it literally remakes the physical body. The movement exercises introduced in this workshop stimulate the flow of subtle energy that integrate and transform body and mind.
KNR413 Embodiment of Beauty – 5 Hours
The physical senses are capable of receiving great beauty, bringing moments of exquisite feeling and deep satisfaction. To activate this capacity for beauty, confusion and repressed anger must be cleared out of the pathways of the senses. The Kum Nye practices introduced in this workshop initiate a stream of inner feeling that cleanses each sense.
KNR414 Generating Happiness from Within – 15 Hours
This three-day Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga retreat uses gentle movement exercises, self-massage, and breath practices to generate joyful feelings that stimulate positive energy. By channeling awareness, these tools loosen and relax body and mind. We discover that we have within us precious resources that heal, soothe, and bring deep contentment. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR415 Stress Reduction through Tibetan Yoga – 5 Hours
Keys to working with stressful times come to us from the Tibetan healing tradition. They include meditation, movement and awareness exercises that allow deep relaxation, melting tension in body and mind. The series of easy, slow exercises presented balance and integrate the whole being, fostering a sense of vibrancy and well-being.
KNR416 Special Topics in Tibetan Yoga – 5 Hours
This workshop presents an integrated program of Tibetan Yoga movement, breathing, and awareness exercises. The focus and topic of the workshop can change, allowing students to appreciate the flexibility of the Kum Nye approach. Topics for 2018 may include “Tibetan Yoga: Attuning to the Elements and the Cycles of Nature” and “Increasing Brain Health through Tibetan Yoga”. Workshop may be repeated for credit, since topics change.
KNR417 Kum Nye Massage—5 hours
Kum Nye massage melts accumulated tension, releasing restricted energy that has been “frozen” by fixed attitudes, concepts, and patterns of holding the body. In this workshop, instruction in self-massage will be complemented by an individual session with a massage therapist who will work with you to open, release, and energize the flow of feeling in your body.
KNR419 Kum Nye Massage – 2.5 Hours
This workshop is a shorter version of that listed above. See description for KNR417.
KNR420 The Art of Sitting Comfortably – 2.5 Hours
This workshop is for those who have trouble sitting cross-legged on the floor. Students will be led through a motion assessment of back, hips, knees, and ankles. A variety of sitting strategies will be introduced and a program of Kum Nye exercises will be tailored for each student, taking into account specific motion limitations.
KNR421 Opening to the Power of the Natural World—7 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practices to encourage and open the senses to natural beauty and the natural world are presented. As we learn to sense with greater awareness, we can feel deepening satisfaction as we gain more nourishment. We naturally appreciate the interconnectedness of all existence. Like a bee attracted to a flower for its nectar, awareness can touch each moment in ways that draw nourishment.
KNR422 Healing Inner Space —15 Hours
In this three-day retreat, relaxing Tibetan Yoga postures that activate the body’s energy centers can touch, heal and integrate the mind/body experience. We work with opening the senses more fully, in order to sense the link between inner space and the space around us, through a vital, continuous flow of feeling.
KNR423 Surrendering to Calmness —15 Hours
This retreat presents Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga exercises that stimulate energy and calm and soothe feeling, as balance emerges. Students learn to focus awareness within, and to follow ever-deepening currents of relaxation that enable the student to let go of subtle grasping tendencies.
KNR424 Opening and Healing the Heart —5 Hours
This workshop presents Kum Nye exercises that cultivate a sensitive listening energy directed to the heart center. When we connect more deeply to our heart, it naturally responds, allowing its unique energy to flow. Muscle tension and holding patterns are soothed and released as deeper layers of feeling and appreciation open. Our whole being becomes integrated in the heart center.
KNR425 Awakening the Senses —5 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga can lead us to relax and open the senses, the link between body and mind, enabling our whole being to feel alive and refreshed. In this workshop, we will use sound and sight, fragrance and taste amidst natural surroundings to wake up and enrich our sensory experience, revealing qualities of joy and delight. As our senses are nourished, our capacity to enjoy greater depths of experience expands; appreciation follows. As we open the senses, everyday life becomes more enjoyable, vibrant and alive.
KNR426 Touching the Heart with Breath —5 Hours
“Body and breath are the foundation of our being, the basis for relaxation and meditation. Together, they serve as our meditation cushion, the support for our practice and also for our lives.” -- Tarthang Tulku. This workshop will explore the vitalizing, joyful, spacious qualities of breath touching the heart.
KNR427 The Power of Posture to Shape Well Being —5 Hours
Using the Seven gestures from the Tibetan Nyingma tradition as the foundation, you will learn how to build your posture in sitting and standing, in a way that supports optimal structural health, as well as mood, energy, and movement. Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practices will be used to embody cognitive understanding. A new sense of the mind/body relationship and methods to support enduring health will be presented.
KNR501 Tasting Relaxation – 29 Hours
Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga practice opens the senses to flowing feelings that can loosen even chronic tension. In this retreat, we learn to relax so deeply that we can “taste” the healing nectar of relaxation as it streams through body and mind. Gentle movement, breathing, and awareness practices help us to discover this deep relaxation. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR502 Integrating Body and Mind through Tibetan Yoga – 29 Hours
When body and mind are out of balance it is difficult to sustain our vitality, concentration, or creativity. We become prone to emotional extremes and a general sense of dissatisfaction may pervade our days. Tibetan Yoga exercises harmonize physical and mental energy, opening mind and heart to the value of every kind of experience. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR503 Kum Nye: Touching Present Energy – 29 Hours
Kum Nye begins with stillness: relaxing, and breathing. Movement begins slowly, arising from a present, centered point. Exercises emerge gently, touching each sense and expanding perceptions and feelings beyond limitations. A journey into embodiment, this retreat’s practices form a path on which participants move past judgment and preconception to the freshness of the present moment. From this point of balance a rich tapestry of positive feelings flow into body, senses, and mind.
Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR504 Opening the Senses – 29 Hours
The pressures of life today can dull the senses, as we lose touch with natural beauty and simple pleasures. This retreat offers Kum Nye exercises tailored to opening the senses and recharging our vitality. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR505 Tibetan Yoga for Healing and Energy – 29 Hours
Breath and movement exercises in this retreat awaken an inner vitality that is directly linked to natural healing. Students will also be introduced to fundamental principles of Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KNR506 Special Topics in Intermediate and Advanced Kum Nye – 29 Hours
Intermediate and advanced Kum Nye exercises that focus on special topics are introduced. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
KOF101 Knowledge that Heals –15 Hours
As the world evolves, paradigms of knowledge must also change. This course is about seeking the knowledge that we need today. Exploring how our personal experience is informed by our collective heritage, we journey into ourselves, tracking a healing knowledge that provides a real alternative to dissatisfaction and despair. Experiential exercises from the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision will complement the insights found in Tarthang Tulku’s Knowledge of Freedom.
KOF102 Awakening Knowledge –15 Hours
Reaching out for fulfillment feeds endless longing and inward grasping—even in the search for knowledge—but yields nothing truly new. Trying too hard, and in the wrong way, we separate ourselves from our heart’s delight. In this course, students look at the process of self-deception; in doing so, we wake up to what is possible and to what is true, in order to feel satisfaction and contentment. Based on Knowledge of Freedom.
KOF103 Penetrating the Dynamic of Pain –15 Hours
If we allow ourselves the freedom to question and observe our experience, we discover new dimensions and approaches that will enrich our lives and prepare us for the changes to come. This course teaches us to use the mind as an “inner laboratory” where we can penetrate the dynamic of pain to reveal the endless riches of knowledge. Based on Knowledge of Freedom.
KOF104 Engaging Knowledge that Heals—6 Hours
Our current times present us with an unprecedented number of questions, conflicts, and challenges. We can educate ourselves to bring new currents of insight to bear on these problems, nourishing our inner being and attuning ourselves to a fundamental sense of beauty and order. Based on Knowledge of Freedom.
MED101 Quieting the Mind – 15 Hours
This beginning meditation class introduces new students to techniques that calm mind’s distracting thoughts and relax the body, using breath and body awareness practices, and other non-conceptual methods to integrate the energies of body and mind; inner peace can be felt as a consequence. The class also supports students who have a lapsed practice and wish support in reestablishing a meditation routine.
MED102 Developing Inner Serenity – 15 Hours
Through meditation, we can tap into an inner resource of stillness and quiet, protecting us from suffering and frustration. Through sitting meditation, walking meditation and mantra practice, students learn to relax tension and cultivate equanimity. The focus is on reducing mental distraction.
MED103 Bringing Calm and Clarity to Mind – 15 Hours
Meditation can calm the mind, leading to greater mental clarity, and to insight. Students learn how to foster both through traditional relaxation techniques including awareness of the movements of mind, of breath and body, chanting and visualization.
MED104 Self-Observation – 15 Hours
The focus of this course is on observing the mind, emotions, feelings, body and breath. Students learn supportive tools to stay mindful and relaxed, yet awake and alert. Basic meditation practices will also be presented in a manner that helps make wholesome self-discovery a way of life.
MED105 Meditation for Healing - 6 Hours
Many health benefits for mind, body and emotions come from regular meditation practice. This course offers ways to calm and integrate mind and body to foster relaxation, stimulating natural healing.
MED106 Special Topics in Beginning Meditation – 15 Hours
Special Topics classes link beginning meditation with other topics in Nyingma studies. Examples of topics include “Mindful in All things,” “Creativity, Clarity and Spaciousness,” and “Meditation for Creativity and Joy.”
MED111 Self-Appreciation and Self-Acceptance through Meditation – 15 Hours
This beginning meditation class will focus on practices that cultivate inner serenity, a platform from which it is possible to grow a harmonious relationship with oneself. Self-understanding and self-knowledge naturally arises out of quiet and clarity, from which self-compassion blooms, deepening a connection and appreciation of our being.
MED201 Intermediate Meditation: Sustaining Meditation – 15 Hours
This class is for students who want to deepen their understanding and experience of meditation by going deeper, with support and guidance from Tarthang Tulku’s texts, including Openness Mind. We find we can also apply the same meditation principles we’ve practiced on the cushion to our active lives: expanding awareness of mind and body in every moment; cultivating an attitude of openness, so that we may learn from every experience we encounter. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience or consent of instructors.
MED202 Intermediate Meditation: Overcoming Obstacles – 15 Hours
In this class students will learn to identify and overcome the most common obstacles to meditation, such as distracting thoughts, lazy mind, and emotional turmoil. The class includes practices and teachings that develop greater relaxation and concentration, in order to tap into a deeper wisdom of heart and mind. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED203 Intermediate Meditation: Meditations to Open the Heart – 15 Hours
Genuine satisfaction, love, compassion and wisdom can be found within the heart of our own being. Meditation practices will be presented to open the energy of the heart, expand feeling and awareness, and heal mind and body by connecting and integrating head with heart, actions with intuitions. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED204 Intermediate Meditation: Discovering Mind—15 Hours
Through meditation the mind is experienced as alive, sensitive, and brilliant. In this course, students are led through contemplative practices that reveal deeper levels of mind than are ordinarily recognized. Prerequisite: two years of meditation experience.
MED205 Intermediate Meditation: Knowing Mind Differently – 6 Hours
In this experiential philosophy class, two views of how we know ourselves are juxtaposed: reflections of the European philosopher Rene Descartes and meditations from Tarthang Tulku’s Openness Mind. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED206 Experiencing Openness – 15 Hours
Students look directly at the patterns of thought that trap them in tension and frustration, and work with practices to loosen and relax old strategies. Meditative techniques emphasize opening to a new way of being in the world. Prerequisite: two years of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED207 The Deepening Stream – 15 Hours
As students continue to deepen practice, they learn meditative practices to ‘unfreeze’ stuck places, allowing inner energy to flow. The goal is to move beyond the polarity of fascination and anxiety into an integrated awareness. Prerequisite: two years of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED208 Reality and Illusion – 15 Hours
What is a dream? What is reality? Students work with meditative practices that challenge the basic notions of being. The goal is to begin to be aware of the continuity of experience. Prerequisite: two years of meditation experience or consent of Instructors.
MED209 Shamatha and Vipashyana – 15 Hours
Two aspects of meditative practice, shamatha (calming) and vipashyana (insight) quiet the wild energies of mind and clarify the confusion created by ignorance. Students practice classic meditations with a minimum of instruction. Prerequisite: two years of meditation experience or consent of instructor.
MED210 Intermediate Meditation: Attaining Inner Confidence – 6 Hours
Meditative awareness gives us an inner stability and confidence that we can rely on to guide our actions. This course investigates the meaning of confidence through Tarthang Tulku’s essay “Attaining Inner Confidence” from Gesture of Balance juxtaposed with writings from Western philosophers. Meditation practice will form the core of the course. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience.
MED211 Shamatha and Vipashyana – 6 Hours
Two aspects of meditative practice, shamatha (calming) and vipashyana (insight) quiet the wild energies of mind and clarify the confusion created by ignorance. Students practice classic meditations with a minimum of instruction. Prerequisite: Two years of meditation experience.
MED 212 Meditation as a Gesture of Balance: A guide to Awareness, Self-Healing and Meditation - 15 hours. Exploring and applying meditations from the text, Gesture of Balance by Tarthang Tulku, we focus on practices that strengthen inner confidence, connect with our inherent inner resources of healing energies, and the natural state of unobstructed mind. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience.
MED213 Opening Pathways to Inner Joy - 15 hours
By cultivating relaxation of the body and quieting activity of the mind, it is possible to let go of the mind’s obsessions of the past and concerns of the future. Wake up! to experience a refreshing simplicity of open, unobstructed mind, right now: balanced, alert, and even joyful. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience.
MED218 Seeing, Widening the Aperture - 6 hours
This class explores Tarthang Tulku’s discussion of “just seeing” in GESTURE OF BALANCE, as a way to connect with objects in a different way. Students will be asked to take and share photographs that illustrate and respond to the writings of Tarthang Rinpoche. We will play with the openness of simply seeing by using the lenses available to us: camera, cell phone, or other image-making device. Prerequisite: At least one year of meditation experience.
MED219 Meditation and Seeing: Activating Vision Through a Camera – 15 hours
As an ongoing meditation practice continues, seeing merges with meditation: seeing becomes meditation and meditation becomes seeing. This meditative seeing connects with objects in a different way. Students will take and share photographs that illustrate and respond to readings in Joy of Being, Gesture of Balance, and other texts by Tarthang Tulku. This is not a photography class, but a way to play with the openness of simply seeing by using lenses available to us. Prerequisite: Some meditation experience or consent of the instructor.
MED301-304 Advanced Meditation – 15 Hours per class
Advanced practices are from traditional Tibetan Buddhist Nyingma meditation teachings. Students are introduced to techniques that increase mindfulness and insight as they deepen the meditative experience of bliss and openness. May be repeated since content changes. Prerequisite: three years of meditation experience or consent of instructor.
MED305 Advanced Meditation – 6 Hours
This class includes concentrated and advanced meditation practice and study of a single meditation topic, such as the four energy centers; experience of time; healing through meditation. Prerequisite: three years of meditation experience or consent of the instructor.
MED307 The Diamond Lineage of Tarthang Rinpoche – 15 hours
This advanced meditation course focuses on Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche’s extraordinary teachers, who are like the stars in the sky, each shining with the light of the Dharma, yet vividly distinct from each other in their individual manifestations. Prerequisite: three years of meditation experience or consent of the instructor.
MED401 How to Meditate – 2.5 Hours
This workshop is for beginning students, and for anyone wanting to refresh a meditation practice. Sitting, walking, and breathing practices, and simple Tibetan chanting will be introduced.
MED402 Healing Sound – 5 Hours
There is an art of deep listening that hears all sounds as music and recognizes a vast healing silence at the very heart of all sound. This workshop uses music, mantra, and silence to inspire this realization.
MED403 Shamatha and Vipassana – 5 Hours
Shamatha (calm abiding) and Vipassana (insight) are two aspects of meditation that transform the mind. Shamatha, quieting mind, provides the foundation for insight to arise through clarity of mind. Clear seeing opens to a knowledge beyond conceptual structures. Through instruction and guided meditation, students in this workshop will apply calm and clarity techniques to transform their practice.
MED404 Visualization to Clear the Mind – 5 Hours
Concentrating on an ancient Buddhist symbol for cultivating awareness, students catalyze meditation practice through visualization and mantra. Consciousness is fostered to open awareness beyond words and labels.
MED405 Wheel of Analytic Meditation – 5 Hours
Analytic meditations reveal the key to determining which mental states lead to confusion and pain and which lead to clarity and well-being. Teachings from Buddhist Psychology (the Abhidharma) help students recognize the inner structures of experience.
MED406 Light Awareness: Visualization in the Tibetan Tradition – 5 Hours
Precise instructions for how to develop visualization will be accompanied by an overview of how these practices are used as part of the Tibetan path of mental development. Workshop will include meditation exercises. Prerequisite: One year of meditation experience (or consent of the instructor).
MED407 Foundations for Mindfulness – 5 Hours
Mindfulness helps make life rich. In this workshop students learn about the four foundations for mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena. Participants will practice mindfulness techniques and look at advanced teachings on how mindfulness leads to wisdom.
MED408 Joy of Being – 5 Hours
This workshop celebrates our capacity to discover liberating knowledge. It includes instruction from Buddhist Studies, Nyingma Psychology, Tibetan Yoga, and the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision.
MED409 Silent Mind; Peaceful Mind – 5 Hours
Mind has the capacity to quiet and settle into silence, peaceful and aware through sustained meditation. This day of meditation practices and instruction encourages the release of expectations and points the way to serenity. For those with some meditation experience.
MED410 Translucent Person: Radiant World (5 hours)
This workshop presents practices drawn from the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision that cultivate an awareness of interactions and interfaces between ‘things’. Surfaces and partitions become translucent to a new type of unqualified openness.
MED411 Inner Bliss – 5 Hours
Advanced meditation techniques focus on contacting clarity and bliss, from which we can extract inner joy and meaning from all experience. This workshop presents practices that utilize the power of mind to reshape itself through visualization and mantra. Prerequisite: 3 years of meditation experience or consent of instructor.
MED412 Healing through Breath – 5 Hours
This workshop teaches breathing techniques from the Tibetan tradition, which contact a subtle “inner breath” that circulates through body and mind. The rhythm of this breath can be harnessed for physical and spiritual healing, as its whisper guides one to health and balance.
MED413 Filled with Devotion – 5 Hours
The final chapter of the sacred text known as the Uttaratantra, titled ‘Benefit’, describes how one ‘filled with devotion’ and with certainty in the Dharma creates immense merit in the world. This advanced meditation workshop invites faith based on insight. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in MED30, DHS206, or consent of Instructor.
MED414 Contemplating Awakened Heart – 7 Hours
As we comprehend the possibility of enlightenment, we also see how far we are from embodying an awakened mind. In this advanced workshop we work with meditation practices that sustain inspiration and open the heart and mind. Guru yoga practices serve as a direct link to the beauty of realization. Prerequisite: Sincere interest in the Buddha’s teachings
MED415 Cutting Off Negative Thoughts – 5 Hours
Meditative action is the process of bringing even adverse conditions onto the path to enlightenment. The torment of negative thoughts dissolves as insight into the nature of mind and the action of karma arises. The heart’s natural capacity for love and compassion awakens. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in MED301, DHS207 or consent of Instructor.
MED416 Special Topics in Advanced Meditation – 5 Hours
Topics in advanced meditation drawn from traditional sources. Workshop may be repeated since topic changes. Prerequisite: 3 years of meditation experience or consent of the Instructors
MED417 Transforming Adversity – 5 Hours
Difficult circumstances can suddenly arise in our lives. In this workshop, students learn mind training (Lo Jong) techniques that can be applied in times of stress to catalyze efforts to transform and purify mind. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in MED301, DHS207 or consent of Instructor.
MED418 Gesture of Balance – 5 Hours
This workshop introduces awareness and meditation practices that can be used in everyday life to balance and heal body, breath and mind. Instruction includes teachings from Buddhist Studies, Nyingma Psychology, Tibetan Yoga, and the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision.
MED419 Music, Mantra, and Meditation – 5 Hours
This workshop takes sound itself as its starting point and teaches how to use music and mantra to lead the mind effortlessly into meditation.
MED420 Developing Mindfulness through Chanting and Visualization – 5 Hours
This workshop offers ways to increase mindfulness of sensory presence and consciousness. Mantra and visualization practice provide the key, unlocking a depth of blissful experience that expand awareness beyond interpretation. This higher awareness can be cultivated, revitalizing all aspects of our lives. Prerequisite: one year of meditation experience.
MED501 Silent Retreat – 29 Hours
This retreat’s practices are done in silence with suitable instructions for meditation and study given individually to each participant. The retreat is designed to allow participants to deepen their meditation practice in the protected environment of the Nyingma Institute. Note: Program cost includes one nonresidential retreat only; a residential retreat requires an additional fee for room and board.
MED502 Finding Inner Peace – 29 Hours
Finding tranquility even in the midst of a busy life is the goal of this retreat. Focusing on calming meditations (shamatha) reveals the clear, luminous nature of mind itself. Note: Program cost includes one nonresidential retreat only; a residential retreat requires an additional fee for room and board.
MED503 Developing Clarity – 29 Hours
Insight meditations (vipasyana) help students look deeper into mind and consciousness, opening inner doors to wisdom. Analytic meditation will be introduced along with meditations to calm distracting thoughts. Note: Program cost includes one nonresidential retreat only; a residential retreat requires an additional fee for room and board.
MED504 Special Topics in Advanced Meditation – 29 Hours
Special techniques presented in this retreat are based primarily on the Tibetan oral tradition or on a text for which there is no current published English translation Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
MED506 Reflection and Insight – 29 Hours
Meditations to quiet the mind blend with analytic exercises from Nyingma Psychology in ways that allow students to transform tensions within mind and emotions into vibrant energy. Note: Program cost includes one nonresidential retreat only; a residential retreat requires an additional fee for room and board.
NPR101 The Practice of Mantra – 15 Hours
Mantras are deeply symbolic words that activate qualities of wisdom, compassion, and healing when they are chanted with a quiet mind and an open heart. This class gives students an opportunity to learn traditional mantras and short prayers.
NPR102 Tibetan Chanting and Sacred Art – 15 Hours
Chanting Buddhist prayers opens the mind to new dimensions of consciousness and meaning. This course combines chanting with viewing the powerful images found in Tibetan art and discussing their symbolic meaning. Students will be introduced to important prayers and images.
NPR103 Dream Yoga and Authentic Communication – 6 Hours
The practices of dream yoga can heighten awareness and enhance the ability to communicate more fully. Students receive instruction and practice in dream yoga; discussion focuses on ways to contact authentic ways of being.
NPR106 Symbols In Tibetan Sacred Art – 6 Hours
By appreciating the beauty of this sacred art, by concentrating on its gestures, forms, proportions and colors, it is possible to activate a process of inner development that produces a new dimension in consciousness. As the object of symbolic art introduces us to our true nature, our subjective world is transformed.
NPR107 Tibetan Teachings on Death and Dying – 7.5 Hours
The Tibetan Buddhist tradition gives detailed instructions on how to prepare for death. This class will present an overview of some of these teachings and descriptions of the ‘bardo,’ the state between incarnations.
NPR108 Special Topics in Nyingma Practices – 15 Hours
Drawing on a literature that spans a thousand years, a variety of Nyingma Practices will be introduced.
NPR109 Healing through Mantra – 6 Hours
This class focuses on techniques for achieving and maintaining good health from Tibetan medical teachings, focusing on the Medicine Buddha practice. Discussion will center on how to tap into the special healing power of sacred art.
NPR401 Dream Lotus Evening – 2.5 Hours
This workshop offers instruction in dream yoga practice and in practices that relax tension in the throat area. An additional halfhour of instruction in the practice will be given to Program students.
NPR402 Cultivating Compassionate Love – 14 Hours
We can learn to love ourselves and others more deeply through actively cultivating compassionate love. This kind of love heals the painful divisions between living beings, allowing us to forgive others and to cleanse ourselves of ill-will. The retreat introduces gentle visualization, mantra, and meditation practices given by the Buddha. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPR403 Devotional Practices – 5 Hours
Opening the heart through ritual and visualization has been shown to awaken inner confidence and expand spiritual awareness. In this workshop a variety of traditional devotional practices will be taught.
NPR405 Preparation for the Time of Death: The Bardo is Now! – 7 Hours
Special meditation practices in Tibetan Buddhism are associated with the bardo, the period between death and rebirth. Nyingma masters instruct us not to wait until this difficult time, but instead to see change—death and rebirth—in every new moment. This workshop presents practices designed to heighten our ability to make positive choices at crucial times in our lives.
NPR406 Medicine Buddha Practice – 7 Hours
Tibetan healing mantras and visualizations that evoke the blessings of the Medicine Buddha have been used for centuries to cure illness and increase well-being. This workshop offers instructions in traditional Medicine Buddha practices. Workshop may be repeated with consent of Program Director.
NPR407 Tibetan Sacred Art Workshop – 7 Hours
Tibetan sacred art has been used for centuries to heal and balance the mind and the body. This workshop balances viewing slides and images from Tibetan art with lecture and instruction on how to awaken our sense of vision through sacred art. Visualization, mantra, and drawing practices are introduced.
NPR408 Special Topics in Nyingma Practices: Honoring the Buddha – 5 Hours
This workshop will focus on meditations and prayers that connect us to awakened presence. Devotions directed in this way can cleanse the dark ignorance and frustration of desire and aversion, transforming mind into a precious receptacle for realization. Staying balanced within this open and responsive space, each thought, each dimension of experience conveys radiance and the visible blessings of the Buddha. Offering special topics in Nyingma Practices based on the textual and experiential tradition, this workshop may be repeated for credit since content will change.
NPR409 Transitions as Teachers – 5 Hours
Times of transition present unique opportunities to make fundamental changes. Although they are universal, the most powerful transitions—death, illness, loss—are often deeply feared. This workshop presents ways to cultivate an awareness of both small and large transitions as possible and natural forces of creativity. Letting go of the fear of transformation, we discover within transitions new beginnings and vast possibilities. Prerequisite: 1 year of meditation experience.
NPR410 Dream Yoga and Authentic Communication – 7 Hours
Meditation and visualization exercises from the Tibetan tradition bring a special awareness into the dream state that helps us to use dreams to cultivate insight. Practices will be introduced that stimulate lucid dreaming, along with exercises that release tension in the head and neck, enhancing our ability to listen well and speak truly.
NPR411 Beauty and Merit, Seven Branch Offering – 7 Hours
This workshop will focus on and amplify all that is positive in a substantive, hands-on approach to the Seven Branch Offerings, an essential and effective set of practices from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It corresponds to the Tibetan Buddhist practice known as the Lha Bab Duchen, or the Buddha's Descent from Tushita Heaven. It is a fruitful way to generate merit, one of the two accumulations necessary to progress towards enlightenment.
NPR471 Aging as a Spiritual Path – 7 Hours
Contemplating the end of life can help us focus attention on those things that are most important to us. Recognizing our own impermanence can open us to knowledge of the impermanence of all phenomena. Considering the end of our self as we know it can help us explore what it is that constitutes selfhood. This workshop will further our ability to take advantage of these opportunities as well as give us a means of living in harmony with impermanence. Lecture, meditation and Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga exercises will be presented, to embody the experience of being present in the moment.
NPR501 Preparation for the Time of Death – 29 Hours
Meditation practices given in this retreat will help to prepare for the time of death. Rather than waiting for an unknown destiny, students learn to turn inward and observe the nature of their minds. What they discover heightens appreciation for the value of every moment and every experience. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPR502 Inner Resources for Difficult Times – 15 Hours
The Nyingma approach to transitions offers a wealth of inner resources that we can draw on to reduce fear and bring clarity to the path ahead. This workshop develops the needed resources through specific meditations, visualizations, and discussions aimed at challenging false assumptions and fears. Workshop may be repeated since content changes. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPR503 Enlightenment Retreat – 29 Hours
It is said that the way to enlightenment can be traveled with a fraction of the effort required to survive the endless suffering of samsara. Students bring the goal of enlightenment to mind in this retreat through meditation, mantra, and prayer that focus on the capacity to transcend suffering. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
Mind can reflect immense beauty, love, and clarity, but mind can also weave an intricate web of suffering. This class is designed to increase self-understanding and to heal mind through experiential investigation into its structures and functions. Topics include: emotions as hidden knowledge, conflict and self-image, and reclaiming the heart.
NPS102 Transforming Negative Emotions – 15 Hours
Introspective practices and insights from the Buddhist tradition can transform the destructive power of ‘everyday’ negative emotions. Based on Tarthang Tulku’s Openness Mind, this course gives specific antidotes for transforming anger, fear, anxiety, and attachment into pure energy, a source of wisdom and compassion that can be applied to heal self and others.
NPS103 Working With Emotions – 15 Hours
Emotions can be welcomed as teachers. The key to discovering the underlying energy of emotions, which can be transformed into a source of compassionate insight, can be accessed through meditations. Through class discussion and practices, the character of emotional energy will be explored.
NPS104 The Art of Happiness – 15 Hours
Through analysis and meditation practice, this course explores the attitudes, actions, and introspective practices that can lead to a rich life in touch with joyful feeling and deepening values. Topics covered include: opening the heart to feeling; the value of generosity; healing through meditation; and expanding joy and inner peace.
NPS105 Heart Practices for Daily Life – 7.5 Hours
This course offers practices that open the heart in the midst of one’s living activity. The course presents awareness exercises that help sustain emotional balance and ease. Discussion will highlight practical ways to bring compassionate values to work and family life.
NPS106 Nyingma Gateway: Love of Knowledge – 15 Hours
This course is based on Tarthang Tulku’s text, “Love of Knowledge”, part of the TIME, SPACE and KNOWLEDGE series. It introduces a new way to understand love and knowledge. Unique meditation, movement, and awareness practices blend with lecture and discussion to become a gateway to understanding the Tibetan Nyingma approach to life.
NPS107 Insights from Buddhist Psychology – 6 Hours
Drawing on the insights of Buddhist psychology, this course examines mind, thought, and emotions, showing how impoverishing mental patterns can be transformed into liberating growth. Includes meditation and mindfulness practices.
NPS108 Finding Wholeness and Wellness on the Spiritual Path in the Modern World– 15 Hours This class points to, and opens our awareness to the resources of our being, inherently within us all. Different meditation practices will guide our inquiry, while insights from Nyingma Psychology and Buddhist teachings help reshape outworn attitudes, penetrating the hard shell of dogma and dichotomy.
NPS 110 Dimensions of Mind: Part 1 - 15 Hours
Tarthang Tulku's, Dimensions of Mind, asks us to exercise the mind in new ways that help us penetrate our projections. Seeing how the samsaric mind is thoroughly structured by language, concepts, ideas, and identity, we begin a process of questioning all points of mental projection to unfold a widening understanding.
NPS 111 Dimensions of Mind: Part 2 - 15 Hours An open, curious approach to mind can release great creativity and vitality into our lives. We continue the discussion and reading of Tarthang Tulku's Dimensions of Mind.
NPS201 Path of Self-Mastery – 15 Hours
The human heart and mind have the power to recover integrity and depth. The path of self-mastery frees one from the selfimposed demons of emotionality. In this class, passages from the words of the Buddha illustrate and deepen the teachings and practices of Nyingma Psychology. May be repeated since content changes.
NPS202 Inner Mandala – 15 Hours
The intricate forms of the Tibetan mandala reveal a multilayered world of meaning. Each color, image, and design speaks in a symbolic language designed to lead the viewer to deeper levels of awareness, appreciation, and understanding. The message is compelling: our ‘ordinary’ way of being, with its attendant pain and suffering, can be totally transformed. In this class, the symbolic form of the mandala will be a lens through which we view emotions, perceptions, and actions.
NPS205 Challenging Journey, Creative Journey – 15 hours
This class will contemplate the insights of Tarthang Tulku’s book, Challenging Journey, Creative Journey. We will reflect on three key things: our lives up until now; what is happening in our life at this time; and where we are headed. There will be discussion of central themes of his writings. The basic patterns of suffering that hold us in place will be challenged as we explore ways to open to a knowing that can transform the heart.
NPS401 Transforming Negative Emotions – 5 Hours
Potent meditations and analysis pacify unwanted emotions without suppressing them. First, students learn to balance and clear the mind; then they develop insight into how emotions arise. Finally, students learn techniques that help transform the negative aspect of emotional energy.
NPS402 Overcoming Fear of Change – 5 Hours
Practices and discussion in this workshop center on counteracting the fear and inertia that pull us back into habitual or negative patterns of thought and action. Teachings and exercises help harness the dynamic power of time to create positive change.
NPS404 Topics in Transforming Emotions – 5 Hours
Human emotions can be skillfully transformed through innovative Nyingma Psychology practices. This workshop focuses on topics that lead to emotional health, including “Fear and Illusion,” “Overcoming Anger,” and workshops related to the issues faced as we age. Workshop may be repeated for credit since content changes.
NPS405 The Self-Image – 5 Hours
False expectations, judgments, and negative emotions are based on complex images that we hold of ourselves. This workshop looks directly at how self-images develop and how students can free themselves from their compulsive power.
NPS406 Activating Joyous Feeling – 5 Hours
This workshop demonstrates through meditation, awareness, breath and movement practices that we have the potential to awaken our inner resources to expand joyous feelings. Students will be lead through practices that can stir deep feelings of joy throughout body and mind. We can experience a new kind of self-sufficiency, one not dependent on something outside ourselves to make us happy. The feeling of joy is a resource within us that we can learn to activate through practice.
NPS407 Transforming Personal History – 5 Hours
Habits and patterns intertwined with painful past memories often prevent us from enjoying the freedom and beauty that the human body and mind offer. It is possible to skillfully touch these memories in a way that cuts through their power to restrict us. Practices from Tarthang Tulku’s text, Knowledge of Freedom, can help transform personal history from a source of pain into a wellspring of renewal.
NPS408 Compassion, Mindfulness, and Well-Being – 5 Hours
Teachings that promote mindfulness and compassion can catalyze healing. Students learn awareness and compassion practices that teach them to better manage both physical and emotional challenges, and to improve well-being.
NPS409 Attaining Inner Confidence – 5 Hours
An infinite source of well-being lies within body and mind. This workshop teaches students to develop confidence to access and follow the knowledge in their hearts. Students learn ways to expand mindfulness and openness at all times.
NPS410 Clear Mind, Open Heart– 5 Hours
This workshop presents practices that develop two aspects of our being: mind and heart, as one wholeness. One cannot be without the other, just as a bird must have two wings to fly. Clarity of mind begets wisdom, as it is tempered by the opening of the compassionate heart – an expression of limitless, unconditioned understanding.
NPS411 Loving Yourself, Loving Others – 5 Hours
We can find unconditioned love for ourselves and for others. Mantra, visualization, meditation, and movement exercises help develop and expand compassion and love beyond all boundaries.
NPS412 Emotions, Intelligence, and the Mind – 5 Hours
In this workshop, students learn to look inward to discover the root of frustrations, failings, even misfortunes within the mind. Potent meditations and analyses are introduced to penetrate emotionality, transforming inner and outer experience through a natural clarity and ease.
NPS413 Discovering Mind – 5 Hours
Mind orchestrates our frustrations and disappointments, as well as our happiness and bliss. This experiential workshop focuses on discovering the key to “changing the mind” in order to shift to what is positive and beneficial.
NPS414 Mindful Eating: Getting Back to Our Senses—5 Hours
Beyond its nutritional qualities, food nourishes our senses and connects us to the world around us. This workshop blends discussion of how to maintain a healthy diet and a healthy weight with exercises that enhance appreciation and enjoyment.
NPS415 Essential Practices for Well-Being – 7-15 Hours
This workshop presents ways to enhance well-being using meditation techniques such as mindful awareness of breath, body movement, and traditional Nyingma psychology concepts and practices. Students may repeat this workshop, since content changes.
NPS416 Healing the Senses Through Beauty—5 Hours
When we open to beauty and appreciation, the senses relax, unfold, and expand, bringing healing to our whole being. In this workshop, you will be guided through awareness exercises, contemplations, and gentle inquiry to contact joy and new ways of knowing.
NPS417 Penetrating and Transforming Negative Emotions with Mindful Awareness—5 Hours
We will challenge habitual emotional patterns that inhibit a balanced response to life’s richness. Tools will be introduced to transform emotional reactions without suppressing emotions, and in the process, open our minds and hearts. Through a presentation of meditation practices from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, discussion, and Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga movements, a more open, spontaneous and balanced way of being becomes available.
NPS421 Breaking Free of the Self Image—5 Hours
In this workshop we challenge the constraints of the Self-Image. Through meditation practices and discussion, we will look at ourselves from fresh perspectives, challenging habitual patterns that keep us from responding to life’s richness with openness, aliveness and spontaneity. Prior meditation experience is helpful, but not required.
NPS501 Transforming Negative Emotions – 29 Hours
In this retreat students apply potent meditations with both experiential and analytical dimensions that pacify unwanted emotions without suppressing them. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPS502 Cutting through Conditioning – 29 Hours
Through skillfully observing mental images, we can recognize and then release the layers of conditioning that have accumulated throughout our lives. Topics covered include: self-image; the cyclic nature of fascination and anxiety; and Abhidharma analysis of discerning mental events. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPS503 Loving Yourself, Loving Others – 29 Hours
Mantra, visualization, meditation, and movement exercises develop and expand compassion and love past boundaries. Instruction is based on the traditional practice of the “four immeasureables” of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPS504 Touching Wonder and Facing Fear—29 Hours
Moments of deep inspiration teach us that there are wondrous dimensions to our bodies, minds, and the world around us. Yet, we also know that our capacity for the extraordinary is often dimmed by fears and conditioned responses. In this retreat, meditation and movement practices help wake us up to a new kind of emotional honesty: one that sees emotions as doorways through which we can pass freely. Fear is the gatekeeper that we must befriend and overcome.
NPS505 Reclaiming the Heart (29 Hours)
In this retreat, students consciously cultivate compassionate aspirations and awaken unconditioned love and joy. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPS506 Self-Image: Observing, Recognizing, Releasing (29 Hours)
We break free from the restrictive force of self-images through developing the ability to observe experience steadily and clearly. We can see that “I” am not the self-image I project to myself and to the world, and that I am capable of much greater spontaneity and transformative growth than such an image allows. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NPS507 Luminous Mind (29 Hours)
The fullness of our being, luminous and free, reveals itself through visualization and dream yoga practices. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
SKM101 Mastering Successful Work - 15 Hours
Students learn to develop a rhythm of awareness practices in all activities to increase relaxation and accomplishment. Class practices and discussion help students engage tasks in ways that make work more enjoyable and productive.
SKM102 Achieving All Goals – 15 Hours
This class teaches students how to use the pressures and challenges of work as a powerful spiritual practice. Consistent with the highest Buddhist teachings, the obstacles of daily life are transformed into opportunities for change, growth and accomplishment.
SKM103 Skillful Means – 15 Hours
The Skillful Means approach to work and human development has proven to be successful in the past 35 years that it has been applied in the Western world. This class highlights the methodology of working with Skillful Means. May be repeated for credit since the focus will change.
SKM104 Challenging Negativity in the Workplace – 15 Hours
Negative attitudes can poison a work environment, sapping productiveness and stifling creativity. In this class, students learn how to use awareness and energy to cultivate positive attitudes and thoughts while confronting negative images.
SKM106 Productive Thought: Remedy for illusion 15 Hours
A classic remedy for illusion is to look for the self and discover that it cannot be found. Another valuable remedy, which can serve as a preliminary, is to learn to think more productively, since strengthening thinking and seeing through illusion are closely related. We will focus on clear steps toward more effective thought.
SKM211 Inward Exploration—15 Hours
This course is built around experiences, some evoked by class practices and others drawn from ordinary life, that open up profound insights into our inner nature and the nature of mind and conscious thought. Concise diagrams and optional readings suggest how the experiences fit together. Class discussion and brief lectures bring out the similarities and differences among us. Practicing together and supporting one another, we learn about useful thought and effective work.
SKM212 Working Well with Goodness—15 Hours
Elevated above the powerfully cycling thoughts and emotions that drive ordinary relationships and relationship thoughts, another heartfelt way of relating is readily available within our embodiment. This is the path of simple goodness, and it can become our way of working together. This course explores how to make this our way of life through lecture and innovative interpersonal exercises.
SKM213 Pioneering Inwardly—15 Hours
We can invest our energy in cultivating mind, creating a friendly and productive home in which life and work will flourish. Choosing a setting of wholesome discipline, we allow straightforward styles of thought to take the place of ancient tangled patterns. Step by step, we work on beneficial enhancements.
SKM214 Working Well with Knowledge—15 Hours
To be active in our modern cultures, we need to work well with knowledge. This practice-oriented course helps us to contact the roots of our knowledge, explore the thought process experientially, and improve our thinking by involving our senses. We learn how to think productively and creatively and learn readily through experience. With the aid of innovative interpersonal exercises, we discover forms of meditative concentration that fully engage our mental resources and allow knowledge to illuminate all we do.
SKM215 Preparing for a World Without Scarcity—15 Hours
The highs and lows of social relationship are bound up in the truth of scarcity. The cooperative bonds of marriage and family have always been economic necessities, without which individuals could not survive.
If there were no scarcity and the shared needs that underlie all these forms of interaction were met effortlessly, we might imagine that this would be a world of happiness and joy. However, the easing of outside pressures might also render present forms of relationship obsolete. In this course we will probe the logic of this dilemma, and what it might mean to adopt new ways of relating to each other.
Through experiential interpersonal exercises, we will engage in playful dyadic and perceptual practices designed to open up and shift our interpersonal interactions and relationships to inner and outer, exploring the structure of relationship and considering adaptations that might allow humanity to prosper.
SKM217 Working Well with Goodness—15 Hours
Elevated above the powerfully cycling thoughts and emotions that drive ordinary relationships and relationship thoughts, another heartfelt way of relating is readily available within our embodiment. This is the path of simple goodness, and it can become our way of working together. This class explores how to make this our way of life through lecture, discussion, and innovative interpersonal exercises.
SKM218 Working Well in Time—15 Hours
This experiential course develops attunement in time. Interactive exercises help us to hone concentration, awareness, responsibility, and energy to a wonderful sharpness. We learn to prepare and maintain suitable mental contexts for active engagement in life and work. We learn to balance active participation and unfolding understanding. We discover that attunement transforms ordinary notions of past, present, and future and self, other, and interactions. In the process, we uncover and set aside common patterns that often lead to mistakes and misfortune.
SKM219 Society Within: Structure of Relationship—15 Hours
We explore six aspects of human mind that are the core of Society Within: Emotional motivation and sympathy with others’ feelings are basic factors. Relationship shapes us through interaction and allows us to be ‘We.’ Relationship also balances contentious self-interest for the sake of cooperation, and gives rise to conscious thoughts that occupy our minds. These aspects are valuable for cultural survival, but have harmful side effects that cause personal suffering. We experiment with better ways to deploy underlying human capabilities involved in Society Within.
SKM401 Challenging Negativity in the Workplace—5 Hours
If we let them, emotional dramas will occupy our minds, robbing our creativity and strength. This workshop shows how to develop awareness, concentration, and energy to see through these dramas, to expand vision and confidence, leading to enduring accomplishment.
SKM402 Communicating Well—5 Hours
We practice together, exploring communication experientially in a lighthearted way. We try out verbal and nonverbal communication, emphasizing differences of perspective while aiming for commonality.
SKM403 Tools for Troubled Times—5 Hours
The challenges of work and daily life sometimes trouble us so much that we seem to have no place to turn. This workshop presents innovative exercises and styles of interaction that provide the resources we need. Taking stock of our inner state, cutting through negativity, relaxing into open awareness and benefitting from our friends’ insights, we can stay balanced, learn from our difficulties and generate the strength we need to succeed.
SKM404 Resolving Problems—5 Hours
Are your thoughts helpful? Do they resolve your problems at home and work? Why do some problems never get resolved and some situations seem hopelessly complex? Innovative cognitive and experiential exercises in this workshop show us new ways of thinking that address our problems directly. We feel better about ourselves and open new windows of opportunity.
SKM405 Mental Rhythms in Harmony—5 Hours
Four broad and important rhythms underlie our experience and mental functions. Each has its own dynamic and can be thought of as an aspect of mental time. Physical time relates to engagement and dependence on form. Breathing time relates to sounding and energy. Pondering time relates to learning and understanding. Caring time relates to caring and compassion. We can become aware of these, support them through conscious attending and active practice, and bring them into harmony. Each has aspects of preparation, readiness, engagement and foresight. The workshop helps us to become aware of these and introduces some basic balancing practices.
SKM406 The Dharma Kitchen—5 Hours
In the Dharma kitchen we cultivate intention and attention in all aspects of the planning, preparation, and presentation of food, as well as the eating experience. We season the food we prepare, with the wish that all who partake of our offering are deeply nourished. We will expand our skills in the kitchen, play with color, flavors, textures, and new combinations, prepare and enjoy together a beautiful, delicious, and truly nourishing offering to mind, body and senses.
SKM407 Deepening Mutual Understanding—5 Hours
Knowledge of ourselves, knowledge of others, knowledge of relationship—all these are available, but often we can neither contact the knowledge through experience nor take advantage of it through insight. Gentle exercises in the workshop bring the knowledge into experience and prompt the insights that we need. We learn that mutual discovery can be the easiest and most spacious path to understanding not just other people, but also ourselves.
SKM408 Passing Thought through the Senses—5 Hours
This workshop introduces and applies important principles to improve our thinking by passing thought through the senses, opening up new dimensions for accurate and creative thought. We learn to conjoin the relaxed visual field with subliminal verbal analysis, turn speaking and listening into thought, and to communicate visually and verbally in inner silence.
SKM501 Skillful Means: Communication and Connection—29 Hours
In this experiential retreat, students learn to enjoy communicating well. Discussion and exercises clarify a path towards more reliable and rewarding connections with others. We see how working together to accomplish shared purposes both fosters and depends upon effective communication and strong interconnection, bringing knowledge and fulfillment. The retreat will include innovative interpersonal exercises.
TIB101 Beginning Tibetan, Level I – 15 Hours
The alphabet is introduced along with pronunciation, basic grammar, and vocabulary.
TIB102 Beginning Tibetan, Level II – 15 Hours
Using examples and short selections from texts, students continue working with grammar and syntax. Prerequisite: Beginning Tibetan, Level I or consent of Instructor.
TIB103 Beginning Tibetan, Level III – 15 Hours
Learn to read and pronounce Tibetan script; Study basic Tibetan grammar; develop a working vocabulary. Students begin to master the ability to read classical written Tibetan using selection from texts. Prerequisite: Beginning Tibetan, Level II or consent of Instructor.
TIB104 Beginning Tibetan, Level IV – 15 Hours
Continued reading and grammar. Prerequisite: Beginning Tibetan, Level III or consent of Instructor.
TIB105 Beginning Tibetan, Level V – 6 Hours
Continued reading and grammar. Prerequisite: Beginning Tibetan, Level IV or consent of Instructor.
TIB201 Intermediate Tibetan, Level I – 15 Hours
Readings from the Diamond Sutra introduce students to the style of Buddhist Sutras, translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Prerequisite: TIB101-105 or equivalent, or consent of Instructor.
TIB202 Intermediate Tibetan, Level II – 15 Hours
Readings from Jataka tales show the beauty of Tibetan story-telling. Grammar instruction. Pre-requisite: TIB201 or equivalent, or consent of Instructor.
TIB203 Intermediate Tibetan, Level III – 15 Hours
Readings from selected longer texts illustrate the different styles of Tibetan literature. Pre-requisite: TIB202 or equivalent, or consent of Instructor.
TIB204 Intermediate Tibetan, Level IV – 15 Hours
Readings from Tibetan poetry. Pre-requisite: TIB203 or equivalent, or consent of Instructor.
TIB205 Intermediate Tibetan, Level V – 6 Hours
Short, selected readings. Pre-requisite: TIB204 or equivalent, or consent of Instructor.
TIB301 Tibetan Tutorial – 15 Hours
The Tibetan tutorial introduces students to translating Tibetan. Longer philosophical and practice texts are read and translated with substantial in-class participation from students May be repeated since content changes. Prerequisite: TIB201-205 or equivalent, or consent of Instructors.
TIB302 Tibetan Tutorial – 6 Hours
The Tibetan tutorial introduces students to translating Tibetan. Longer philosophical and practice texts are read with substantial in-class participation from students. May be repeated since content changes. Prerequisite: TIB201-205 or equivalent, or consent of Instructors.
TSK101 Experiencing the Dynamic of Time – 15 Hours
At the edge of the future, time sparkles; in the richness of feeling and energy, time glows. Practices focus on finding these places and allowing them to expand and deepen. Students discover time coursing through the body and mind: a dimension wholly inseparable from their own being.
TSK102 The Translucent Person – 15 Hours
The openness of space surrounds us. Yet, there is also space within—the space between internal structures and the intangible, immeasurable psychological spaces that constitute the person we are. This course explores our embodiment as space. Based on the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision, introspective exercises and transformative inquiry disclose the translucent nature of solid ‘boundaries.’ Surfaces and partitions become windows that illuminate the very heart of space.
TSK103 Inviting Knowledge – 15 Hours
The presence of knowledge within our lives brings to experience light and clarity, nuance and confidence. Embodying knowledge, we are free to be creative and responsive. To realize this embodiment, we must first invite knowledge into our being. The activation of this step is the guiding intention of this course. The course entails practice, readings, and deep and honest inquiry.
TSK104 TSK Right from the Start! – 15 Hours
Knowledge, as the interplay between the openness of space and the creativity of time, is accessed through dialogue and contemplative exercises. This course awakens the discerning capacity of the mind.
TSK108 Time, Space, and Knowledge: Perspectives and Practices - 15 hours
This course provides students interested in becoming acquainted with Tarthang Tulku’s open and visionary teaching of Time, Space, and Knowledge (TSK) a basic orientation to the ways of TSK practice and a useful understanding of the vision’s conceptual concerns. May be repeated since content changes.
TSK109 Dynamic Realization Of Time - 15 Hours
This course consists of experiential forms of inquiry into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge, with a focus on time.
TSK111 Introduction to Time, Space, and Knowledge - 15 Hours This introductory course is an inquiry into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge, with a focus on time.
TSK112 Time, Space and Knowledge: Continuing Practice - 15 Hours This course consists of experiential forms of inquiry into our presence as expressions of time, space, and knowledge.
Four specific meditation and visualization exercises will be presented that can touch and transform emotional and physical pain. Discussion will challenge commonly held assumptions about pain.
TSK402 Names and Namelessness – 7 Hours
The active naming and identifying capacities of mind can cover over the source of meaning. TSK teachings probe the workings of the mind and help students uncover a space before and beyond labels and projections
TSK403 Creativity and Consciousness – 5 Hours
Understanding the link between creativity and consciousness allows us to bring the creative process more fully into our lives. In this workshop we will work with meditation, awareness, and movement practices that heighten awareness of what leads to creativity.
TSK404 A Return to Light – 5 Hours
The TSK vision describes a ‘light transmission’ that is activated through knowledge. Students return to the ‘lightness’ of being through practices that illuminate the interplay of mind and world.
TSK405 Conducting Perfect Knowledge through Time – 7 Hours
Breaking through solid limits, students learn to enter a different dimension of time, where freedom opens into the perfection of being. This workshop focuses strongly on experiential exercises and interactive discussion.
TSK406 Waking to Space; Opening to Freedom – 5 Hours
We live our lives within narrow limits. Accepting these limits as “the way we are” we never notice how they channel us into pathways of frustration and disappointment. The Time, Space, and Knowledge vision offers practices and insights that help us break through our limits. When we focus on space instead of structure, we taste freedom in each moment. When we break down the old patterns that claim authority over us, we gain the power to reshape our lives.
TSK407 Freedom for Knowledge – 5 Hours
Beneath or within experience lies another way of being and knowing. Using practices from the Time, Space, and Knowledge, students learn to relax into what is truly natural and available.
TSK501 Visionary Journey into Inner Space and Time – 29 Hours
In this retreat, students move toward the heart of Space and Time through experiential practices from the TSK vision. Touching inner “space” and “time” reveals a realm of unimaginable spaciousness and limitless potential. Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
TSK502 Translucent Body; Radiant World – 29 Hours
Practices drawn from the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision cultivate an awareness of the interactions and interfaces between body and mind, objects and events. Surfaces and partitions become transparent to an unqualified openness that discloses the intimacy of being. Note: Program cost includes nonresidential retreats only; residential retreats require an additional fee for room and board.
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The Nyingma Institute welcomes students of any color, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national, and ethnic origin. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational and admissions policies or any other programs that it administers.
ADMISSION
Admission Requirements
To qualify for enrollment, applicants must be able to read and write the English language and possess a high school diploma or its equivalent. Before an ability-to-benefit students may execute an enrollment agreement, the institution shall have the student take an independently administered examination from the list of examinations prescribed by the United States Department of Education (pursuant to Section 484(d) of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965). The student shall not enroll unless the student achieves a score, as specified by the United States Department of Education, demonstrating that the student may benefit from the education and training being offered.
Admission Procedures
Applicants must submit a completed Enrollment Application to the Institute to apply for enrollment. Proof of high school graduate or its equivalent is required prior to acceptance. Proof of identification in the form of a driver’s license, social security card, birth certificate, or other form of identification may be required prior to admission. English Proficiency
Nyingma Institute does not provide English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. Students are required to speak English when an instructional setting necessitates the use of English for educational or communication purposes. English proficiency will be determined by the Program Director at the time of the student’s application for enrollment. All courses are taught in English.
Foreign Students
The Nyingma Institute does not offer student visas to foreign students, nor will the Institute vouch for the student status or for any associated charges of foreign students.
Physical Requirements
The Institute does not discriminate based on mental or physical handicaps. However, students must be mentally and physically capable of safely participating in instruction and practices on a daily basis in order to successfully complete the program. The Institute encourages all students who may have a concern regarding a physical or mental issue to visit the Institute and allow the Institute to evaluate individual circumstances. The Institute may allow a student to attend a portion of the training on a trial basis (up to three days) without being obligated for tuition charges.
Review of Catalog and School Performance Fact Sheet
Prior to signing an enrollment agreement for a Nyingma Institute program, you must be given this catalog and a School Performance Fact Sheet. As a prospective student, you are encouraged to review this catalog prior to signing an enrollment agreement. You are also encouraged to review the School Performance Fact Sheet, which must be provided to you prior to signing an enrollment agreement. These documents contain important policies and performance data for this institution. Nyingma Institute is required to have you sign and date the information included in the School Performance Fact Sheet relating to completion rates, placement rates, license examination passage rates, and salaries or wages, prior to signing an enrollment agreement. Please note that Nyingma Institute programs are not vocational in nature and are not represented to lead to employment of any kind. Any questions a student may have regarding this catalog that have not been satisfactorily answered by the institution may be directed to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education at 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833 or P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818; Web site Address: www.bppe.ca.gov, Telephone and fax #’s: (888) 370-7589 or by fax: (916) 263-1897 or (916) 431-6959 or by fax: (916) 263-1897.
NOTICE CONCERNING TRANSFERABILITY OF CREDITS AND CREDENTIALS EARNED AT OUR INSTITUTION
The transferability of credits you earn at Nyingma Institute is at the complete discretion of an institution to which you may seek to transfer. Acceptance of the credits or certificate you earn in the Finding Inner Peace Meditation Program, Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program, Mastering the Art of Happiness Nyingma Psychology Program, Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program, Path of Liberation Program, Path and Practices of Liberation Program, or the Four-month Human Development Training Program is also at the complete discretion of the institution to which you may seek to transfer. If the credits or certificate that you earn at this institution are not accepted at the institution to which you seek to transfer, you may be required to repeat some or all of your coursework at that institution. For this reason, you should make certain that your attendance at this institution will meet your educational goals. This may include contacting an institution to which you may seek to transfer after attending Nyingma Institute to determine if your credits or certificate will transfer.
The Nyingma Institute has not entered into any articulation or transfer agreement with any other postsecondary school.
Certificates awarded in Nyingma Institute programs are not teaching credentials. Earning a certificate in a Nyingma Institute program will not, by itself, qualify you to teach at the Nyingma Institute, or anywhere else, in any area in which you earned a certificate, including, but not limited to Nyingma Meditation, Kum Nye (Tibetan yoga), Nyingma Psychology, and/or Dharma Studies. NOTICE CONCERNING THE UNACCREDITED STATUS OF OUR INSTITUTION
The Nyingma Institute is not accredited, nor are any of its programs accredited by either private or public accrediting agencies. None of our programs are vocational, leading to employment. Students should know that (1. Completion of Certificate Programs does not make them eligible to sit for applicable licensure exams in California or other states; (2. A degree program that is unaccredited or a degree from an unaccredited institution is not recognized for employment positions, including, but not limited to, positions with the State of California; (3. A student enrolled in an unaccredited institution is not eligible for federal financial aid programs.
TRANSFER OF CREDIT
The Nyingma Institute does not accept hours or credit earned at other institutions, through challenge examinations or achievement tests. The Institute does not grant credit for prior experiential learning. The Nyingma Institute may accept hours previously earned at the Nyingma Institute within the previous year, at the discretion of the institution.
PAYMENT METHOD
All monies must be received prior to the start of class, or satisfactory payment arrangements must be made with the Nyingma Institute. Nyingma Institute accepts cash, checks, MasterCard, American Express, or Visa.
TUITION AND FEES
Total Cost for programs:
Course Name Registration Fee Non-Refundable Student
Tuition
Recovery
Fund*
Non-Refundable Estimated
Books &
Supplies Cost Tuition Total Cost**
Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program $25.00 $0.00 $50.00 $1,500.00 $1,575.00
Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program $25.00 $0.00 $100.00 $2,750.00 $2,875.00
Path of Liberation Program $25.00 $0.00 $200.00 $2,750.00 $2975.00
Four-Month Human Development Training Retreat $25.00 $0.00 $100.00 $9,200.00 $9,325.00
- No fee is currently being collected.
- Estimated charges for the period of attendance and the entire program.
Cost for programs per quarter:
Course Name Tuition Cost* Quarters in Program Quarterly Payments
Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program $1,500.00 4 $375.00
Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program $2,750.00 8 $343.75
Path of Liberation Program $2,750.00 8 $343.75
Four-Month Human Development Training Retreat $9,200.00 1 $2300.00
4 installments
- Estimated charges for the period of attendance and the entire program.
FINANCIAL AID
Nyingma Institute does not participate in any financial aid program: neither federal or state nor any other kind.
If a student obtains a loan to pay for a Nyingma Institute program, the student will have the responsibility to repay the full amount of the loan plus interest, less the amount of any refund, and if the student has received federal student financial aid funds, the student is entitled to a refund of the moneys not paid from federal student financial aid program funds.
REFUND POLICY
Student’s Right to Cancel
1. You have the right to cancel your agreement for a program of instruction, without any penalty or obligations, through attendance at the first class session or the seventh calendar day after enrollment, whichever is later. After the end of the cancellation period, you also have the right to stop school at any time; and you have the right to receive a pro rata refund if you have completed 60 percent or less of the scheduled hours in your program through the last day of attendance.
2. Cancellation may occur when the student provides a written notice of cancellation at the following address: 1815 Highland Place, Berkeley, CA 94709. This can be done by mail or by hand delivery.
3. The written notice of cancellation, if sent by mail, is effective when deposited in the mail properly addressed with proper postage.
4. The written notice of cancellation need not take any particular form and, however expressed, it is effective if it shows that the student no longer wishes to be bound by the Enrollment Agreement.
5. If the Enrollment Agreement is cancelled by the student or the prospective student is not accepted for enrollment the school will refund the student any money he/she paid, less a registration or administration fee not to exceed $250.00, and less any deduction for equipment not returned in good condition, within 45 days after the notice of cancellation is received.
6. If the program is cancelled before instruction begins the school will refund the student any money he/she paid, less any deduction for equipment not returned in good condition, within 45 days after the notice of cancellation is received.
Withdrawal from the Program
You may withdraw from the school at any time after the cancellation period (described above) and receive a pro rata refund if you have completed 60 percent or less of the scheduled hours in the current payment period in your program through the last day of attendance. The refund will be less a registration or administration fee not to exceed $25.00 and will be paid within 45 days of withdrawal. If the student has completed more than 60% of the period of attendance for which the student was charged, the tuition is considered earned and the student will receive no refund.
For the purpose of determining a refund under this section, a student shall be deemed to have withdrawn from a program of instruction when any of the following occurs:
• The student notifies the institution of the student’s withdrawal or as of the date of the student’s withdrawal, whichever is later.
• The institution terminates the student’s enrollment for failure to maintain satisfactory progress; failure to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution; absences in excess of maximum set forth by the institution; and/or failure to meet financial obligations to the School.
• The student has failed to attend class for 60 days.
• Failure to return from a leave of absence.
For the purpose of determining the amount of the refund, the date of the student’s withdrawal shall be deemed the last date of recorded attendance. The amount owed equals the hourly charge for the program (total institutional charge, minus non-refundable fees, divided by the number of hours in the program), multiplied by the number of hours scheduled to attend, prior to withdrawal. For the purpose of determining when the refund must be paid, the student shall be deemed to have withdrawn at the end of 60 days.
For programs beyond the current “payment period,” if you withdraw prior to the next payment period, all charges collected for the next period will be refunded. If any portion of the tuition was paid from the proceeds of a loan or third party, the refund shall be sent to the lender, third party or, if appropriate, to the state or federal agency that guaranteed or reinsured the loan. Any amount of the refund in excess of the unpaid balance of the loan shall be first used to repay any student financial aid programs from which the student received benefits, in proportion to the amount of the benefits received, and any remaining amount shall be paid to the student. If the student has received federal student financial aid funds, the student is entitled to a refund of moneys not paid from federal student financial aid program funds.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA STUDENT TUITION RECOVERY FUND
You must pay the state-imposed assessment for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) if all of the following applies to you:
1. You are a student in an educational program, who is a California resident, or are enrolled in a residency program, and prepay all or part of your tuition either by cash, guaranteed student loans, or personal loans, and
2. Your total charges are not paid by any third-party payer such as an employer, government program or other payer unless you have a separate agreement to repay the third party.
You are not eligible for protection from the STRF and you are not required to pay the STRF assessment, if either of the following applies:
1. You are not a California resident, or are not enrolled in a residency program, or
2. Your total charges are paid by a third party, such as an employer, government program or other payer, and you have no separate agreement to repay the third party.
The State of California created the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) to relieve or mitigate economic losses suffered by students in educational programs who are California residents or are enrolled in a residency program attending certain schools regulated by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.
You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident or are enrolled in a residency program, prepaid tuition, paid the STRF assessment, and suffered an economic loss as a result of any of the following:
• The school closed before the course of instruction was completed.
• The school’s failure to pay refunds or charges on behalf of a student to a third-party for license fees or any other purpose, or to provide equipment or materials for which a charge was collected within 180 days before the closure of the school.
• The school's failure to pay or reimburse loan proceeds under a federally guaranteed student loan program as required by law or to pay or reimburse proceeds received by the school prior to closure in excess of tuition and other costs. • There was a material failure to comply with the Act or this Division within 30 days before the school closed or, if the material failure began earlier than 30 days prior to closure, the period determined by the Bureau.
• An inability after diligent efforts to prosecute, prove, and collect on a judgment against the institution for a violation of the Act.
STATEMENT REGARDING BANKRUPTCY
Nyingma Institute has never filed for bankruptcy petition, operated as a debtor in possession or had a petition of bankruptcy filed against it under Federal law.
STUDENT ACCESS TO FILE INFORMATION
Students are allowed access to copies of items in their student file at any time during regular business hours. Graduates may also request copies of any information in their student files at any time by sending written notice to the school describing their request. Transcripts are available to students and prospective employers upon request and without charge.
STUDENT INFORMATION RELEASE POLICY
The Institute may release certain information regarding a student’s attendance, grades, completion status, and personal data if the student requests so in writing. The Institute will not release any information without a written request.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
The Nyingma Institute elects to award academic achievement based upon credit hours as a unit of measurement. The Institute utilizes a performance based learning model; whereas, performance objectives reflect minimum competencies for individual courses, and those skills that must be performed by the student before moving on to the next level of instruction. All Nyingma Institute courses are offered on a Pass/Fail basis. No letter or number grades are given.
CREDIT HOUR DEFINITION
The Nyingma Institute defines credit hours as follows: One contact hour of lecture and/or classroom instruction. Contact hour is defined as a fifty-minute period of lecture and/or field instruction within a sixty-minute period.
TRAINING DESCRIPTION
Training and instruction takes place at the school’s facility at 1815 Highland Place, Berkeley, CA 94709 and in our adjacent campus building at 2727 Hearst Street. Faculty are experienced and qualified in each of their respective areas of study, having at least 3 years of study in Nyingma teachings. Faculty are encouraged to utilize teaching techniques to meet course objectives; teaching strategies may vary with each instructor.
CLASS SIZE
The number of students per class ranges from six to fifty students.
MINIMUM ENROLLMENT
Nyingma Institute reserves the right to cancel any class, and refund any amounts paid for that class, if a class has an enrollment of fewer than 6 students.
HOMEWORK
Students should consider homework as an integral part of their program. Students are expected to be prepared for class and review previously learned information on a regular basis. Homework may be assigned by individual instructors on an as-needed basis. Students should be prepared for homework assignments and allow time each day for homework.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP)
A student must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in order to remain in training. SAP is cumulative in that it includes all periods of attendance; and all periods of attendance are counted toward the maximum timeframe allotted. SAP is applied to all students equally and measured at the mid-point and end of each course. In order to comply with the school’s SAP, the student must:
1. Be enrolled in a program of study with a valid enrollment agreement
2. Complete his/her program within the maximum time allowed. Maximum time allowed is 200% of the published course length.
3. Students who do not achieve a passing score will be offered a re-examination opportunity. 4. Maintain satisfactory attendance.
By the two-thirds point of any class, retreat, or workshop in a Nyingma Institute program, the Instructor shall inform the student advisor of any student who is failing the class, retreat, or workshop. Advisors shall schedule a meeting with the student. At the meeting the advisor shall counsel the student on ways to improve his or her academic performance and shall make clear other appropriate student options, such as withdrawal or leave of absence from a program. A student who fails a class, retreat, or workshop will be placed on academic probation until he or she has brought his or her coursework back to a satisfactory level and has made-up failed class, workshop, or retreat hours by the date noted on the probation document, a maximum of two weeks. A document signed by the student and school designee describing this remedial action will be placed in the student’s file. Advisors will inform the Co-Directors of any student on probation. The Co-Directors will ensure that adequate counseling and support are given to any student failing his or her coursework. All faculty of the Institute may serve as student advisors.
GRADING SYSTEM
All Nyingma Institute courses are offered on a Pass/Fail basis. No letter or number grades are given.
To receive a Pass, a student must demonstrate skill or mastery in the course material and subject matter. Depending upon the particular course, students can prove their ability to synthesize and incorporate course material and themes in a variety of ways: through writing, class presentation, mastery of practices, oral examination, and/or group work. Attendance and persistent tardiness are also taken into account.
After the completion of each course, the Instructor must complete a grade report form for each student and return the form to the Registrar. The Registrar shall sign the form and retain the original in the student’s file. A copy will be provided to the student upon request.
Grade reports are issued to students at the completion of each quarter. Grades are based on attendance, tardiness, and the quality of class participation, projects, exercises, any written assignments and the final exam. A “Fail” is the equivalent of 60% or less on a numerical scale, or an ‘F” on a letter scale.
ATTENDANCE POLICIES
Absences
Attendance is recorded and is essential for all courses. Students are required to complete at least 80% of their program to graduate. Students who have given advance notification to the Instructor or provided a doctor’s written excuse or documentation of emergency (excused absence) may arrange to make-up the class. Missed classes, or portions of a class, can be made up by special arrangement with the Instructor or (on a space available basis) by attending future classes of the same course of instruction at no extra cost. In any course of 10 or more classes, more than three absences without advance notification to the Instructor or doctor’s written excuse or documentation of an emergency (unexcused absences), may be grounds for a Fail in the course. In programs that contain multiple courses, students who fail more than one course due to unexcused absences may be terminated from the program.
Make-Up Work
Students are allowed to make up course work if approved by their instructor. Make up work must be completed within a reasonable time, as determined by the school, from the last day of the course work, which was missed. Grades given for make-up work will be the same as grades given for regular work. Make up work will not excuse an unexcused absence.
Tardiness
Students are encouraged to be on time for classes. Three (3) tardies (more than 15 minutes late) without advance notification to the Instructor or a doctor’s written excuse or documentation of an emergency shall be considered one unexcused absence.
Leaves of Absence
Any student wishing to take a Leave of Absence from any program must present the request in writing or in conference with a faculty member or advisor at least two (2) weeks prior to the beginning of a quarter. Such request should set forth the reasons for requesting the Leave of Absence and the student’s projected return date. All such requests shall be considered by the Program Director, with consultation with the student’s advisor. The Program Director will approve or deny the request and inform the student in writing. Leaves of Absence shall generally be granted for no more than one year unless there are special circumstances that warrant a longer leave of absence. A student who fails to return by the scheduled return date will be dismissed from the program.
Dismissal
Students are subject to dismissal for disciplinary reasons at the discretion of the Co-Directors. Examples of misconduct that may result in dismissal include: failure to follow school policies and procedures as set forth in the school catalog; putting the safety of others or school property in jeopardy; seriously disruptive behavior; use of nonprescription drugs while on campus; consumption of alcoholic beverages on campus except at approved functions; entering the school under the effects or influence of narcotics and/or alcohol; unwelcome or threatening sexual advances toward other students, staff, or faculty; failure to make payments; and recurring attendance or tardiness problems. A student dismissed for unsatisfactory conduct may be readmitted into the program only at the discretion of the Co-Directors.
In any course of 10 or more instruction sessions, if a student fails to attend for three successive weeks and has not provided advanced notification to the Instructor, or has not provided a written doctor’s excuse or documentation of an emergency, he/she may be dismissed from the program at the discretion of the Co-Directors.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Students must apply for graduation with the Institute. A graduation application may be conducted as an interview between the student and the Institute, whereupon the student’s academic record will be reviewed to ensure the successful completion of each course.
To graduate from any Nyingma Institute Program, students must:
1. Have a minimum of 80% attendance (including make-up hours) for all class, workshop and retreat hours in the Program;
2. Receive a grade of “Pass” in all classes, workshops, and retreats attended in the Program;
3. Satisfy all financial obligations to the school. Students who meet these requirements will be awarded a Certificate of Completion from the Nyingma Institute for their program.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
Students who fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards or attendance standards, as set forth above may be placed on probation. Students on probation must show sustained progress in the particular area which resulted in probation or face possible dismissal. Students on probation will be evaluated at the end of each week of probation with the maximum probation period being two weeks. The Student is considered to be making satisfactory progress while on probation if, at the end of each week of probation, the student’s grades and attendance have improved to a satisfactory level. If satisfactory progress is achieved, the student will be removed from probation; if not, the student will be terminated.
RULES and STUDENT CONDUCT
To maintain order and efficiency during studies at the Nyingma Institute, the Institute requires all students to abide by the rules. Any of the following will be cause for disciplinary action up to and including immediate dismissal of the student:
1. Bringing drugs or alcohol onto the school property.
2. Any unauthorized starting or operating of a school vehicle.
3. Violating any industry safety code.
4. Insubordination (failure to comply with the instructions of an instructor or school employee).
5. Illegal acts on or off school property while a student of the Nyingma Institute.
6. Being under the influence of intoxicating drugs or alcohol.
7. Disruption of the instruction/training process.
8. See additional rules in next section with accompanying disciplinary procedures.
STUDENT DISCIPLINARY RULES
Nyingma Institute students are citizens of the state, local, and national governments, and of the academic community and are, therefore, expected to conduct themselves as law-abiding members of each community at all times.
Admission to the Nyingma Institute carries with it special privileges and imposes special responsibilities apart from those rights and duties enjoyed by non-students. In recognition of the special relationship that exists between the Nyingma Institute and the community that it seeks to serve, the Nyingma Institute has authorized the Co-Directors to take such action as may be necessary to maintain campus conditions and preserve the integrity of the Nyingma Institute and its educational environment.
Pursuant to this authorization, the Nyingma Institute has developed the following regulations that are intended to govern student conduct on the campus. In addition, students are subject to all national, state, and local laws and ordinances. If a student’s violation of such laws or ordinances also adversely affects the Nyingma Institute’s pursuit of its educational objectives, the Institute may enforce its own regulations regardless of any proceedings instituted by other authorities. Conversely, violation of any section of these regulations may subject a student to disciplinary measures by the Nyingma Institute whether or not such conduct is simultaneously in violation of state, local, or national laws.
Disciplinary Offenses
Generally, through appropriate due process procedures, disciplinary measures shall be imposed for conduct that adversely affects the Nyingma Institute’s pursuit of its educational objectives, that violates or shows a disregard for the rights of other members of the academic community, or that endangers property or people on Institute or Institute-controlled property.
Individual or organizational misconduct that is subject to disciplinary sanction shall include but not be limited to the following examples:
1. Conduct dangerous to others. Any conduct that constitutes a serious danger to any person’s health, safety, or personal well-being, including any physical abuse or immediate threat of abuse.
2. Disorderly conduct. Any individual or group behavior that is abusive, obscene, lewd, indecent, violent, excessively noisy, or disorderly, or that unreasonably disturbs other groups or individuals.
3. Obstruction of or interference with Nyingma Institute activities or facilities. Any intentional interference with or obstruction of any Institute activity, program, event, or facilities, including the following:
a. Any unauthorized occupancy of Institute or Institute-controlled facilities or blockage of access to or from such facilities.
b. Interference with the right of any Institute staff member or other authorized person to gain access to any Institute or Institute-controlled activity, program, event, or facilities.
c. Any obstruction or delay of a staff member, authoritative agency firefighter, or any Institute official in the performance of his/her duty.
4. Misuse of or damage to property. Any act of misuse, vandalism, malicious or unwarranted damage or destruction, defacing, disfiguring, or unauthorized use of property belonging to the Nyingma Institute including but not limited to computers, fire alarms, fire equipment, telephones, Institute keys, resource center materials, and/or safety devices; and any such act against a member of the Nyingma Institute or a guest of the Nyingma Institute.
5. Theft, misappropriation or unauthorized sale of property. Any act of theft, misappropriation or sale of Nyingma Institute property, or any such act against a member of the Nyingma Institute or a guest of the Nyingma Institute.
6. Misuse of documents or identification cards. Any forgery, alteration of, or unauthorized use of Nyingma Institute documents, forms, records, or identification cards, including the giving of any false information or withholding of necessary information in connection with a student’s admission, enrollment, or status at the Institute.
7. Firearms and other dangerous weapons. Any possession of or use of firearms or dangerous weapons of any kind.
8. Alcoholic beverages. The use and/or possession of alcoholic beverages is not allowed on Nyingma Institute owned or controlled property.
9. Drugs. The unlawful possession or use of any drug or controlled substance (including any stimulant, depressant, narcotic, or hallucinogenic drug or substance, or marijuana), or sale or distribution of any such drug or controlled substance.
10. Financial irresponsibility. Failure to meet financial responsibilities to the Nyingma Institute, including but not limited to passing a worthless check or money order in payment to the Nyingma Institute or to a member of the Nyingma Institute acting in an official capacity.
11. Violation of general rules and regulations. Any violation of the general rules and regulations of the Nyingma Institute as published in an official Nyingma Institute publication, including the intentional failure to perform any required action or the intentional performance of any prohibited action.
Academic and Classroom Misconduct
The instructor has the primary responsibility for control over classroom behavior and maintenance of academic integrity and can order the temporary removal or exclusion from the classroom of any student engaged in disruptive conduct or conduct in violation of the general rules and regulations of the Nyingma Institute. Extended or permanent exclusion from the classroom or further disciplinary action can be effected only through appropriate procedures of the Nyingma Institute.
Academic misconduct committed either directly or indirectly by an individual or group is subject to disciplinary action. Prohibited activities include but are not limited to the following practices:
1. Cheating, including but not limited to unauthorized assistance from material, people, or devices when taking a test, quiz, or examination; writing papers or reports; solving problems; or completing academic assignments.
2. Plagiarism, including but not limited to paraphrasing, summarizing, or directly quoting published or unpublished work of another person, including online or computerized services, without proper documentation of the original source.
3. Purchasing or otherwise obtaining prewritten essays, research papers, or materials prepared by another person or agency that sells term papers of other academic materials to be presented as one’s own work.
4. Taking an exam for another student.
5. Providing others with information and/or answers regarding exams, quizzes, homework or other classroom assignments unless explicitly authorized by the instructor.
Upon discovery of a student’s participation in academic misconduct, the student is immediately responsible to the instructor of the class, who will meet with the offending student with evidence of the misconduct. In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign a failing grade.
Nyingma Institute students accept full responsibility for the quality and authenticity of submitted course work. When confronted with evidence of academic misconduct, students may admit their participation and accept the penalty imposed by the instructor. The instructor will inform the Co-Directors of the violation, and the Co-Directors will keep records of the incident.
If the student believes that he/she has been erroneously accused of academic misconduct and if his/her final grade has been lowered as a result, the student may appeal the case through the following procedures:
1. The student should meet with the instructor who made the allegation to discuss and hopefully resolve the problem.
2. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, the instructor or student can petition for a meeting with one of the school Co-Directors for review and resolution. The Petition Request must be made in writing by either the student or the instructor and submitted to the Co-Director.
3. If after review by the Co-Director, a satisfactory resolution has still not been reached, the matter may be appealed to the Arbitration Review Committee. This Committee consists of the Institute Co-Directors and the Program Director. The Committee reviews all materials and prior decisions and comes to a resolution on the matter. The decision of the Arbitration Review Committee is final.
Disciplinary Action
Disciplinary action may be taken against a student for violations of the above regulations that occur on owned, leased, or otherwise controlled property, or that occur off campus when the conduct impairs, interferes with, or obstructs any Nyingma Institute activity or the missions, processes, and functions of the School. In addition, disciplinary action maybe taken on the basis of any conduct, on or off campus, that poses a substantial threat to people or property within the Nyingma Institute.
For the purposes of these regulations, a “student” shall mean any person who is registered for study at the Nyingma Institute for any academic period, including the time that follows the end of an academic period that the student has completed until the last day for registration for the next succeeding regular academic period, and during any period while the student is under suspension from the Nyingma Institute.
Disciplinary Sanctions
Upon a determination that a student has violated any of the rules, regulations, or disciplinary offenses set forth in these regulations, the following disciplinary sanctions may be imposed, either singly or in combination, by the appropriate Nyingma Institute officials:
1. Restitution. A student who has committed an offense against property may be required to reimburse the Nyingma Institute or other owner for damage or misappropriation of such property. Any such payment in restitution shall be limited to actual cost of repair or replacement.
2. Warning. The appropriate Nyingma Institute official may notify the student that continuation or repetition of specified conduct may be cause for other disciplinary action.
3. Reprimand. A written reprimand, or censure, may be given to any student whose conduct violates these regulations. Such a reprimand does not restrict the student in any way but does have important consequences. It signifies to the student that he/she is being given another chance to conduct himself/herself as a proper member of the Nyingma Institute community, but that any further violation will result in more serious penalties. In addition, a reprimand does remain on file in the student’s academic record.
4. Restriction. A restriction upon a student’s privileges for a period of time may be imposed. This restriction may include, for example, denial of the right to represent the Nyingma Institute in any way, operate equipment, or the loss of student ID.
5. Probation. Continued enrollment of a student on probation may be conditioned upon adherence to these regulations. Any student placed on probation will be notified of such in writing and will also be notified of the terms and length of the probation. Any conduct in violation of these regulations while on probationary status may result in the imposition of a more serious disciplinary sanction.
6. Suspension. If a student is suspended, he/she is separated from the Nyingma Institute for a stated period of time, with conditions for readmission stated in the notice of suspension.
7. Expulsion/termination. Expulsion entails a permanent separation from the Nyingma Institute. The imposition of this sanction does become a part of the student’s permanent record and is a permanent bar to the student’s readmission to the Institute.
8. Interim or summary suspension. As a general rule, the status of a student accused of violations of Nyingma Institute regulations should not be altered until a final determination has been made in regard to the charges against the student, although summary suspension may be imposed upon a finding by a Co-Director or his/her designated representative that the continued presence of the accused on campus constitutes an immediate threat to the physical safety and well-being of the accused, or of any other member of the Nyingma Institute or its guests; destruction of property; or substantial disruption of classroom or other campus activities. In any case of immediate suspension, the student shall be given an opportunity at the time of the decision or immediately thereafter to contest the suspension (in writing), and if there are disputed issues of fact or cause and effect, the student shall be provided a hearing on the suspension as soon as possible.
9. In cases involving second and/or third instances of academic misconduct, the student will be subject to further disciplinary action, including termination.
10. Students found guilty of repeated academic misconduct may receive one of the following sanctions:
11. The student may not receive credit for the work completed.
12. The student may not receive credit for the class.
13. The student may be administratively terminated from the program.
The Co-Deans of the Nyingma Institute are authorized, at their discretion, to convert any sanction imposed to a lesser sanction, or to rescind any previous sanction, in appropriate cases.
Cases of Alleged Sexual Assault
In cases involving alleged sexual assault, both the accuser and the accused shall be informed of the following:
• Both the accuser and the accused are entitled to the same opportunity to have others present during a disciplinary proceeding.
• Both the accuser and the accused shall be informed of the outcome of any disciplinary proceeding involving allegations of sexual assault.
Disciplinary Procedures
Admission to the Nyingma Institute implies that the student agrees to respect the rights of others and observe civil laws. Conduct regarded as dangerous or threatening, which warrants response by local law enforcement officials, will carry an immediate temporary suspension of the student from the School. If the court convicts the student, the Nyingma Institute may expel the student solely on the findings of the court. If the Nyingma Institute does not exercise this option, the student must begin the disciplinary process after the court proceeding concludes.
Due Process Procedures
In cases that involve actions of misconduct that would cause the student or students to be subjected to disciplinary action, a hearing shall be afforded the student according to the procedures outlined below:
1. All complaints of alleged misconduct of a student shall be made in writing to the Chief Executive Officer. The complaint shall contain a statement of facts outlining each alleged act of misconduct and shall state the regulation the student is alleged to have violated.
2. The Chief Executive Officer shall investigate the complaint. If it is determined that the complaint is without merit, the investigation shall promptly cease. If it is determined that there is probable cause to believe a violation did occur, the process shall proceed as outlined.
3. The student shall be notified in writing by the Chief Executive Officer that he/she is accused of a violation and will be asked to come in for a conference to discuss the complaint. At the conference, the student shall be advised of the following:
a. He/she may admit the alleged violation, waive a hearing in writing and request that Nyingma Institute officials take appropriate action.
b. He/she may admit the alleged violation in writing and request a hearing before the Co- Directors.
c. He/she may deny the alleged violation in writing and request a hearing before the Co- Directors. d. The date, time, and place of hearing.
e. A statement of the specific charges and grounds that, if proven, would justify disciplinary action being taken.
f. The names of witnesses scheduled to appear.
The decision reached at the hearing shall be communicated in writing to the student. It shall specify the action taken by the Chief Executive Officer. Upon the request of the student, a summary of the evidence shall be provided to the student.
4. The student shall be notified in writing of his/her right to appeal the decision of the Chief Executive Officer within five days of receipt of the decision. In cases of appeal, any action assessed by the Chief Executive Officer shall be suspended pending outcome of the appeal. All appeals shall be presented in writing by the student to the Arbitration Review Committee. This Committee consists of the Institute Co-Deans and the Program Director. The Committee reviews the student’s written appeal and prior decisions and comes to a resolution on the matter. The decision of the Arbitration Review Committee is final. A copy of the final decision shall be mailed to the student.
REINSTATEMENT
If an appeal is denied or if the student chooses not to appeal the decision, an application for reinstatement may be submitted to the school no earlier than 30 days from the date of termination. Students who do not pursue or win an appeal may nevertheless be reinstated under special conditions.
COMPLAINT AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Most problems or complaints that students may have with the school or its administration can be resolved through a personal meeting with the school staff. Grievances related directly to training must be submitted in writing to the Program Director. Any grievance remaining unresolved after being handled by the Program Director can be submitted in writing to the Chief Academic Officer. Non-training related grievances must be submitted in writing to the Chief Executive Officer. The Program Director and/or Chief Academic Officer and/or Chief Executive Officer will make every reasonable effort to resolve a grievance to the satisfaction of the student. Answers to grievances will be given no more than ten days after submission of grievance. The written complaint should contain (1) the nature of the problem(s), (2) approximate date(s) that the problem(s) occurred, (3) name(s) of the individual(s) involved in the problem(s) - staff and/or other students, (4) copies of important information regarding the problem(s), (5) evidence demonstrating that the Institute's complaint procedure was followed prior to this point in time, and (6) student signature. A written grievance may by hand delivered to the reception desk at the school, or may be mailed to 1815 Highland Place, Berkeley, CA94709.
Any questions a student may have that are not satisfactorily answered by the institution may be directed to the: Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education at 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833 or P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818; Web site Address: www.bppe.ca.gov Telephone and fax #’s: (888) 370-7589 or by fax: (916) 263-1897 or (916) 431-6959 or by fax: (916) 263-1897.
A student or any member of the public may file a complaint about this institution with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education by calling (888) 370-7589, or by completing a complaint form, which can be obtained on the bureau’s internet Web site, www.bppe.ca.gov
STUDENT RECORDS
Enrollees are advised and cautioned that State Law requires this educational institution to maintain school and student records onsite for a five-year period from the last date of attendance. Transcripts are maintained permanently. Student records are protected from unauthorized access. Requests for release of information by the student or from outside agencies must be made in writing to the Registrar. This ensures that only authorized individuals have access to specific information requested.
STUDENT SERVICES
Academic Advising
Each student enrolled in a Nyingma Institute program will be assigned to a student advisor. Student advisors will meet with their assigned students at least once before the start of each quarter to determine the student’s course schedule, and at least once more during each quarter in which the student is attending classes to follow-up on progress and provide counseling as needed. Student advisors will hold office hours at the convenience of their students during which they will be available for additional consultation by students.
Tutorial Programs
Instructors and student advisors will be available for individual tutoring of students during office hours and by arrangement with the student.
Textbook Purchases
The Institute maintains reading areas that contain all textbooks required for all courses currently being offered as well as a variety of other supporting readings. Textbooks for all current courses are also available for purchase in the Nyingma Institute bookstore.
Library and Reading Rooms
The Nyingma Institute maintains a permanent Library in its Main Building at 1815 Highland Place. The Library contains approximately 3,000 books and manuscripts. Faculty may check out Library materials as needed. Students may request access to materials from the Library to support an approved research project. Copies of Library books used in classes openly circulate as needed.
In addition to the Library, the Nyingma Institute maintains two reading/study areas, one in its Main Building at 1815 Highland Place, and one in its New House at 2727 Hearst Street. The reading rooms contain English language texts and selected translations into foreign languages. At present there are about 500 books in the reading rooms. Copies of all books used in courses are maintained in the reading rooms each quarter. Reading rooms are open from 9:00 AM until 8:00 PM, Monday through Thursday; from 9:00 AM to 4:45 PM Friday through Saturday, and from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Sunday.
The curriculum at the Nyingma Institute is designed around approximately 100 texts, 60 of which are published by the Institute’s sister organization, Dharma Publishing Company, and the other 40 of which are classic Buddhist texts, generally available in print in English translation. These hundred books are available for students in the reading rooms and bookstore. The Institute’s extensive Library of rare and valuable Tibetan Buddhist texts serves to enhance the teaching ability of the faculty and provides the basis for intensive faculty-directed research by more advanced students.
Housing
The Institute has dormitory facilities that students may rent while they are enrolled in Institute residential programs such as retreats or workshops. A current schedule of room and board costs is maintained by the Institute Registrar and made available to interested students. Costs for rooms vary from $45 per night for students attending workshops or short retreats to $25 per night for students attending longer retreats. These costs include both room and board. Housing is also available to rent nearby and students may arrange for their own housing and may request information on local housing during the enrollment process. Room rates off-campus range from $1,000 and up per month. Note that the institution has no responsibility to find or assist a student in finding housing.
Job Placement Assistance
Nyingma Institute does not offer job placement assistance. Programs offered through the Nyingma Institute are not vocational in nature and are not represented to lead to employment. In addition, certificates awarded in Nyingma Institute programs are not teaching credentials. Earning a certificate in a Nyingma Institute program will not, by itself, qualify you to teach at the Nyingma Institute, or anywhere else, in any area in which you earned a certificate, including, but not limited to Nyingma Meditation, Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga), Nyingma Psychology, and/or Dharma Studies. SCHOOL CATALOG RECEIPT
I have received a copy of the Nyingma Institute School Catalog that contains the rules, regulations, course completion requirements, and costs for the specific program(s) in which I have enrolled.
Print Name: _____________________________________________________________
Signature: ______________________________________________________________
Enrolled by: ____________________________________ Date: __________________
Addendum
Revision date: 5/13/2018 The following language adds the courses “NPR404, MED508, NPS418, MED308, SKM107, and KNR110” to the section “Course Descriptions”:
NPR 404 Death, Dying, and the Bardo (June) - 6 hours
This workshop introduces Tibetan Buddhist practices for the time of death, including specific mantras and prayers that we will practice together. We will draw from sutras and tantras on this topic, especially teachings from Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma tradition. We will also address dying on a practical level, discussing what one can do when a loved one is dying or has passed away and how to prepare for our own death. You’ll also make a connection between simple practices, including ones you may already know, and the time of death, so that a useful and direct method is always near-at-hand.
MED 508 Silent Retreat: Introduction to Shamatha (June) – 14 hours
Stressed out? Need a break from a whirlwind of tasks, responsibilities, and cascading concerns? Research has shown that meditation and silence can both have profoundly positive effects on our mental states and overall happiness. “Shamatha” means calm abiding. It is a foundational practice that allows for and strengthens all following meditation techniques. It is also a classic, time-tested practice taught in all Buddhist traditions. This retreat focuses on Shamatha with supports, i.e. types of Shamatha where you rest your attention on an object of focus such as breath, a point of contact, or an image.
NPS 418 Caring and Creativity from a Yogic Perspective (June) - 6 hours
Walking is a fundamental functional activity, as well as a source of engagement, pleasure, and healthful movement when we walk well. Like most things that we do repetitively, the way each of us walk is a matter of habit. These habits can be more or less efficient and healthful. Come explore walking as a healing practice for body and mind, and discover its healing potential for you. This workshop is informed by: Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga, awareness practices from Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism, and a therapeutic perspective on posture and alignment.
MED 308 Advanced Meditation: Mipham’s Calm and Clear (June) - 15 hours
Traditional methods to ease the mind into “the sky of simplicity” will be presented including meditations for calming the mind (shamatha) and meditations to expand insight (vipasyana). This course draws on Lama Mipham’s The Wheel of Analytic Meditation, i.e. Calm and Clear.
SKM 107 Being ‘We’: Healing ‘You and I’ (June) - 15 hours
We usually experience ‘we’ when we are ‘We against They’, as in the teamwork of a close-knit competitive team or when coming together with shared views on one side of a division in today’s divisive world. ‘We against They’ has the same taste as ‘You and I’. Fortunately, we can put this behind us. We have ready access to higher forms of ‘We’: In the course, we activate ‘We’ together through exercises, and explore a path of progressive deepening that can lead to ‘We sharing love’ and culminate in the simplicity of ‘We for All’. This path brings peace and joy—which we experience during the course—and can ultimately lead to freedom.
KNR 110 Beginning Kum Nye: Body of Knowledge (June) – 4.5 hours
We usually experience ‘we’ when we are ‘We against They’, as in the teamwork of a close-knit competitive team or when coming together with shared views on one side of a division in today’s divisive world. ‘We against They’ has the same taste as ‘You and I’. Fortunately, we can put this behind us. We have ready access to higher forms of ‘We’: In the course, we activate ‘We’ together through exercises, and explore a path of progressive deepening that can lead to ‘We sharing love’ and culminate in the simplicity of ‘We for All’. This path brings peace and joy—which we experience during the course—and can ultimately lead to freedom.
