This one year program is seminar based for Dharma College
members who have worked with some 100 and 200 level materials. Over a one year
period we will work through Keys of Knowledge, a book Tarthang Tulku dedicated Keys
to his students and to the living possibility of a Western Dharma
tradition. He is completely aware however of the obstacles Westerners must
overcome:
I discovered that it was rare for Westerners to
feel comfortable within their own skins. I
encountered chronic forms of mental suffering that took shape as skepticism,
disappointment, and frustration, and specific cognitive and cultural patterns
that often led to interpersonal tension and deep dissatisfaction with the self,
‘the one who’ seems to architect all the pain within.
Prologue: Mind Holds the Keys
Keys of Knowledge 4
Practical and practice oriented, he points out a better way
of operating our minds:
To solve these problems, we will need to provide a new
atmosphere; we will need to change the internal conditions under which the mind
operates.
In order to do that, we need to understand them.
Prologue: Mind Holds the Keys
Keys of Knowledge 7
The kind of
‘understanding’ required is more closely aligned with ‘direct experience’ than
with ‘conceptual knowing.’ Direct experience – embodied knowing - is the
‘internal change’ that allows us to discover the magical chariot, the Dharma
of the Dharmadhatu (Keys of Knowledge 14).
Testimonials
"The instructors bring in their ideas and the
class members interact. We do exercises
together and play with the dialogs that Rinpoche has offered in the book ...as
a starting point. Putting all this
together ( the content of the book, the instructors, the class participants)
leads to very rich experiences and opportunities to see from new perspectives
that offer more opportunities when dealing with challenging situations. Thank
you!"
Jane C.
"Very expansive, provocative and exciting- always
genuine and wise. I look forward to more."
Suellen E.
"Very precious
teaching , a lesson in
Compassion. I am at a loss to say how
much I appreciate."
Marianne P.
This
seminar based class is for advanced students at Dharma College. Classes meet online for five terms, six weeks
each term, 90 minutes a week. There will be close work with the text of Keys
of Knowledge, limited lecture material on Western and Buddhist theory,
discussions, and contemplative exercises. Classes are recorded and accessible
for six months. An online community portal gives you the option to meet and be
in dialogue with your fellow students.
Week One:
Prologue: Mind Holds the Keys
o
A mission for Western mind
o
The mind’s bias
Week Two:
Prologue: Mind Holds the Keys
o
A life shaped by the Dharma
o
A Buddhist perspective on mind
o
Shantarakshita’s knowledge of mind
o
Padmasambhava’s Mantrayana power
Week Three:
Prologue: Mind Holds the Keys
o
Manifesting Bodhichitta
o
Knowledge relevant to the West
Week Four:
Chapter One: Going
o
Being Present
o
The rhythm of experience
Week Five:
Chapter One: Going
o
Presenting experience to mind
o
One or many experiencers?
o
Always forward
Week Six:
Chapter One: Going
o
Stuck with Models
o
Only loops
o
The ‘hows’ of instrumental knowledge
What’s the point?
Bob Dozor is the Medical Director of Lotus House - the Nyingma Senior Retreat Center at Ratna Ling. He holds a BA from the University of Chicago in the History and Philosophy of Science and an MD from the University of California, San Francisco, after which he practiced Family Medicine for 40 years. He has been a student of Buddhism since the 1960’s, a student of Venerable Tarthang Tulku since 1972, and a student and then instructor at Dharma College since 2018.
