Life is exceedingly precious and fleeting, we must use every moment meaningfully to awaken for the benefit of others. In the second semester of our year-long course with Dr. Miles Neale and special guests, we will continue to extract the essence of the gradual path (lam rim) of Tibetan Buddhism by rehearsing a new sequence of profound meditations and focusing on their application to daily life. 

Following the structure of The Essential Nectar of Holy Doctrine by the 18th century Tibetan yogi-scholar Yeshe Tsöndrü we will cover the remaining points of the “medium scope” of the gradual path, including karma, compulsive existence, and renunciation, and then enter the initial themes corresponding to the “greater scope” including altruism and engagement. We will focus on developing a strong determination to be free for ourselves, which is self-love, as well as the strong determination to be free for the benefits of others, which is compassion.

We will continue to recite the lam rim prayer Foundation of All Good Qualities, internalizing the steps and stages to enlightenment articulated by Lama Je Tsongkhapa. Then sound master Phil Jacobs will facilitate an optimal brain state through harmonic resonance during our guided visualization to help us deepen these themes into realization.

Each class includes practice-oriented Q&A and group coaching with Miles as well as support for your “experiments”, self-designed projects to help apply the lam rim themes to your daily life.

Traditional guided meditation recordings by Miles on each lam rim theme will be posted to support your daily practice between classes, and recommendations for maintaining your practice in off periods between courses will be offered at the end of each semester.

In addition to the courses, we strongly recommend you join the CSP Courtyard for live interaction and practice-support with Miles, Alison and your peers, which meets on Fridays at 12:00 pm ET every other week throughout the year. There you can participate in various Lam Rim related group projects as well as our group Service Project.

Example Individual Projects

・Keep a daily journal of lam rim reflections

・Create a series of drawings, paintings, or photographs on the lam rim themes

・Post about your journey on social media

Integrate themes from the lam rim into your professional work as educator, therapist, yoga teacher, or coach.

Example Group Projects

・Design and digitize The Structure of the Text in The Essential Nectar Appendix 5

・Create a contemplation deck of cards for The Essential Nectar meditations

・Formulate and propose a Lam Rim blog & newsletter series for CSP

Group Service Project

Members of the CSP community will propose, design and execute a group service project that will benefit a virtuous cause and allow us to embody the principles of our study and practice.

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