Study Programs
Tilopa Buddhist Centre offers a comprehensive education program consisting of three study programs designed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang: the General Program (GP), the Foundation Program (FP) and the Teacher Training Program (TTP). Click here to read about how these study programs help to Integrate dharma into our lives.
For more information on the FP and TTP contact the Education Program Coordinator – epc@tilopa.org
General Program
Everyone, regardless of their level of experience or background, can benefit from the classes & courses offered on the General Program. It is a highly accessible program, designed to address everyday problems with simple and practical advice that makes sense according to our daily experience.
If you would like to learn about more extensive levels of study, you may wish to read about the Foundation Program & Teacher Training Program. The classes provide a basic introduction to Buddhist teachings and meditations. Through these classes we can learn how to use Buddha’s advice as a solution to our daily problems. In this way we come to experience a sense of peace and happiness in our lives. Everyone is welcome – you do not need to be a Buddhist to attend, or to benefit from the classes – just drop into any class!
The General Program (GP) classes include our drop-in meditations at Tilopa Centre and across metro Vancouver, and other day courses and retreats.
Foundation Program
The purpose of the Foundation Program is to provide a systematic presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism.
The program comprises the following five subjects, based on Buddha’s Sutra teachings and the corresponding commentaries by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso:
- 1. The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, based on the commentary Joyful Path of Good Fortune
- Training the Mind, based on the commentaries Universal Compassion and Eight Steps to Happiness
- The Heart Sutra, based on the commentary Heart of Wisdom
- Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, based on the commentary Meaningful to Behold
- Types of Mind, based on the commentary Understanding the Mind
The classes are divided into terms, with plenty of breaks between each term. Students sign up for a year and undertake to keep the following commitments to the best of their ability: to attend every class, to memorize the relevant material, to attend one puja (chanted prayers) each week, to take a test at the end of the year, and to volunteer some help with running the Centre.
Foundation Program 2012:
We are delighted to announce the start of a new Foundation Program courses at Tilopa Centre! Enjoy studying, meditating and discussing Dharma with a vibrant and friendly community of Sangha friends during our new class day and time.
Class Option One: Mondays 6:30 – 9pm, starting March 12th
They will be studying Meaningful to Behold.
As well, our existing Foundation Program is still accepting students providing three different opportunities to practitioners to experience a deeper experience and knowledge of Buddha's teachings.
Class Option Two: Sundays 5:00 - 9pm, in progress.
Student in this class are studying Joyful Path of Good Fortune,
All classes are taught by Resident Teacher, Gen Delek.
Please contact the Centre by phone or at info@tilopa.org if you are interested in these very special opportunities!
Missed a class? click here for Class recordings.
Fees: click here to learn more about the class fees Foundation Program Centre Card.
Teacher Training Program
The purpose of the Teacher Training Program is to provide an extensive presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism, and to train as qualified New Kadampa Tradition Teachers. All Resident Teachers of Kadampa Buddhist Centers follow this in-depth program of study and practice.
It involves the study of seven more of Geshe Kelsang’s books, covering both Sutra and Tantra teachings. Students can transfer at any time from the FP to the TTP.
Integrating Dharma into our Lives
(From a talk by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso)
Our present understanding and experience of Dharma is quite superficial. We are like someone who has entered a huge food store and seen many things but sampled only a few. We may have received many different teachings from many different Teachers, but we have taken in very little, just a few morsels. Therefore our actual experience remains superficial. There is a gap between us and the Dharma. It feels as if Dharma is there and we are here. Our mind is not mixed with Dharma and so we cannot apply it in our daily lives.
As a result our ordinary everyday problems remain. For example, we may have received many teachings on Lamrim and read many books. Intellectually we find it relatively easy to understand and we accept it all, but we find it difficult to integrate into our daily lives, and so we cannot use this Dharma to solve our daily problems. When we study Dharma our mind remains passive, like someone watching television. It does not engage in the subject and mix with it. Therefore our daily life and our Dharma remain completely separate and unrelated.
Why is this? It is because we are not studying systematically according to a specially-designed program. If we just pick at Dharma randomly we will never gain a deep and stable experience, and our wisdom will never become like a full moon.
The Foundation and Teacher Training Programs, therefore, are real wishfulfilling jewels for Dharma practitioners. By participating in them we can improve our wisdom and Dharma experience and use Dharma to solve our daily problems. We can become our own protector by protecting ourselves from danger and suffering, and our own doctor by curing our mental pain with Dharma medicine. We shall be able to set a good example for others to follow and help others by giving teachings and advice. In this way we will make both our own and others’ human lives extremely meaningful.