BUD 520

Mind & Its World III: Vaibhashika Philosophical Tradition (SPOC)

This course is an exposition of the Vaibhashika philosophical tradition, based on The Gateway that Reveals the Philosophical Traditions to Fresh Minds root text. Students explore foundational classifications of knowable objects: the five bases, five aggregates, twelve sources and eighteen constituents, followed by the presentation of the Vaibhashika theory of causation from Collected Topics and the twelve links of dependent origination.

PREREQUISITE:

  • BUD 501

REQUIRED TEXTS:

  • Root text: The Gateway that Reveals the Philosophical Traditions to Fresh Minds (Truptha), by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen and Acharya Kelsang Wangdi, Nitartha Institute Publications
  • Root text: Collected Topics (Düdra), by Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, Nitartha Institute Publications
  • Mind & Its World 3 Sourcebook, Nitartha Institute Publications

COST:

$200

Nitartha’s Payment Plan and Financial Assistance (PPFA) program is funded by fellow students to support those who would not be able to attend the Institute’s courses without this assistance. To request aid, please fill out the PPFA application before you register for the course.

LEARN WITH OUR RENOWNED FACULTY

Buddhist Tibetan language teacher, Dr. Gerry Wiener teaching at Nitartha Institute.

Dr. Francis Sullivan

AUTHORIZED FACULTY

Francis Sullivan has been a practitioner and a student of Tibetan Buddhism since the early 1980s. He began his studies at Nitartha Institute in 2008 and in 2019 was made a fully authorized faculty member for the Shedra program. Francis holds a PhD in Biochemistry and lives and teaches in Boulder Colorado.

READ MORE

Buddhist teacher, Mitra Lee Worley teaching at Nitartha Institute.

Mark Seibold

AUTHORIZED FACULTY

Mark Seibold joined the Nitartha faculty in 2005. A student of both Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his son and dharma heir, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, he is member of the Nalanda Translation Committee. An active member and teacher in the Shambhala community, he lives in Greenfield, MA with his wife, Elizabeth. He is currently collaborating with Lama Tsöndrü Sangpo on a translation of the Padma Khatang, The Chronicles of Padmasambhava. Attributed to Yeshe Tsogyal, the Chronicles recount the life, teachings and enlightened activity of Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche, as he better known in Tibetan culture.

READ MORE

Buddhist teacher, Dr. Francis Sullivan teaching at Nitartha Institute.

Alison McKee

AUTHORIZED FACULTY

Alison McKee has been attending Nitartha Institute since 2010 and was authorized as a member of the faculty in 2019. She has been a student of Ponlop Rinpoche since 2012. Her passion is in teaching debate as a way to joyfully and playfully examine and deconstruct one’s habitual concepts. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and works as a library administrator.

READ MORE