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3 12, 2025

BUD 630 Buddha Nature

2026-07-25T11:00:50-07:00Categories: reg-EN, reg-semester, reg-ZH, registration|

BUD 630 Buddha Nature: Luminous Heart of the Tathagata Faculty: {!{types field='faculty' style='text'}!}{!{/types}!} This course is an exposition of the Tathāgatagarbha philosophical tradition, based on the The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra: Fourth Vajra Point root text. Students cultivate certainty in the view of Buddha nature—the essence of awakening present in all beings. The Fourth Vajra Point of the Uttaratantra establishes Buddha nature through three reasonings, its ten aspects, nine analogies and five reasons why it is necessary to teach it. PREREQUISITE: BUD 501, BUD 510, BUD 520, BUD 530 REQUIRED TEXTS: Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra by Arya Maitreya, Translated by

2 12, 2025

BUD 510 Mind and Its World II

2026-07-25T11:00:09-07:00Categories: reg-EN, reg-semester, reg-ZH, registration|

BUD 510 Mind and Its World II: Modes of Engagement Faculty: {!{types field='faculty' style='text'}!}{!{/types}!} This course completes the introductory exposition of topics drawn from the Pramāna and Abhidhama traditions, based on the Classifications of Mind and Collected Topics root texts. It provides students with the tools for delineating conceptual and non-conceptual mind in meditation, known as the essential modes of engagement of mind. PREREQUISITE: BUD 501 REQUIRED TEXTS: Root text: Classifications of Mind (Lorik), by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Nitartha Institute Publications Root text: Collected Topics (Düdra), by Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen, Nitartha Institute Publications Mind & Its World 2

30 07, 2025

BUD 501 Mind and Its World I

2026-07-25T12:23:57-07:00Categories: reg-EN, reg-semester, registration|

BUD 501 Mind and Its World I  Faculty: {!{types field='faculty' style='text'}!}{!{/types}!} This course is an introductory exposition of topics drawn from the Pramāna tradition, based on the Classifications of Mind root text. Students explore the criteria for the validity of cognition, the fourfold classification of direct valid cognition, seeming direct cognition and non-valid cognition. PREREQUISITE: None REQUIRED TEXTS: Root text: Classifications of Mind (Lorik), by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Nitartha Institute Publications Mind & Its World 1 Sourcebook, Nitartha Institute Publications DATES & TIMES: {!{types field='dow'}!}{!{/types}!} {!{types field='course-dates'}!}{!{/types}!}, {!{types field='meeting-times'}!}{!{/types}!} COST: {!{types field='course-cost' style='text'}!}{!{/types}!} Nitartha’s Payment Plan

30 05, 2024

Buddha Nature: The Most Powerful Antidote

2024-05-31T14:40:03-07:00Categories: Blog, Mahamudra, Meditation|

Buddha Nature: The Most Powerful Antidote Written by Israel Lifshitz We, as 21st century Westerners, have a strong historical, religious and cultural background of low self-esteem and self-deprecation. Our ideas about sin and guilt are so deeply ingrained that even the non-religious, free thinking scientist Sigmund Freud said in Civilization and Its Discontents: "Due to our own psychic constitution we have a limited capacity for virtue and happiness, and therefore, we must feel satisfied with a moderate level of mental balance and wellbeing."* This is not a minor issue. It can even work as our biggest obstacle to progressing along the Buddhist path. If deep down in our

12 05, 2024

Key Qualities of Mahamudra Meditation

2024-05-12T14:21:54-07:00Categories: Blog, Mahamudra, Meditation|

Key Qualities of Mahamudra Meditation Written by Michael Miller Nitartha CFO Nalandabodhi Karunika and Practice Instructor As we embark on our journey through the Mahamudra practices, it is important to note the differences between Mahamudra meditation and simple shamatha. The differences are subtle but profound, and we can miss the point entirely if we do not know them. First, renunciation or revulsion is important. We need to develop some sense of giving in, some sense of renunciation. This does not mean going off to a cave and giving up all our worldly possessions. But it does mean that we must be willing to give up our fixed

30 04, 2024

Improve your meditation with thangka drawing

2024-05-03T11:03:08-07:00Categories: Blog, Meditation, Science of Creative Arts, Shamatha|

Drawing the Awakened Heart Improve your meditation with thangka drawing, one of the courses offered by Nitartha’s Department of Science of Creativity and the Arts. This is a powerful tool for developing our visualization and creation stage practices. After taking this course, many students have found it easier to generate their visualizations and with greater clarity. Studio classes are also a natural environment for practicing shamatha meditation. One's mind relaxes and simply focuses on drawing, which can be a very calming experience. Nitartha teaches thangka drawing based on the Karma Gadri Lineage. One of the four major schools of Tibetan thangka painting, we begin by learning the

30 04, 2024

Mind and Its World II: How Mind Engages with its World

2024-04-30T10:13:08-07:00Categories: Blog, Foundation Curriculum, Mind & Its World, Shedra|

Mind and Its World II: How Mind Engages with its World After exploring how mind cognizes in a valid or non-valid way in the first course in the Mind and Its World series, we are ready to look at how the mind works from the perspective of the way in which it engages with its objects, also known as “modes of engagement.” We spend a lot of our time engaged with our concepts, though we are rarely aware of this. Of course the conceptual mind is very useful, we need it to navigate our experiences of the world. But it is not a direct perception, it does not

25 04, 2024

Dharma without Compromise: How to take our practice off the cushion

2025-05-01T09:18:10-07:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Jirka Hladis, Meditation, Shedra|

Dharma without Compromise: How to take our practice off the cushion Advice for those familiar with insight meditation and the study of the view, based on an oral presentation by Jirka Hladis. You might ask, “How can I use my formal dharma studies and meditation in practical ways, in everyday life?” This is an excellent question, because practicing the dharma is not meant to be limited to sitting on the cushion, but rather, it is intended to be applied and developed in all areas of our lives: home, work, school and community. Insight into egolessness or emptiness cannot be created in post-meditation without having had an experience

12 04, 2024

Mind and Its World I: Valid Cognition

2025-08-29T07:51:40-07:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Mind & Its World, Semester Course, Shedra, Valid Cognition|

This is the first course in Nitartha’s curriculum, and one of many that will be offered this fall semester in September 2025. This course explores the question: How do you obtain accurate and valid knowledge about the world? That’s the subject of pramana, or Buddhist epistemology. We typically assume that what we know about the world is valid. But is it? Our mind processes information so quickly, it responds so fast to what’s happening around us that we usually don’t realize when we are having a conceptual experience that is not actually in agreement with the object that we are experiencing.In this course, we become able to distinguish

1 11, 2023

How To Practice In This Time Of Strife – Part 1

2023-11-10T07:05:52-08:00Categories: Blog, Dependent Origination, Featured, Jirka Hladis, Meditation, Shamatha|Tags: , , , , , , |

How To Practice In This Time Of Strife Part I: In this time of strife and war there is desire in the practitioner to send positive thoughts of compassion, some prayers. But there might also be a strong tendency to show anger, and blame one of the sides. And, what would be a guidance here, utilizing what we have studied here at Nitartha in the real world situation like this we could benefit from? How do we make this practice? The dharma of our teacher, Gautama the Buddha, the Tathāgata, the fully enlightened Buddha Śākyamuni, is the dharma of dependent origination, pratītyasamudpāda. The original formulation of the

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