Programs

Item Description

"Personal development that goes well beyond the college experience," this is what you can expect from Naropa University programs.

In this online class the successful bidder will explore the Mahayana (Great Path) Buddhist teachings on compassion, loving-kindness, emptiness (the non-existence of a separate self), and the interconnectedness of all things. Students will be introduced to the meditation practice of tonglen (exchanging oneself for others), and the warrior discipline of lojong (mind-training)-- first introduced in Tibet 1000 years ago, and brought to the West by Naropa's founder, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. This training is very direct and practical rather than philosophical, and emphasizes gentleness and skillful action in our everyday dealings with other people.

The topics that will be covered in class include: The Great Path of Mahayana Dharma, Bodhicitta: The Heart of Awakening, The Bodhisattva Attitude and Vow, Introduction to Mind-Training (Lojong), The Paramitas: Generosity, Discipline, Exertion, Meditation, Wisdom, and Patience, Tonglen Meditation Practice, Practice Week Encouragement, Compassion, and Thich Nhat Hanh: A Modern Bodhisattva.

Instructor Frank Berliner received his BA from Yale University and his MA from The Naropa Institute. He served as national administrative director of Shambhala Training, and for nine years as resident teacher of the Berkeley Shambhala Center. He is currently a core faculty member at Naropa, where he teaches Buddhist and Western humanistic psychology, and their applications to counseling and leadership. He is also a psychotherapist and life coach in private practice, specializing in the art of communication, conflict resolution, and the use of meditation in relieving stress, deepening insight, and encouraging effective action. A senior student of Naropa's founder, he has practiced sitting meditation since 1973.

Founded in 1974 by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a lineage holder in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Naropa University integrates academic, artistic and traditional training practices to help students cultivate an understanding of themselves, their field of study, and the world. Through disciplines such as sitting meditation, yoga, and t'ai-chi ch'uan, students develop mindfulness and awareness, learning directly from experience, moment by moment. This process creates precision, openess and compassion, teaching students how to integrate intellect and intuition and encouraging the deepening of confidence, wisdom and desire to work for the benefit of others.

Item Special Note

Prerequisite: by permission of the Instructor. Please send an e-mail detailing your previous experience with meditation practice to prereqs@ecampus.naropa.edu.

$75 technology fee payable to Naropa University not included in bid price.

All prices $USD