Study Tibetan Buddhism at Home
This Internet-based, distance learning programme on Buddhism, readily accessible to all, evolved in response to increasing demands for a structured and comprehensive dharma study course based on the traditional teachings of esteemed Tibetan masters. It was launched in sping 2008 by Kagyu Samye Monastery and Dharmacharya Ken Holmes as a three-year programme composed of thirty modules. It proved very successful and a second intake started in May 2009. There are currently some 350 students participating from 27 countries.
There will be a new intake of students to start Year One of this course in May 2010.
You can sign up any time from now onwards (see below).
http://www.calm-and-clear.eu/nangiintro.html#signing
The first monthly module (May module) will be sent in advance some time at the end of April.
The course is based on ten study months a year and is structured as follows:
The main basis of the course is a series of monthly study packs. These are prepared by the teaching staff and sent as email attachments. It may be helpful to buy one or two important text books as the course proceeds but the study packs will constitute a complete course in themselves.
There are also optional dedicated study weekends at Samye Ling Monastery and, as time goes by, in local cities. There are four of these a year. Each weekend focuses on a specific topic but also sets an overview of the quarter-year study period. Students are encouraged to attend these. However, where this is not possible, audio recordings will be available for purchase via samyelingshop.com. As mentioned above, the monthly modules constitue a complete course in themselves.
There is an optional intensive study fortnight once a year, for those able to attend. Each year a major text will be studied, in its entirety (see Year Three text example below)
We provide a student-to-student Internet forum, for frank open discussion and mutual aid, with very limited input, where necessary, from qualified teachers.
If there are enough students in a city or area, we hope they form local "live" groups where people can meet face-to-face to discuss the teachings, perk up their enthusiasm, and clarify issues among themselves, or prepare questions for discussion with teachers.
There will be end-of-year written exams, for those who wish.
The 2010 optional two-week study-intensive
http://www.samyeling.org/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=3&pid=196
will start on Friday April 9th and continue through to Friday April 23rd. Dharmacharya Ken Holmes http://www.samyeling.org/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=10&pid=28
will present Maitreya and Asanga's famous master work on buddha nature, "Mahayana Uttara Tantra", in its entirety at Kagyu Samye Ling.
It is our deep hope that at least one person from each Samye Dzong will follow these studies and that our community at large can help the sangha to study, by sponsoring their fees. The study material is almost entirely based on teachings given by great masters at Kagyu Samye Ling - principally the 12th Kentin Tai Situpa and Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche- and we hope that these precious transmissions, given in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, will be perpetuated through our Nangi Shedra students, thus maintaining a living transmission to future generations, in both content and feel.
You can consult an overview of the Three-Year programme here
http://www.calm-and-clear.eu/nangiprog.pdf
Or an interactive Mind Map of the structure here
http://www.calm-and-clear.eu/NSstructure/index.html
You can read more about fees, enrolment, signing-up etc. here
http://calm-and-clear.eu/nangi.html