Buddhism Distance Learning: Samye Ling's dharma study course

Study Tibetan Buddhism at Home

This comprehensive, 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 the finest Tibetan masters who have visited and taught at Samye Ling, it was launched in sping 2008 jointly 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.

A new intake of students will start  studying Year One of this course in May 2010 *.
You can sign up any time from now onwards (see below).

 

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 will start on Friday April 9th and continue through to Friday April 23rd. Dharmacharya Ken Holmes 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
Or an interactive Mind Map of the structure here

 

You can read more about fees, enrolment, signing-up etc. here

 

You can ask specific questions (once you have read the overview and update letter) by emailing ken@calm-and-clear.eu

 

Thanks for your interest

* The first monthly module (May module) will be sent in advance some time at the end of April.

 

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