About the Foundation Program
The Foundation Program (FP) is a unique structured study program that enables us to gain deeper understanding and experience of Buddhist teachings and to develop a regular meditation practice. It is ideal for those who have a general understanding of Buddhism and wish to learn more. FP meets once a week during term times with breaks in between and a longer break in the summer. Students are requested to enroll for a section of the text and commit to attend all the classes.
Through regular teachings and meditation, systematic study and group discussion the Foundation Program offers deep support for your spiritual life. In essence it is the same training followed by spiritual practitioners in an unbroken lineage dating back to Buddha Shakyamuni. Its special quality is that we can gain authentic experience without abandoning our modern lifestyle. By studying on this program we will gain great confidence in meditation – from basic techniques for overcoming our everyday problems, to practices leading to unsurpassed happiness and permanent inner peace.
Thursdays | 9:30am-11:30am
Meaningful to Behold by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Many people have the compassionate wish to benefit others, but few understand how to accomplish this successfully in daily life. Bodhisattvas are friends of the world, who have such strong compassion that they are able to transform all their daily activities into ways of benefiting others. The path of the Bodhisattva was exquisitely explained in the universally loved poem Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by the 8th century master Shantideva. With this commentary, the full effectiveness and profundity of this wonderful poem are revealed in full and made applicable for our time. This practical handbook is essential for those wishing to follow a way of life characterized by greater empathy and compassion for others.
Purchase Meaningful to Behold from Tharpa.com or from our bookstore.
Current Thursday FP Students
Class recordings page
Saturdays | 3:00pm—5:00pm
How to Understand the Mind by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is an extraordinary book - at once practical and profound. Wherever you are on your spiritual path, this book is indispensable. It offers a deep insight into our mind and shows how an understanding of its nature and functions can be used practically in everyday experience to improve our lives.
The first part is a practical guide to developing and maintaining a light, positive mind. We learn how to recognize and abandon states of mind that harm us and to replace them with peaceful and beneficial ones. The second part describes different types of mind in detail, revealing the depth and profundity of the Buddhist understanding of the mind. In particular it reveals the process we go through in abandoning wrong and mistaken minds and eventually attaining qualified spiritual realizations.
Purchase How to Understand the Mind from Tharpa.com or from our our bookstore.
Current Saturday FP Students
Class recordings page
Saturdays | 3:00pm—5:00pm
Joyful Path of Good Fortune by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is an extraordinary book that encompasses all of Buddha's eighty-four thousand teachings presented as Lamrim, stages of the path to enlightenment.
Although there are countless living beings, humans and non-humans, all are included within three kinds: those who seek mainly worldly happiness, those who seek mainly the attainment of liberation from samsara, and those who seek mainly the attainment of full enlightenment.
The actual practice of the stages of the path fulfils the wishes of all three kinds of being. The practice of the stages of the path of a person of initial scope, which is explained in the first part of this book, brings us the happiness of humans and gods. The practice of the stages of the path of a person of intermediate scope, which is explained in the second part of this book, brings us the happiness of liberation. The practice of the stages of the path of a person of great scope, which is explained in the third part of this book, brings us the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment. Thus the main function of the Lamrim instructions is to fulfil the needs and wishes of all living beings.
Purchase Joyful Path of Good Fortune from Tharpa.com or from our our bookstore.
Current Saturday FP Students
Class recordings page
Cost
Saturday Foundation Program: $75/month for one year
Thursday Daytime Foundation Program: $65/month for one year
(Foundation Program Membership includes General Program classes | no one turned away for lack of funds)
How to Enroll: To inquire about joining or for more information about this special opportunity, please contact the center at info@meditationinoregon.org or 503 233 6747. You are welcome to join Foundation Program at any time.
About the Teacher Training Program
The Teacher Training Program (TTP) is designed for people who wish to train as authentic Dharma Teachers or simply engage with Buddha’s teachings in the deepest possible manner. In addition to completing the study of fourteen texts of Sutra and Tantra, the student is required to observe certain commitments with regard to behavior and way of life, and to complete a number of meditation retreats. Through a deep and continuing commitment to the program of study, meditation, discussion, and retreat, we can gain deep experience of Buddha’s teachings, establish a strong meditation practice and become a qualified teacher in our own right.
In TTP we will be starting the book “Great Treasury of Merit” on Sunday, September 20th, 2020.
Enrollment: $75/month for TTP Membership. If you have questions concerning this program, or a sincere interest in joining please contact the Center at 503-233-6747 or info@meditationinoregon.org.
Great Treasury of Merit provides a full explanation of how to practice Offering to the Spiritual Guide, one of the most important meditation practices of Kadampa Buddhism. A work of unparalleled profundity and clarity, this book contains a wealth of accessible and practical instructions on Lamrim, Lojong and Tantric Mahamudra, the very essence of Buddha’s teachings. An indispensable handbook for all those who wish to accomplish the swift path to enlightenment. You can purchase Great Treasury of Merit from Tharpa.com or from our bookstore.
Current TTP Students
Class recordings page
Kadam Heather, a disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for 23 years, has been the Resident Teacher of Mahasiddha Kadampa Buddhist Center in Portland since 2006. A working mother of a 7 year old, Kadam Heather shows how Buddha's teachings are practical and beneficial for everyone. Her teachings are clear and compassionate and she presents with a warmth that makes them very accessible.
Online Class Policy
8959 SW Barbur Blvd #101, Portland, OR 97219
info@meditationinoregon.org | 503.233.6747
Mahasiddha Kadampa Buddhist Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Member of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union.
