With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath
Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan
Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro
Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
January 1st is the kick-off to our 40 day meditation marathon. This is an invitation to practice every single day for 40 days from January 1st to Losar on February 10th. It’s so wonderful to be able to share this commitment with others and we invite you to join us!
With Drupon Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche and Pema Khandro
May 3 - 5, 2024
Join us for this special event, the Vajrayogini Empowerment, an initiation into the inner tantra practice of generation stage meditation. Vajrayogini is the female buddha embodying radical presence. To practice Vajrayogini meditation is to cut through to innermost wisdom and innate clarity. This special weekend will feature three days of instructions, empowerment and meditations of Vajrayogini. It will be led by Drupon Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche who will give the empowerment and Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D, who will give the explanation and instructions. TRANSLATION We are honored to host the most excellent interpreter, Ina Bieler! The empowerment will be translated into…
THE BLACK DAKINI CHOD TRADITION This is a Tibetan meditation which is a potent, dynamic practice for awakening compassion and facing death. It is a practice of healing through love towards one’s own mind; through releasing the fictive self, the dualism that caused the appearance of “other” dissolves and an expansive intelligence becomes available. Morning large group sessions will focus on the Black Dakini, the profound deity yoga meditation on the black wrathful dakini from the Jeweled Garland of Chod, (the Rinchen Trengwa) that was practiced by the first Pema Khandro and passed down from fourteenth century Tibet. This practice…
ཆོས་དབྱིངས་མཛོད Treasury of Space Khenpo Yeshi and Pema Khandro return for the next chapter of the Choying Dzod. Beyond effort and achievement is the state of natural ease, the basic space of being. How to breakthrough to find this innate expanse is the focus of a profound Buddhist meditation manual known as The Treasury of Basic Space, The Choying Dzod (chos dbyings rin po che’i mdzod). It presents the essence of esoteric Tibetan Buddhism, known as Great Perfection, or Dzogchen (rdzogs chen) in verse form. Venerated as a manifestation of the expanse of reality itself, is the quintessential Dzogchen text by the fourteenth…
Special Event with Ven Karma Lekshe Tsomo & Pema Khandro
So much has changed for Buddhist women in the last three decades, this dharma conversation features two pioneering women who have devoted their lives to these changes. Join Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Dr. Pema Khandro for this special evening as they reflect on Buddhist Women before and after – discussing their journey into the scholar’s life and the status of Buddhist women today. This conversation comes at a joyful turning point as Ven. Lekshe-la celebrates her retirement after twenty-two years of serving as a University of San Diego professor. Likewise, Khandro-la celebrates the turning point of completing her Phd in Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia.
The Five Buddhist Precepts, from a Tantric perspective
The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality. Topics covered in this course include:
Buddhist theories about vegetarian lifestyle vs. meat-eating
Buddhist perspectives on alcohol and drug use
Conscious use of sexual energy, Buddhist philosophy about desire
Handling resources, money, and spirituality
Honesty, and the speech that takes us beyond confusion
Completion of Buddhist Ethics coursework is required for:
Vajrayana Training
Meditation Instructor Training Certification
Vajra Sangha Membership
Ngakpa Training
Overview of Coursework Buddhist Ethics 1: Introduction to Vows and Codes: the 5 precepts, the 3 vows, codes of conduct, and principles of integrity
Buddhist Ethics 2: Introduction to the 5 Precepts & Precept 1- Doing No Harm
Buddhist Ethics 3: Introduction to the Precept of Non-harming Is killing ever justified? Buddhist stories and history that give perspective on this issue
Buddhist Ethics 4: Introduction to the Precept of Not Taking What is Not Freely Given – Overview of the precept, systems of exploitation, Tibetan cultures, and practices.
Buddhist Ethics 5: Sexual Misconduct – making sense of different viewpoints. How to have integrity in one’s sexuality from various Buddhist perspectives.
Buddhist Ethics 6: The Story of the Lying Mahasiddha
Buddhist Ethics 7: Vow of Speech – Speech with Integrity How to use speech for non-harm and liberation, and how to abandon false speech.
Buddhist Ethics 8: False Speech Addendum Speaking up in the face of abuse, divisive speech, speaking up and out. An Addendum to The Fourth Precept.
Buddhist Ethics 9: Precept Against Intoxicants – Avoiding the Demented State How to remain stable in the unaltered state, and discussion on addictions.
Buddhist Ethics 10: A Review – Underlying Principles Behind Buddhist Ethics
Schedule of Training Live Introduction with Pema Khandro Wed Jan 25th – 5pm pacific | 8pm eastern
Focus Groups with Aruna Rig’dzin and Dr. Satya Mondays – Jan 30 + Feb 6, 13, 20, 27 1-1:30pm PT / 4-4:30pm Focus Groups offer review and discussion of self-paced coursework and time for fostering community connections.