Summer Study Class 2008: "The Way of the Old Kadampas, For Modern-Day Practitioners"
An Exploration of "Advice from Atisha's Heart"

$10 per class recommended donation (pay ahead and save - click here)
6pm on Sundays (with 4:30pm Wishfulfilling Jewel)
June 8, June 15, July 6, July 13, July 20, and August 3*
(*Buddha Shakyamuni Empowerment on June 22; Melodious Drum on June 29; no class on July 27)

The summer study class is a General Program class that meets during our Foundation Program time slot during the summer months. It is designed to help Foundation Program students maintain their Dharma studies during the summer months when Foundation Program does not meet. Because it is a General Program class, there are no Foundation Program commitments associated with this class. You do not have to be a Foundation Program Student to attend. However, for Rameshori students who have been thinking about joining the Foundation Program, the summer study class is a good opportunity to meet current Foundation Program students and get a feeling for the structure and study methods of the Foundation Program class.

Each summer, we take time out to examine a specific aspect of the Kadampa Buddhist path more closely. In years past, we have studied the book Heart Jewel, we have discussed death and impermanence, and we have reviewed the Initial Scope Lamrim meditations. This year, we will start by receiving teachings on the Commitments and Precepts of Training the Mind, as explained by the great spiritual master and author of "Seven Points of Training the Mind", Geshe Chekawa. Later in the summer we will take an in-depth look at "Advice from Atisha's Heart". "Advice" is an 11th century teaching given by Atisha, the great Indian Buddhist master and founder of Kadampa Buddhism, to his Tibetan followers. Many centuries later, practitioners of the New Kadampa Tradition all over the world still rely upon the "Advice" as one of the cornerstone texts of Kadampa Buddhism. Although "Advice from Atisha's Heart" is only a few pages long, it contains the essence of how to put Buddha's teachings into practice in daily life, and in this way make swift progress along the spiritual path.

Classes will be led by Rameshori's Resident Teacher, Gen Mondrub, as well as other teachers from within the Foundation Program. Everyone is welcome to attend.

"Friends, since you already have great knowledge and clear understanding, whereas I am of no importance and have little wisdom, it is not suitable for you to request advice from me. However because you dear friends, whom I cherish from my heart, have requested me, I shall give you this essential advice from my inferior and childish mind." - the opening of "Advice from Atisha's Heart"

Foundation Program

DATES: Sundays 4:30pm, resuming Sept. 7 LOCATIONS: Sandy Springs

COST: $70 per month (No one turned away for lack of funds) TEACHERS: Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Monrub

The Foundation Program is a structured study program designed to enable the student to gain a deeper understanding and experience of Buddha's teachings. Geshe Kelsang has said,

"Our present understanding and experience of Dharma is quite superficial. We are like someone who has entered a huge food store and seen many things but sampled only a few. We may have received many different teachings from many different Teachers, but we have taken in very little, just a few morsels. Therefore our actual experience remains superficial. There is a gap between us and the Dharma. It feels as if Dharma is there and we are here. Our mind is not mixed with Dharma and so we cannot apply it in our daily lives. As a result our ordinary everyday problems remain.

For example, we may have received many teachings on Lamrim and read many books. Intellectually we find it relatively easy to understand and we accept it all, but we find it difficult to integrate into our daily lives, and so we cannot use this Dharma to solve our daily problems. When we study Dharma our mind remains passive, like someone watching television. It does not engage in the subject and mix with it. Therefore our daily life and our Dharma remain completely separate and unrelated. Why is this? It is because we are not studying systematically according to a specially designed program. If we just pick at Dharma randomly we will never gain a deep and stable experience, and our wisdom will never become like a full moon."

The FP is just such a program. With weekly reading assignments from the text, as well as discussions and meditations on the week's readings, The FP creates the conditions for us to develop deep inner experience of the teachings.

The Foundation Program is a systematic study of six texts by our teacher, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. These include:

• Joyful Path of Good Fortune - a commentary to Atisha's Lamrim instructions, the stages of the path to enlightenment.
• Universal Compassion - a commentary to Bodhisattva Chekhawa's Training the Mind in Seven Points.
• Heart of Wisdom - a commentary to the Heart Sutra.
• Meaningful to Behold - a commentary to Bodhisattva Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life.
• Understanding the Mind - a detailed explanation of the mind, based on the works of the Buddhist scholars Dharmakirti and Dignaga.
• Eight Steps to Happiness - a commentary to Bodhisattva Langri Tangpa's "Eight Verses of Training the Mind".

Beginning in September, we will be studying the book Heart of Wisdom. In this book, Geshe Kelsang provides commentary to the famous Heart Sutra, one of Buddha Shakyamuni's most profound teachings on wisdom. With great clarity and in great detail, Geshe Kelsang explains Buddha's highest wisdom teachings in a way that everyone can understand. We will spend approximately one year studying this amazing book.

If you are sincerely interested in making your spiritual practice an important part of your life, please consider the Foundation Program. If our spiritual practice remains weak and unstructured, we will never achieve the results we desire.

For those wishing to join the Foundation Program, you may attend up to three classes before deciding if you want to join the Program. Unlike the General Program classes we offer, participating in the Foundation Program does entail some commitments. Please contact our Education Program Coordinator to learn more.

Class Structure

The Foundation Program class meets each week, Sundays at 4:30pm. Students are also strongly encouraged to attend the Wishfulfilling Jewel puja on Sundays from 3:00pm - 4:00pm. The class schedule is:

4:30 - 5:15	Prayers and Meditation Practice
5:15 - 6:15	Oral Transmission and Commentary
6:15 - 6:45	Break
6:45 - 7:30	Renew Motivation, Oral Transmission and Commentary
7:30 - 8:00	Paired Discussion
8:00 - 8:15	Group Discussion, Method of Integration and Meditation
8:15 - 8:30	Class Announcements and Dedication Practice

The fee is $70 per month for the Foundation Program (at the Center or by correspondence). This monthly course fee also entitles FP students to discounts for other events and to attend General Program classes at no additional charge.

Foundation Program Correspondence Program

If you live far outside Atlanta, or for valid reasons cannot attend study class every week, yet you would like to sincerely participate in the Foundation Program, please contact our Education Program Coordinator to register or for more information about the Correspondence Program.