Foundation Programme – Mondays 7pm -9pm
If you wish to deepen your experience of Buddha’s teachings and find meaning and lasting happiness in your modern life, you will enjoy the Foundation Programme (FP). Joining FP involves enrolling for a section of the book and attending all the classes if at all possible.
Each class consists of short chanted prayers, a guided meditation, teaching and discussion. The classes are systematic and interactive and students will find that their knowledge and wisdom grows week by week as a result.
The oral transmission of the book, combined with teachings, guided meditations and discussion, deepens our understanding as well as our confidence to apply Dharma in daily life. By doing this consistently, we will be able to turn our initial insights into actual realizations of Dharma.
The classes are similar in format and depth to college-level classes and the programme is based on a systematic study of six Kadampa Buddhist texts.
Committing to a regular study programme with a group of like-minded people you can benefit from the support of a spiritual community to energize and sustain your spiritual life.
There are 3 ways to participate according to your circumstances.
- Join in person
- Join online live via zoom**
- Join as a correspondence student and listen back to the class at a time of your choosing each week.
** to attend online you must live within the catchment area of the Centre, Norfolk or Suffolk. and have a valid reason for being unable to attend the Centre in person, such as personal disability or long-distance travel.
“Everyone, whether religious or non-religious, is looking for happiness all the time and wants to be free from problems and suffering permanently. We can fulfil these wishes through understanding and practicing the instructions given in this book”
About the Teacher
Gen Kelsang Yankyi is the Resident Teacher of Amoghasiddhi Kadampa Buddhist Centre, has been studying and teaching Kadampa Buddhist meditations for over twenty-five years. She is loved for her gentle and joyful approach and her ability to present Buddha’s teachings in a clear and down to earth manner making them easy to practice.
Meaningful to Behold
Meaningful to Behold is a highly acclaimed commentary to the great Indian Buddhist Master Shantideva’s famous spiritual poem Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, one of the best loved and most important Mahayana Buddhist texts. It reveals with poetic beauty and deep spiritual insight how to enter, make progress on, and complete the Buddhist path to enlightenment.
This practical handbook is essential for those wishing to follow a way of life characterised by greater empathy and compassion for others.
‘Our present situation can be understood in terms of the following analogy. If a person comes across a nugget of gold but does not recognize its rarity and worth, he may easily throw it away. At this moment we have attained a precious human life far more valuable than gold, but if we do not recognize its worth we are apt to squander it in meaningless and purposeless pursuits.’ – Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Who is it for?
Our Foundation program is for anyone living in Norfolk or Suffolk. For study programs in other areas please contact your closest Kadampa centre.
Attend in person or online
People living within 45mins journey of the centre are asked to participate in person for Foundation Programme. For those living further away and those with health or other special reasons you can join live via zoom or as a correspondence student.
Due to the discussion element of the course we recommend that people make an effort to join in person or online at the same time as the actual class. Exceptions can be made for you to listen on catch up in exceptional circumstances.
There is also an option to receive recordings as a correspondence student to listen in your own time if this is the only option that works for you.
Price: £35 per month
In order to join, enrolment is required (please note Foundation Programme is not a drop-in class). The class fee is incorporated into the monthly membership which includes most classes, courses and retreats run by the centre.
How to Join FP
Further information & enrollment
For more information and enrollment please contact the Education Programme Coordinator on: epc@meditateinnorfolk.org
You can join the programme at anytime.