Understanding Vajrayana: An Exploration of the Vajrayana Path and Culture (Online)

with Judith Simmer-Brown

September 7th—October 26th

Date details +
    Room: Online

    Hosted by Shambhala Online

    Saturdays from 1:00pm – 3:00pm EST
    2024: September 7, September 14, September 28, October 5, October 12, October 19, October 26
    Open to all. No prerequisites required.

    Join an exploration of the profound path of Vajrayana that is open to all! This course is ideal for those who are longing to learn more about, inquire into, or refresh their connection to, the Vajrayana path. We will trace the map of key Vajrayana topics, exploring their meaning and context.

    Key Topics:

    • The history of Vajrayana Buddhism
    • The landscape of Vajrayana Buddhism in the West
    • View of Vajrayana
    • Devotion and the Vajrayana Guru
    • Vajrayana meditation: visualization, prostrations, mantras, and mudras
    • Formless meditation
    • The Vajrayana samayas and secrecy
    • Vajrayana in the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism
    • Vajrayana in Shambhala

     

    This course is being offered through Shambhala Online. In order for Shambhala New York to receive a portion of the course price, please select "New York" as your center upon registration and use the course code 2024VAJRAYANA50. Should you run into any issues, please contact us at [email protected].

    If you are interested in forming a study group to discuss these teachings with other NYC-based class participants, please reach out to [email protected].  We are happy to put you in touch with others taking the same course.

    About the Teacher:
    Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Contemplative and Religious Studies Emeritx at Naropa University, where she has taught for over 40 years. Simmer-Brown is a compassion trainer for the Compassion Initiative at Naropa. She is author of Dakini’s Warm Breath: The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Buddhism (Shambhala) and editor, with Fran Grace, of Meditation and the Classroom: Contemplative Pedagogy for Religious Studies (SUNY). For Shambhala, she teaches Shambhala Training levels, Mahayana and Vajrayana topics, with a special love of White Tara, feminine principle, working with emotions, compassion and social engagement.