Discovering Buddhism at Langri Tangpa Centre – Langri Tangpa Buddhist Centre

Discovering Buddhism

Awakening the limitless potential of your mind, achieving all peace and happiness.

The core of the LTC program is this in-depth course that spans three years of study and integration. This program is not designed just as an academic study of Buddhism but is intended to change a person’s life. This is in-depth study for the committed beginner. More than just intellectual study, the Discovering Buddhism course creates a community of students who grow together supporting each other in their practice and understanding.

The Discovering Buddhism course is made up of 14 modules of study and retreat covering the Buddhist path in a systematic way, and tailored especially for a western sensibility. Each module is completed over two months of weekly classes. This gives you time to study, practice and integrate each new subject at a comfortable pace, building a comprehensive base of knowledge, skills, and resilience.

You can join this three-year course at the beginning of any module. You don’t have to wait until module one to become part of the program! People often join once they have completed several of the beginner’s Buddhism courses. You can also do the Discovering Buddhism modules at other FPMT centres throughout Australia, including our sister centre, Chenrezig Institute, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

We hold these courses during both day and evening, online and in-person, often as a hybrid class. Please feel free to mix and match if you need to swap an in-person class for an online one. Just email Miffi before the class so she can send you the link info@langritangpa.org.au.

Tuesday mornings (10.30 am – 12 pm)
Wednesday evenings (7 pm – 8.30 pm)

Each module generally runs for 8 weeks of weekly teachings, plus a review class, a DVD on the topic, and the associated integration activities between each course. Please check the calendar for information on which module we are up to.

The Fourteen Modules

1. Mind and Its Potential

Examine the mind and how it creates happiness and suffering. Learn to transform destructive thoughts and attitudes to develop a positive and joyous mind.

2. How to Meditate

Explore the definition and purpose of meditation, how to sit, how to set up a meditation session, different meditation techniques, and how to deal with obstacles to meditation.

3. Presenting the Path

Get an overview of the entire Tibetan Buddhist path to awakening. Study the life story of the Buddha and discover a unique system for putting Buddhist philosophy into practice – the lamrim, or graduated path to enlightenment.

4. The Spiritual Teacher

Investigate the role of the teacher on the spiritual path: the need for a teacher, the qualities of teacher and student, and how to relate to a teacher.

5. Death and Rebirth

Explore the process of death and rebirth and its impact on how we live our lives. Learn to fulfill your purpose in life, resolve conflicts, and develop the skills to help yourself and others at death.

6. All About Karma

Learn the essential facts about the law of actions and their results. Explore ways to deal with life more effectively and take control of your future.

7. Refuge in the Three Jewels

Find out what it means to take refuge in the Three Jewels – the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha – and the essential practices of refuge. Learn about the advantage of taking lay vows and their role in enhancing our spiritual growth.

8. Establishing a Daily Practice

Assemble the tools you need to develop a successful daily practice and find out the elements necessary to generate realisations. Get some tips for making every action you do meaningful.

9. Samsara and Nirvana

Investigate what “samsara” is and how we are stuck in it. Find out what “nirvana” is and how to achieve it. Learn how to be free from suffering and gain practical tools to deal with and eliminate disturbing emotions forever.

10. How to Develop Bodhicitta

Discover practices that develop our innate qualities of compassion. Learn to apply these techniques to generate bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment, known as the very heart of Buddha’s teachings.

11. Transforming Problems

Learn the disadvantages of selfishness and the advantages of cherishing others. Learn to employ the special techniques of mind training (lojong) to transform problems into happiness.

12. Wisdom of Emptiness

Learn how to develop calm abiding (shamatha), the ability to remain focused in meditation for as long periods as you want without distraction. Try different ways of meditating on emptiness, the lack of true existence of the self and all phenomena, the realisation of which is crucial for the attainment of liberation and enlightenment.

13. Introduction to Tantra

Learn what tantra is, how it works, and why it is a powerful form of practice. Get a broad overview of the four classes of tantra and learn to practice simple kriya tantric methods. Learn how to integrate tantra with lamrim meditation to obtain the best results.

14. Special Integration Experiences

By undertaking intensive practices of purification and a two-week lam-rim retreat, you prepare your mind in the best way to realise the path to enlightenment. Purification practices include: 100,000 prostrations, 3-month Vajrasattva retreat, and Nyung-ne. This is a great way to seal the blessings of this program!

These modules are best suited to the committed beginner, or people who have already completed a beginner’s Buddhism course or two.

If you are unsure whether you are ready to dive into the Discovering Buddhism course, please come along and sit in on a couple of classes to see if it suits you.

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Module 13: Introduction to Tantra

Tuesday mornings, 11 April – 20 June, 2023 (10.30 am). Held both in-person and online.

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Module 8: Establishing a Daily Practice

Wednesday evenings, 26 April – 21 June, 2023 (7 pm). In-person and online.

Other Ways to Participate

Catch-up Classes with both soundfiles and video are available for LTC Members. You can also gain access to these weekly catch-ups by purchasing a class PACKAGE of course.

Chenrezig Institute, our FPMT sister centre in the sunshine coast hinterland, offers DB as a weekend course. Life is hectic, so if you cannot make it to our weekly classes, this is a great alternative!

FPMT Videos produced for each module include an introduction from Richard Gere or Keanu Reeves, teachings from various lamas, and inspiring and informal conversations with western students.

Online Learning Centre Discovering Buddhism is also available as a correspondence course from the FPMT, where the second module, How to Meditate, is offered as free course.