The Benefits of the Foundation Program
Students in the Foundation Program have an opportunity to follow the same training followed by spiritual practitioners for generations, but without having to abandon their modern lifestyle. Over time, students in this program find that their minds change for the better in significant ways: through taking Buddha’s teachings as personal advice and striving to put them into practice in daily life, they gain authentic spiritual experience, solve their daily problems, improve their relationships at work and at home, and develop a good heart.
What is the Foundation Program?
The Foundation Program provides students with an opportunity to advance their understanding and practice of Buddha’s teachings through systematic study and meditation on the essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. Foundation Program students study the following five subjects based on Buddha’s Sutra teachings and their corresponding commentaries by our teacher, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso:
- The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, or Kadam Lamrim, based on the commentary Joyful Path of Good Fortune
- Training the Mind, or Kadam Lojong, based on two commentaries, Eight Steps to Happinessand Universal Compassion
- The Heart Sutra, based on the commentary The New Heart of Wisdom
- Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, based on the commentary Meaningful to Behold
- Types of Mind, based on the commentary How to Understand the Mind