FAQ & Technical Forum

Hi William

I will be putting some instructions on Module 14 online soon after Modules 3, 4 and 6 are made live this month. However in the meantime I am copying some information below from the instructions for Module 14 regarding completing the two week Lam Rim Course which may be helpful.

Eamon

Two-Week Kopan-style Lam-rim Course

The best way to complete this requirement is by making pilgrimage to Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal and attending the renowned Kopan November course. This is a one-month course that is an invaluable opportunity to deepen your experience and understanding of the lam-rim. There is time for open discussion, meditation, and lectures from a Tibetan lama and a Western Sangha member daily. Kopan is where the FPMT first began, and there is no better “rite of passage” into the heart of Tibetan Buddhism as practiced in the FPMT than to go to Kopan. To find out more about the Kopan November course, please see Kopan Monastery’s website at: www.kopan-monastery.com

If you are not able to participate in the November course, attendance at any of the ten-day lam-rim courses offered at Kopan also fulfills this requirement. For a schedule of these courses please see the DB retreats page: fpmt.org/retreat/dbschedule.asp

For those unable to travel to Nepal, one can try to attend one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s annual retreats, offered in different regions every year. While these are often deity-based retreats, the emphasis is always on lam-rim, and the experience will give you an equally profound journey to the heart of the FPMT. To view the schedule of these retreats again, please refer to: fpmt.org/retreat/dbschedule.asp

Starting in 2006 three two-week Discovering BUDDHISM “Kopan-style” retreats will be held annually. Hosting centers will be Chenrezig Institute in Australia, Vajrapani Institute in the USA, and Kushi Ling Retreat Center in Italy. Additionally, Vajrapani Institute offers an annual “Kopan West” two-week lam-rim retreat each autumn. For a complete list of all Discovering BUDDHISM retreats, please see: //fpmt.org/centers/retreat/dbschedule/

Last one can perform the two-week lam-rim retreat in one’s own home. This will, of course, require more discipline and more familiarity with both the lam-rim and how to conduct a retreat than doing the retreat in a group setting, but nonetheless it is an option. To fulfill the requirement in this way, we recommend that you follow the three-day lam-rim cycle (see pp. 51–3) and repeat the cycle five times.

Dear everyone

Information on Module 14 is now available online on the online learning site at https://onlinelearning.fpmt.org/course/view.php?id=14

No enrollment key is required for this module.

Module 14 'Special Integration Experiences', unlike the previous 13 DB modules, does not include audio teachings and guided meditations. Instead, it is designed for personal practice, as practice is the tool by which all of the teachings that are heard become oneness with one's mind and integrated into one's daily life. The practices in this module are the direct advise of Lama Zopa Rinpoche for anyone wishing to fully experience the results of "Discovering Buddhism".

Undertaking intensive practices of purification and a minimum two-week lam-rim residential retreat prepares your mind in the best possible way to gain realizations on the path to enlightenment. Purification practices include: 100,000 prostrations, 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras and Nyung Nä retreats. This is a great way to seal the blessings of this program.

Thanks

Eamon