Modern Buddhism Course Part One 

Class  1. What is Modern Buddhism W/C 1/9/25 

Buddhism is the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called ‘Dharma’, which means ‘protection’. There are two stages to the practice of Buddha’s teachings – the practices of Sutra and Tantra – both of which are explained in the book Modern Buddhism. We will be learning about these practices and how they can benefit us in our modern daily life. This class will be an introduction to what profound wisdom lays ahead. 

Class 2. What is the mind W/C 8/9/25

As Venerable Geshe La asks : what is the mind ? We often talk about our mind but if someone were to ask us ‘What is the mind ?’ , we would have no clear answer. In this class we will be exploring the mind from Buddhist Teachings. A fascinating insight that will help us experience more positive states of mind. 

Class 3. The Preciousness of our Human Life W/C 15/9/25 

The purpose of understanding the preciousness of our human life is to encourage us to take the real meaning of our human life. We will be exploring how we can ensure to make the very most of our life in a wonderfully meaningful way. 

Class 4. What Does Our Death Mean? W/C 22/9/25

Our death is perhaps something we don’t like to think about and of course it can be very challenging at different times in our life through our own experiences.Here we will be exploring ways in which we can be extremely kind to our self in preparing for the time of our death and also how we can be of great benefit to others , and the ones we love dearly. 

Class 5. 29/9/25 W/C Going for Refuge.  

Here we will be exploring what Buddhists mean by Going for Refuge. We will start to understand how this practice can help us in our daily life. How this practice is the source of protection , our peace of mind and happiness. 

Class 6 What is Karma? W/C 13/10/25 

Karma is one of Buddha’s most profound teachings. By understanding Buddhas  teachings on Karma we can achieve so much , it helps us to make sense of the myriad of things that happen in life. Venerable Geshe-La says in Modern Buddhism “Generally, karma means ‘action’. From non-virtuous actions comes suffering and from virtuous actions comes happiness: if we believe this, we believe in karma”. There is so much that we can explore together on the subject of Karma. 

Class 7 The Four Noble Truths W/C 20/10/25 

In the Sutra of the Four Noble Truths, Buddha says: You should know sufferings. You should abandon origins. You should attain cessations. You should practise the path. We can gain such practical advice from this teaching on how we can navigate the hurdles of everyday life by developing an understanding and appreciation of the Four Noble Truths and merge them into our busy modern lives.