A Meaningful Life Sunday Foundation Programme starting: Heart of Wisdom - August 31st. More details coming soon.

Study Opportunites

Jangchub Ling is a centre for Buddhist study & meditation located in the West Midlands.

The centre is diverse in the courses, retreats, classes which it offers - catering for you as an individual - we make sure we offer the most effective methods to help you solve your daily problems

The following three programmes form the very core of the Centre.

FOUNDATION PROGRAMME

Many Buddhist practitioners have a sincere wish to deepen their know-ledge and experience of Dharma and gain authentic spiritual realizations through a structured programme of Dharma studies. The Foundation Programme is designed to fulfil this wish. It provides a systematic presentation of the basic subjects of Mahayana Buddhism and forms a perfect basis for a strong daily practice and successful meditation retreats. The programme takes about four years to complete.

Although we all wish for happiness, our ignorance of the true nature of things leads us to engage in non-virtuous actions, which are the main cause of all our suffering. Furthermore, if we do not learn to cultivate a good heart in our daily activities, our selfish motivation destroys harmony
and good relationships with others, and we have no peace and no opportunity to gain pure happiness. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.

Through studying on the Foundation Programme we learn how to eliminate our negative minds. Anger and selfishness will not go away by themselves; we need a tried and tested method to reduce and eventually to eliminate all negativity from our minds.

Venerable Geshe Kelsang says:

“Our present understanding and experience of Dharma is quite superficial. We are like someone who has entered a huge food store and seen many things but sampled only a few. We mayhave received many different teachings from many different Teachers, but we have taken in very little, just a few morsels. There is a big gap between our mind and Dharma, and we cannot apply Dharma in our daily lives. Our approach remains passive, like someone watching television, and our mind remains as uncontrolled as before. Why is this? It is because we are not studying systematically, according to a specially designed programme. If we just pick at Dharma randomly we shall never gain deep and stable experience. For this reason the spiritual programmes offered in New Kadampa Tradition Centre’s are very important.”

There are currently two Foundation Programme sessions running at Jangchub Ling Centre:

Sundays
9.00am - 11.00am
Refreshments
11.30pm - 1.30pm
with Resident Teacher Kelsang Lobon
____________________________________________________________________
Tuesdays: 6.15PM-9.40PM
with Resident Teacher Kelsang Lobon
6.15-6.35: Prayers
6.35-6.55: Guided Meditation
6.55-7.45: Teaching
7.45-8.00: Discussion
8.00-8.05: Dedication
8.05-8.25: Refreshments
8.25-8.35: Prayers
8.35-8.50: Guided Meditation
8.50-9.20: Teaching
9.20-9.35: Discussion
9.35-9.40: Dedication

Term Dates for Tuesday Foundation Programme

March: 4 th/11 th April: 1 st/8 th/15 th/22 nd May: 6 th/13 th/20 th
June: 3 rd/10 th/17 th/24 th September: 2 nd/9 th/16 th/23 rd
October: 7 th/14 th/21 st/28 th November: 11 th/18 th/25 th
December: 2 nd/9 th

Classes consist of guided meditations and visualizations, explanatory commentaries, and discussions.

Location:
Jandchub Ling Centre
Syndey Rd
Cradley Heath

Cost (Per Month): £25.00

Centre Card Holders : Free

For enrolement contact the EPC on:

01384 569 956 or info@meditatejlc.org

A Wishfulfilling Dharma Jewel
A Talk on Foundation Programme
By Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

How does the Foundation Programme fulfill our own wishes? By increasing our wisdom and Dharma experience we can solve all the problems we encounter in daily life and we can protect ourselves from danger in the future. Since beginningless time we have had strong, bad habits that arise from
our self-grasping and self-cherishing. We all want to better ourselves and to be happy and successful in life but our bad habits lead us in the opposite direction. Instead of finding happiness we create the cause for more suffering. None of us
wants to suffer and yet , because of our bad habits, we are continually
strengthening our deluded minds, which are the cause of all our suffering.

With wisdom and Dharma experience we can bring our deluded minds under control. We can reduce our attachment, anger, jealousy, and so forth, and subdue our self-grasping and self-cherishing. By controlling our deluded minds we will come to experience permanent peace day and night. We will bring about a permanent cessation of human problems in particular and of samsaric problems in general. In this way we will become our own protectors.

With wisdom and Dharma experience we will also become our own doctors. Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, famous or of humble origins, without choice we all have to experience mental pain. Within one day we experience mental pain and discomfort many times , sometimes due to unpleasant circumstances and sometimes due to other people, even our friends. Sometimes for no apparent reason unhappiness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, or pain arise naturally due to the ripening of karmic imprints. We need a remedy for this pain. No one else can give us medicine that will relieve this type of pain, we have to become our own karma-doctor and cure ourselves through Dharma experience. By increasing our wisdom and Dharma experience we will gradually solve all our problems and eventually we will achieve the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment, the bliss of Buddhahood. This is how the Foundation Programme can fulfill our own wishes.

What is Studied?

The Programme consists of the systematic study of five essential
Mahayana subjects. The study of each subject is based on the corresponding commentary by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso:

1. The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim) based on the commentary
Joyful Path of Good Fortune

2. Training the Mind (Lojong) based on the commentaries
Universal Compassion & Eight Steps to Happiness

3. The Heart Sutra based on the commentary
Heart of Wisdom

4. Types of Mind (Lorig) based on the commentary
Understanding the Mind
5. Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life based on the commentary
Meaningful to Behold

TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMME

Included in Advanced Classes is the Teacher Training Program, an extensive 12-year course of study. Many students of Buddhism have a sincere wish to deepen their knowledge and experience of Dharma and to gain authentic spiritual realizations through a structured program of Dharma studies. The Teacher Training Program (TTP) is a tried and tested method for fulfilling these wishes. It provides a systematic presentation of all the subjects of Mahayana Buddhism and forms a perfect basis for a strong daily practice and successful meditation retreats. This program has been running in the West since 1987, with many students worldwide. Each student is required to enrol, and to fulfil certain guidelines in terms of attending classes, chanted meditations, and retreats.

Advanced classes also introduce Buddha's Tantric teachings and empowerments - special methods to quickly destroy our limitations and develop awesome spiritual power. Buddha said that if we sincerely engage in these practices we can attain full spiritual awakening or enlightenment within one life.

Click here for details of these empowerments at Jangchub Ling.