Foundation Series on Buddhist Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM)
As taught by
Sister Khema and overseen by Most Venerable “Bhante” Vimalaramsi Maha Thera
the Gift of Dhamma is Priceless!

MAY 20, 2011 UPDATE
Annapolis, Missouri, USA

Title:
Ongoing Training Syllabus updates
showing dates for all installments launched and
any changes in topics.

Dhamma Greetings!

     For those following the foundation Training Course, this is “ONGOING TRAINING  SYLLABUS” which will show the dates of the installments are launched.
Thanks go out to everyone encouraging this project.  Hope you will hang in here til it is completed.  This project will last until it is done.  <grin>
     It is just great that so many people are  following this development around the world and more important, that they are using this meditation in life. Wonderful results are coming out of this practice. Keep this good news coming. We want to know the practice is blooming.
     Write any questions you have.

Much Metta and smiles to you all.
Rev. Sister Khema
Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center (DSMC)

 TRAINING INDEX- ongoing

PART 1

I-   What is this Buddhism? 
Support dhamma talk called  “What is Buddhism?” posted at http://dhammasukha.org/Study/basic.htm  and please note the film called Validation over at UTUBE on the internet. (  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao   )

Alternate ( http://www.flixxy.com/validation-short-film.htm )

1.       FS-01-What is Buddhism? 01/10/2010

2.       FS-02- What is Dana?- Complete explanation and exercise- 01/28/2010

3.       FS-03-What is Sila?- includes inter-relationship of the Precepts and Hindrances .  02/18/2010

4.       FS-04- What is Bhavana?-  What is development? Part 1  3/1/10

5.       FS-05-What is Bhavana?  Part 2 –The Four Noble Truths and How can we use them?  3/1/10

 

II What is this Meditation?

6.       FS-06-What is Meditation and What is Mindfulness?= FS-06 + an exercise for sense doors 4/30/10

7.       FS-07-Why practice meditation?  FS-07 plus an exercise about smiling  6/26/10 

8.       FS-08-What is TWIM? Why is it different?  7/8/10
 

III What is this BEING?

9.       FS-09-What is a Human Being composed of?  5 Aggregates   (khandas)/ 6 Sense doors  (salyatana),  the issue of Human Cognition 7/14/10

10.   FS-10-How Contact happens (Phassa)   7/14/10

11.   FS-11- 3 kinds of Feeling, ( Vedana)  7/14/10

 

IV What is the problem?

12.   FS-12-What is Craving? ( Tanha)   8/16/10

13.   FS-13-What is Clinging? (Upadana)-    9/7/10

14.   FS-14- What is Habitual Tendency? ( Bhava) 9/22/10

15.   FS-15- What is Birth (Jati)  9/25/10

16.   What is Action? (Kamma) 3/15/11 

17.  FS-16- What is Ageing and Death, Sorrow, Lamentation, Pain, Grief, and Despair?  (marana and kanika marana) 2/20/11

 PART 2

V- What is the solution?

18.   FS-17-Can we see the suffering?

19.   FS-18-What is Purification of Mind?

20.   FS-19-What kind of meditation should be done?

21.   FS-20-What is Forgiveness Meditation?

 

VI- How to prepare for a meditation practice?

22.   FS-21-What should I wear to meditate?

23.   FS-22-Where should I meditate?

24.   FS-23-How should I sit and for how long?

25.   FS-24-What if pain comes up?

26.   FS-25- How should I walk and for How long?

 

VII- What kind of things can block my progress?

27.   FS- 26-What about Hindrances?

28.   FS-27-What about Sloth and Torpor/Restlessness/Doubt

29.   FS-28-How do we give the most effective 4 point report to a teacher?

30.   FS-29-Q&A  addressing  other problems and solutions

PART 3

VII- 37 Requisites for Awakening

31.   FA-30-What is Enlightenment versus Awakening?

32.   FS-31-What are the 37 Requisites for Awakening? The leaves.

33.   FS-32-  4 Foundations of Mindfulness

34.   FS-33-  4 bases of Spiritual Power

35.   FS-34-  5 Faculties

36.   FS-35-   4 Steps of Right Effort and Using the 6R’s

37.   FS-36-  5 Powers and continuing the 6Rs naturally

38.   FS-37-  7 Factors of Awakening

39.   FS-38-  8 Folds of the 8-Fold Path

40.   FS-39-  How are the 37 interconnected?

PART 4

VIII- Going Deeper- the Challenge of Human Cognition

41.   FS-40-  What is Human Cognition?

42.   FS-41-  What is the Impersonal Process of Dependent Origination?

43.   FS-42-  How did the Buddha study D.O.?

44.   FS-43-  How can we observe D.O.?

45.   FS-44-  What is the most direct way to see and understand the Three Characteristics of Existence?

46.   FS-45-  Did the Buddha leave us a progress chart?

PART 5

IX- Opening the doorway to Peace.

47.   FS-46-  Using the meditation in the World.

48.   FS-47-  What is the best way to share what we are learning?

49.   OPEN TOPIC by request at the end

50.   Second open topic

51.   Third open topic.

PART 6

X- So, what’s next?

52. One for every week in the year!

(This gives you some idea of the material we will touch on. More may be added to accommodate your questions and discussion.)

Every so often there will also be what is called TRAINING NOTES that will be sent out too. These will occasionally appear in between the installments covering topics or questions outside of the syllabus. They come often arise from your questions.  Notes will cover some interesting topics going on in Buddhism today.

Training Notes so far:

--Training note #1-  Learn how to listen to what is being taught instead of reading it. 01/10/10

--Training Note #2-  A few words about continuing this training - 04/30/10

--Training note #3- Answering questions about the history of TWIM-  06/26/10

--Training note #6

Recap contents of training

This foundation training is meant to bring out a full picture of what Buddhist training was and still can be by fully encompassing meditation practices on Generosity (dana), Morality (sila) and Mental Development (bhavana). 

The meditation instructions are given in the beginning so you can actively practice while you train.  You will gain lots of insights with full understanding if you keep the entire set of information and use it.

The training starts at the beginning. 

The 5 Aggregates, the 6 Sense Doors   which each of us is made up of are first to learn about.  How each person experiences their existence in this life through feeling ( Human Cognition) is next.  The differentiation between how Feeling arises and why Feeling is not Emotion is very important.
By the way, this is great news leading the hope of getting a handle on life instead of being beaten up by it!

The training gives you a clear and simple terminology for good communication with  teachers.  Short definitions  define  Craving and Clinging, their similarities and differences.   Meditation  and  Mindfulness become clearly defined and how they work together.  Proper investigation is demonstrated by the Buddha in the texts. Because things are so clear, most students begin to fully experience and understand  how the actual purification of mind happens through meditation. You will learn what the Four Noble Truths are for and eventually how they exist within each of the links of the impersonal process of Dependent Origination.  

In short, you will learn how to practice the same experiment the Buddha did. The training is interspersed with exercises monks did in the beginning of all this. Referrals are given to supporting Dhamma talks, videos, and other references found on the website at  www.dhammasukha.org     All referrals are aligned with the same teaching approach.

 There are examples of interactions between people in daily life that show how clear understanding can change the outcomes of those same situations in life and reduce suffering.

Q: What happens after this information is given?

A:  You’ll be instructed how to give a 4-point report about your meditation experience to a teacher so you can get advice on the next steps to take.  You will meet the Dhamma in a new way with the Buddha as a premier meditation teacher who spent 45 years refining the teaching. .

Q: What is our responsibility for this course?

A: How much you get involved with this is totally up to you.  If you are participating, your responsibility is to contribute questions, discuss them with us and dig deeper than you have before.    When you write to us, please stay on topic. Don’t go far afield.  Always, let us know what you want to better understand in these lessons. Keep asking questions. This is how to learn more.

Don’t be shy. Write to us and tell us if a topic needs to be more clearly written about, shortened or smaller words.  Do you need better examples or want more Pali words? Tell us what you need.  What other things about Buddhism do you want to know?  All information will be considered and if not used immediately, it will be discussed in the future.   

Most important, we need to know if you are understanding the Dhamma and beginning to use it in life. If this dhamma does not lighten your life and bring you more contentment and balance, then, what good is this practice?

All installments are edited by Venerable Vimalaramsi before posting   They will be posted at the website  www.dhammasukha.org   and eventually,  placed into the FILES section at the ‘dhammasukha’ yahoogroup list to locate easily in the future.  We will remove other training installments to avoid any confusion.

 Q: Does this mean we get to contribute to the writing of this new workbook?

A: Yes. This is a different approach to building a book.  It means we acknowledge that this group of over 550 people is the best measure of how we are doing when we teach the Dhamma in today’s world.  That’s key. Can you learn this and keep it going?

In the next few days, I will be posting the first lesson called 2010- FS-01- What is  Dana?.  This already happened if you are reading now!

Q: Is there anything else we need to know before we begin?

A: Yes. Over 75 people answered the poll to request this training. So, when you contribute questions, please set up your subject line in the email very carefully so I can pick it up fast. This helps us easily identify which installment your question, comment or suggestion is about.

For instance, for short let’s cut back the title of the first installment in the Syllabus to   FS-01 What is Dana? OK?

Lesson one would be called   “FS-01-What is Dana?

I will give you the title in the heading of each installment when I issue it out to you.

These installments are going to be translated into Spanish as we go along too thanks to Adrian Montoya in Chile. Big thanks over there!

Q: Are you going to give Glossary words like you did in past years?

A:  Yes but not in the same structured way. I will put in an installment with glossary words every so often and try to bold the most important ones in the installments.  Please keep a notebook or a file for the words in your glossary. The most important words for you to know will be given as we go along.  You don’t need a Pali course to learn and practice Buddhist meditation.  However, it does help to learn about the primary words that most traditions are talking about. People speaking English or other western languages can learn to practice very well in their own language. The Buddha knew this and encouraged monks to teach in the country they live in. however, this doesn’t always happen as it was meant to.

Write your questions onto the group list. You may continue individual questions about practice on the list also separate from this training.  Remember!  Stay light with this training. Have a fun journey. Above all else, keep practicing and keep smiling! Keep giving away smiles to others. Keep using this practice in daily life. Let’s keep going now. You are all doing great so far!

Metta (Loving Kindness) and smiles.
Rev. Sister Khema (DSMC)

 

POST NOTE:

The Guiding Teachers for this course:

Most Venerable “Bhante” Vimalaramsi Mahathera is one of three founders and President of the United International Buddha Dhamma Society (UIBDS) in 2003 and the current Abbot for Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center (DSMC) in Missouri, USA. He began the Buddhist American Forest Tradition in 2005 and internationally announced it in 2008 when he was inaugurated as the first lifetime representative for the United States of America to the World Buddhist Council in Japan. The USA has never been represented before on this council.  His discovery journey in Asia took him 12 years with master teachers and elders. After figuring things out, he has been teaching the Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM) for 15 years and other meditation for over 35 yrs.  He is well-known worldwide for his first book on the Anapanasati Sutta. You can come to DSMC for personal retreats in meditation development from Mid-May through October each year.  Venerable is the spiritual head for DSMC. He oversees various temporary and full ordination programs where men and women are trained equally.

Samaneri Khema is the international secretary for Most Ven. Vimalaramsi, one of the founders of UIBDS. She has been studying and practicing for over 11 years. After two years as 8 preceptor wearing white, she took her novice vows as a nun and is now a 4^th year Samaneri Nun. She is the Chairperson for UIBDS and current co-administrator for DSMC. In 2003 Sister built the first Dhamma Sukha Website and began supporting students online overseen by the Abbot. She built the support group structure beginning that year also. Her public talks and teaching began in 2009.  She developed the “online retreat” concept attended by many in 2004-2008 and expanded online training and writing in 2009- 2010.  She is responsible for developing support materials for meditation and coordinating internet teams for translations for the center and assisting visiting monks and nuns with Dhamma English training.  There is a vast media coordination effort for DSMC meditation information developing now on the West coast of the US and spreading worldwide. Today all parts of the website combined are visited over thousands of times per month and growing.