Rime Institute of Tibetan Buddhist Philosophical Study in the non-sectarian tradition
Shedra begins March 2nd 2009! Check back for registration information and reading lists
Manjushri
Younge Khachab Rinpoche
Khenpo Ngedon
Welcome to the Rime Institute Shedra!
The Shedra is an ongoing project, with eventual recognition for the achievement of students. All teachings have been recorded at Rinpoche’s center in Madison, either with Shedra students in attendance, or privately when his schedule has allowed. All teachings have been archived. Since they were taught to groups of students, there is an informal atmosphere on the recordings, with students asking questions, and Rinpoche speaking about other center matters. We feel these teachings are a great resource, in keeping with Rinpoche’s goal to create a Sangha of learned practitioners who not only practice meditation with diligence, but also understand the philosophical basis behind the techniques.
The Shedra program was originally designed to follow a three-year structure, with two sessions a year covering one or more texts by various authors. As the program developed and we gained more experience, Rinpoche felt he was not doing justice to the great writings by placing them in short 12-week sessions. Therefore, some texts - such as Longchenpa’s Treasury of Spiritual Systems (grub mtha' mdzod) - have continued into multiple sessions. Other texts have remained in shorter sessions.
The Shedra has it own online forum where quiz questions are asked, debates held and thoughts posted. Please contribute to make it successful!
Requirements:
- All Shedra students must be able to download the recorded teachings (MP3 format)
- Assigned texts are acquired on ones own except for course-packs which are available for download
- Registration must be paid in full at the beginning of the sessions unless payment arrangements are made in advance
- Shedra students must participate in the forum on a weekly basis. Senior students are required to oversee and help with lower level courses as part of teacher training.
- The forum is meant to encourage discussion and debate in absence of traditional Tibetan debate techniques. This encourages memorization and learning. Weekly quiz questions are asked. All forum activity is monitored by Rinpoche, Khenpo Ngedon and senior students.
- At the end of each session, students must arrange an interview with Rinpoche or Khenpo Ngedon to answer final exam questions. This is not a pass/fail but a way for Rinpoche to personally clarify confusion or mistakes.
- Sessions must be taken in order.
The additional studies will include in-depth and contemplation practices of the Longchenpa's Treasury of the Natural State (gnas lugs mdzod) and Treasury of the Dharmadhatu (chos dbyings mdzod), as well as selected texts from the Dzogchen tradition.
- Shedra is a three year program. At the end of the three years Rinpoche will conduct a final exam covering all previous courses. Students passing and seeking to continue will then begin one to one study with Rinpoche on the Dzogchen texts.
Supplemental courses are offered each session. They are offered at additional costs. These include:
Introduction to reading and writing Tibetan
Tibetan Translation of texts
Debate
Poetry
Astrology and Cosmology
Overview of Tibetan Medicine
Ritual Arts