Integrated Dharma Program: Living With Integrity

Description

The Integrated Dharma Program is a new approach to understanding and embodying the teachings of the Buddha. It is intended to bring contemporary people living in the modern world into very intimate contact with the thoughts and words of the historical Buddha. The approach is respectful of the classical tradition and faithful to the original teachings, but also secular in its orientation and focused more on the practical psychology of Buddhism than upon its religious or metaphysical aspects.

Participants are invited to look closely at two teachings presented in the classical texts each week, to investigate the meaning of these teachings in their own experience and in the context of their own lives, and to explore ways of putting these ideas into practice through meditation and other trainings. The passages are short, carefully selected, and presented in a way that makes them easily accessible. The primary work of the program is not to cover a lot of material, but to penetrate deeply into the meaning of key teachings and see how they are demonstrated in one’s own experience and can be enacted in one’s own life.

The first course in the program, Living with Integrity, addresses the topic of sīla, of how to live skillfully, experience profound well-being, and build a stable foundation of ethical behavior upon which progress in developing the mind and deepening wisdom can be supported and sustained. The importance of engaging actively with the teachings is emphasized, as well as allowing progress along the path to develop naturally. All the classical guidelines of the 8-fold path are covered, including speaking, acting, and living carefully, and practical approaches to sexuality and intoxication are addressed. The course includes teachings about generosity as a wider ethical practice, the cultivation of contentment, the skillful use of energy and intention, and learning to discern the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviors and states of mind. It concludes with a close reading of the householder’s guide to happiness, the Mangala Sutta, a discourse on the many kinds of blessings one can experience when living with integrity.

Each week’s downloadable PDF includes two passages from the early Buddhist teachings of the Pali canon as well as accompanying study material. The side-by-side Pali-to-English translation also comes with an explanation of key Pali terms and the rationale for their translation, as well as Andrew’s guidelines for investigating and practicing the teachings. There are also downloadable audio files of all the material, including the reading of the Pali passages in their entirely, for students who want to listen to the teachings in addition to, or instead of, reading them. The class unfolds over the course of 16 weeks, allowing ample time and space for the material to truly sink in and begin to inform and transform your life.

Part 2 (Developing The Mind) and Part 3 (Deepening Wisdom) of the Integrated Dharma Program are not prerequisites for this course.

Overview
– Downloadable audio teachings
– Pali-to-English translations, new and updated in gender-neutral language
– Language analyses
– Guidelines for investigating and applying the teachings in your daily life

Course Fees
– $96 General student

Course Curriculum
1.1 Engaging
1.2 Making Progress
1.3 Generosity
1.4 Ways Of Giving
1.5 Speaking Carefully
1.6 Praise & Blame
1.7 Acting Carefully
1.8 Sexuality & Intoxication
1.9 Living Carefully
1.10 Contentment
1.11 Healthy & Unhealthy States
1.12 Shaping The Mind
1.13 Effort
1.14 The Power Of Intention
1.15 Guidelines For Living
1.16 A Discourse On Blessings

The Integrated Dharma Program consists of three parts:

Part One: Living With Integrity

Part Two: Developing The Mind

Part Three: Deepening Wisdom