New to Buddhism?

New to Buddhism? Want to see what it’s all about or just use its teachings to improve your daily life? FPMT’s introductory programs are short courses that allow students to try out some meditation techniques and to learn the basics of Buddhism.

Buddhist Meditation 101

Buddhist Meditation 101 is an introductory course on basic Buddhist meditation techniques for complete beginners. It teaches basic meditations that can be used by anyone to create more peace and happiness in daily life. The course is presented in five sessions and examines:

• what is meditation?
• meditation posture and arranging the body
• the purposes and benefits of meditation
  
• the difference between meditation and relaxation
• obstacles to meditation and their antidotes
• setting up a meditation session
• advice for establishing a long-term meditation practice
• using the benefits of meditation in everyday living
  
• breathing meditations such as counting the breath and nine-round breathing
• mindfulness meditations such as scanning the body, bare attention, mind like the sky, and mind like the ocean
• visualization meditations such as body of light and purification with light
• analytical meditations such as meditation on equanimity and transforming negative experiences into positive ones
  

Complete this program anytime online.

Buddhism in a Nutshell

Buddhism in a Nutshell is an introductory course on Buddhism for complete beginners. It presents basic Buddhist philosophy and principles within a Tibetan and Mahayana context, and provides simple meditation instruction. The course is presented in five sessions and examines:

• the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, including the similarities of Shakyamuni Buddha’s life to ours and how the Buddha answered the big “meaning of life” questions that we all have
• the four noble truths—the truths of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering
• the Buddha’s teachings set out graduated steps to support the practice of an individual
• what it means to be a Buddhist, an “inner being”
• the three principal aspects of the path to enlightenment based on the short text Foundation of All Good Qualities
• different kinds of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, Ch’an, Pure Land, etc.
• different schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Gelug, Kagyu, Sakya, and Nyingma
• some introductory Buddhist history
  

Complete this program anytime at home or online.

• Tagged: new to buddhism, study