The Buddhist Studies Programme at Chenrezig Institute (Sunshine Coast Queensland) offers intensive study of subjects of the FPMT Basic Programme during full time 4-8 week semesters - taught by a highly qualified and very experienced Lharumpa Geshe, Geshe Tashi Tsering, assisted by excellent tutors, including Geshe Lobsang Jamyang and various senior students.

Now, with many students studying these subjects for the second time during this, the second round of the 5 year programme, we are able to put together reliable homestudy packages for these subjects. These contain the audio teachings of our Geshe, edited transcripts of these teachings, revision questions, tests and answer sheets, as well as additional materials which will include charts and other commentaries helpful to the study.

Students are recommended to purchase both the audio and written materials in one of the forms presented below. They should then listen to the teachings directly, study them through the written edited transcripts, revise them using the revision questions and other material and even test themselves at the end of each week's work. Although students may purchase any of the courses offered, it is recommended that they start with one of the following:

The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life - the foundation of our Mahayana motivation and the basis for all our study, Buddhist Tenets - the views of the different schools of Buddhism - on which many of the philosophical teachings are based or Lam Rim Chen Mo - an extensive study of the entire graduated path to enlightenment.

Finalised homestudy packages are offered after modules have been completed and transcripts etc checked and edited. Some students wish to study at home at the same time as the courses are taught at the centre, and to sit in on classes when they are able. For these students, cd’s of audio teachings, transcripts and revision questions etc are now posted out at the end of each week DURING THE ACTUAL COURSES. Contact the coordinator for details of coming courses and homestudy arrangements.

Senior students from the programme have made themselves available where possible to support home students in their study. Any profits from our homestudy packages are intended to support the development of our study programme in order to continue to offer teachings and materials of the highest possible quality for our serious students. All prices quoted here refer to lay students only. Ordained sangha are offered these packages and all our study materials at the very reduced price of $5 per cd plus postage.

Note: MP3 files may be played on a computer, a DVD player, some CD players and MP3 players. It is possible to purchase a personal CD player with MP3 facility for $100 or less.

For further information, to place orders for any of our homestudy packages, or to be placed on an email list to receive further updates, please contact the BSP Coordinator (Kathy Vichta) on    or through the Chenrezig Office (P.O. Box 41 Eudlo Qld 4554 or (07) 54532108).

BUDDHIST TENETS

These teachings on the assertions of the four main schools of Buddhism are the basis for the kind of study undertaken in the advanced study programme. It is therefore recommended that students begin with this course, and that any student wishing to join the Buddhist Study Programme studies this subject in order to provide a firm foundation in the concepts and terminology that are used on a daily basis in the study of further subjects.

GROUNDS AND PATHS

This important subject covers the entire paths of the hinayana and mahayana practitioners outlining the progress each type of practitioner makes as they progress towards their individual goals of lesser, middling and highest enlightenment. It identifies and explains clearly the concepts of renunciation (genuine intention to definitely emerge [from samsara]), bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment with the two aspirations) and the state of mind that allows these states to arise and leads one towards the perfect enlightenment of a buddha.

THE 4TH CHAPTER OF THE ORNAMENT OF CLEAR REALISATION and 70 TOPICS

This fundamental text, The Ornament of Clear Realisation, composed by Lord Maitreya and brought to this world by Arya Asanga, is the source of all our teachings on method, on thought transformation and the stages of the path to enlightenment.

The 4th Chapter, Complete Preparation, covers the entire mahayana path, teaching in practical terms what is practiced by bodhisattvas at the various stages, all the way to enlightenment. On the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, there is special emphasis on the 37 Aspects of Enlightenment which include the development of concentration through the practice of the Four Close Placements of Mindfulness, the Four Correct Abandoners (eliminating what has been determined as necessary to reject) and the results of concentration, the four Limbs of Miracles.

Although the usual package with the teachings by Geshela and the written materials is quite sufficient to study this subject, during the course our tutor Gen Jampa Ignyen gave regular tutorials and meditations containing valuable extra material. We are therefore offering these teachings in MP3 files - at a special price of $40.

REASON and LOGIC

In order to comprehend hidden phenomena such as selflessness/emptiness, we must first attain valid inference based upon correct reasons. The understanding of reasons and logic is therefore essential to our study and practice. This module, extended from 4 weeks to 6 because of Geshela’s sincere wish that we all understand this important subject as clearly as possible, investigates the 3 types of correct reasons and the various incorrect or pseudo reasons as well as training us to apply clear reasoning to the stages of the path.

The teachings are fully supported by daily revision questions and study materials.

LAM RIM CHEN MO - THE STAGES OF THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by the Precious Lord Lama Tsong Khapa is the very basis of all our study and practice within the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These teachings take the practitioner from the foundational teachings on relying on the teacher, the root of the path, right through to extensive in-depth teachings on the development of wisdom, the realisation of the true nature of reality.

Originally planned to be taught over three 8 week modules by Geshe Tashi Tsering, the course was extended to four modules (three between June and December 2004 and one in March/April 2005). As well as the audio files and the edited transcripts of the teachings, the homestudy packages include various extra materials for the students' study and experience of this important material.

Homestudy students will need to purchase the texts upon which the teachings were based separately. These are the 3 volumes of  The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (published by Snow Lion) and are available from Chenrezig Institute bookshop at a 10% discount to all Study Programme students. Students who have difficulty finding any of these volumes should contact the BSP coordinator for assistance. Module 1 dealt exclusively with Volume 1; module 2 utilised both Volumes 1 and 2; module 3 utilised both Volumes 2 and 3. The final module in 2005 dealt exclusively with the teachings on calm abiding and insight in Volume 3.

The packages are available separately (each module) or as one entire subject (four individual packages in all). Students wishing to purchase all four modules at one time are offered a 10% discount on the total price.

THE HEART OF WISDOM SUTRA

A short, pithy course of seven teachings from Geshe Tashi Tsering (with interpreter Ven Lozang Zopa) on this condensed teaching on the nature of reality.

Geshela gave this four day course for BSP students as well as the general public over the Easter Weekend 2005, during a break in the teachings on the Insight Chapter of the Lam Rim Chen Mo. All  those present agreed that these were very special teachings on this profound topic.

The entire course is included on one CD - 7 audio teachings of approximately 90 minutes each, edited transcripts and revision questions for each teaching plus essay questions for completion of the course.

A clear explanation of the stages of death and rebirth so important for our daily meditation practice as well as our understanding of the practice of tantra. These teachings by Geshe Tashi Tsering (given during the teachings on the Stages of the Tantric Path in 2005) are based on the text found (and commented on) in Death Intermediate State and Rebirth by Lati Rinpoche.

12 teachings in audio and edited transcript form with revision questions and a final assignment.

THE STAGES OF THE TANTRIC PATH, MODULE 1 - THE LOWER TANTRAS (19/7/05 - 9/9/05)

These teachings, originally planned to be given over 8 weeks, were actually completed in less than seven and the complete course of 26 teachings is now available on 8 CDs (1 x data CD and 7 audio CDs). The course gives an overview of the practices of the three lower classes of tantra with special emphasis on Action Tantra. In explaining the paths of Action Tantra, Geshela gave a wonderfully clear, indepth commentary on the Chenrezig Nyung Nay practice.

The text for this study – the first part of The Essential Nectar of the Great Seret by Ven Kirti Losang Trinley - especially translated for our use by Ven Lozang Zopa is included on the data CD.

THE STAGES OF THE TANTRIC PATH, MODULE 2 - HIGHEST YOGA TANTRA (27/9/05 - 18/11/05)

This profound subject is available only to those who have highest yoga tantra initiation. It completes the  explanation of the theory and practice of the four levels of tantric practice begun by Geshe Tashi Tsering with the module on the lower tantras in July and August 2005).

This second 8 week module is devoted exclusively to the practice of highest yoga tantra, both the generation and completion stages. Geshe Tashi Tsering believes it is extremely important for his western students to have a clear understanding of this aspect of Buddhist practice, so often misunderstood, and explains even the most esoteric points fully and clearly.

The text for this study - The Essential Nectar of the Great Seret by Ven Kirti Losang Trinley - has been especially translated for our use by Ven Lozang Zopa. It is included in the data material provided for the course (on the data CD).

COMMENTARY ON THE PRACTICE OF YAMANTAKA VAJRABHAIRAVA - 2006

In May and June 2006 Ven Geshe Tashi Tsering taught extensively over seven weeks on the Highest Yoga Tantra Practice of Yamantaka, during the second round of our Buddhist Studies Programme. These clear and inspiring teachings are now made available as a homestudy package for those who have received this initiation and wish to understand the practice well. Geshela also gave valuable instructions on how to prepare and setup for the Yamantaka retreat.

The package includes:

We have previously offered a package of the commentary given in 2001 during the first round of our programme. We believe that this second package is clearer and the materials better laid out for your study, but in order that all students receive all possible information on this important practice, we will now include the entire commentary from 2001 on the data cd of this second package.

Students are recommended to purchase the audio cd’s plus the data, either on cd, or printed out by us.
(It is also possible to purchase the data cd without the audio cd’s)

NOTE: Those who have purchase the full package of the Yamantaka Commentary given in 2001 will be offered the cd’s of the Round Two Yamantaka Commentary given in 2006 - at the cost of $5 per cd (8 cd’s = $40).

THE SUBLIME CONTINUUM OF THE MAHAYANA (25th July – 1st September)

It is a unique feature of Buddhism that all beings, even the smallest insect, can attain enlightenment, can become a Buddha! Why this is so and how it can come about is taught in this beautiful and complex text by Lord Maitreya, the future Buddha, brought into this world by Arya Asanga. Geshe Tashi Tsering gave an inspiring six weeks of teachings on some of the most important aspects of this text, the Three Jewels and the Buddha Nature that is within us all, explaining the meaning of this precious potential and the essential purity of our mind which allows this evolution to the state of complete enlightenment to take place.

THE BODHISATTVA’S WAY OF LIFE – Parts 1& 2
(19th September – 17th November 2006)

"For as long as space endures, and for as long as living beings remain, until then may I too abide, to dispel the misery of the world."
This teaching on how to follow the bodhisattva’s path is based on Shantideva's inspirational verses on Mahayana aspiration and practice. Composed more than a thousand years ago, this text is still widely regarded as the most authentic and complete guide for the practitioner aspiring towards the attainment of enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. With kindness, compassion and wisdom, Geshe Tashi Tsering and Geshe Lobsang Jamyang lead students along this powerful and sometimes quite confronting path, helping us to identify and abandon self-cherishing, the biggest of all obstacles to the generation of the pure mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta).

The package includes teachings from Geshe Tashi Tsering as well as tutorials with his assistant teacher, Geshe Lobsang Jamyang. Review questions, tests and extra materials help the student to study this precious material in depth.

The subjects was taught over three parts with the profound chapter on the perfection of wisdom taught in its own three week module. The third part, an explanation of the final chapter on dedication is yet to be edited and students will be informed when that is ready to send out.

Contact BSP Coordinator on or through Chenrezig Office for inquiries or orders. Orders should be accompanied by: full name and address, acknowledgment that you have received the appropriate initiation if necessary and credit card details. The order will then be prepared and posted and the final amount (including postage) deducted from the account.