Crowds Flock to Discover Happiness from a Different Source
Sep 19, 2024
At the very heart of modern Kadampa Buddhism are the three core study programs developed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche:
These programs are taught at every Kadampa center.
The General Program (GP) is taught at every center for Modern Kadampa Buddhism and is an ideal starting point for those interested to find out more about the practical application of Buddhism and meditation to modern life.
The purpose of the Teacher Training Program (TTP) is to provide an extensive presentation of particular subjects of Mahayana Buddhism to enable practitioners to deepen their knowledge and experience of Buddhism, and to train as qualified Teachers of Modern Buddhism.
There are three reasons why we need to study and practice the teachings of Buddha - to develop our wisdom, to cultivate a good heart and to maintain a peaceful state of mind:
Develop wisdom
If we do not strive to develop our wisdom we will always remain ignorant of ultimate truth – the true nature of reality. Although we wish for happiness, our ignorance leads us to engage in non-virtuous actions, which are the main cause of all our suffering.
Cultivate a good heart
If we do not cultivate a good heart, our selfish motivation destroys harmony and good relationships with others. We have no peace, and no chance to gain pure happiness. Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.
Maintain a peaceful state of mind
If we do not maintain a peaceful state of mind we are not happy even if we have ideal conditions. On the other hand, when our mind is peaceful we are happy even if our external conditions are unpleasant.
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has designed three special Study Programs for the systematic study and practice of Modern Buddhism that are especially suited to the modern world: the General Program, Foundation Program, and Teacher Training Program. See below for details.
By Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
The following is a transcript of a talk given by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche on the occasion of the inauguration of the Foundation Program at Tara Centre, England, October 1990.
Beginning the Foundation Program at a center presents us with a great opportunity because this program fulfills both our own and others’ wishes.
How does the Foundation Program fulfill our own wishes? By increasing our wisdom and our experience of Dharma. With wisdom and Dharma experience we can solve all the problems we encounter in daily life and we can protect ourselves from danger in the future. Since beginningless time we have had strong, bad habits that arise from our self-grasping and self-cherishing.
We all want to better ourselves and to be happy and successful in life but our bad habits lead us in the opposite direction. Instead of finding happiness we create the cause of more suffering. None of us wants to suffer and yet, because of our bad habits, we are continually strengthening our deluded minds, which are the cause of all our suffering.
With wisdom and Dharma experience we can bring our deluded minds under control. We can reduce our attachment, anger, jealousy, and so forth, and subdue our self-grasping and self-cherishing. By controlling our deluded minds we will come to experience permanent peace day and night. We will bring about a permanent cessation of human problems in particular and of samsaric problems in general. In this way we will become our own protectors.
With wisdom and Dharma experience we will also become our own doctors. Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, famous or of humble origins, without choice we all have to experience mental pain. Within one day we experience mental pain and discomfort many times, sometimes due to unpleasant circumstances and sometimes due to other people, even our friends. Sometimes for no apparent reason unhappiness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, or pain arise naturally due to the ripening of karmic imprints.
We need a remedy for this pain. No one else can give us medicine that will relieve this type of pain, we have to become our own karma-doctor and cure ourselves through Dharma experience. By increasing our wisdom and Dharma experience we will gradually solve all our problems and eventually we will achieve the ultimate happiness of full enlightenment, the bliss of Buddhahood. This is how the Foundation Program can fulfil our own wishes.