What is the Practice of Buddhism?

Buddhist practice is to overcome delusion through the cultivation of virtue, mental clarity, and wisdom.

Buddhism supports this “threefold training” by providing both essential, explanatory frameworks and practical guidance. The Buddha himself called this a “Dhamma-Vinaya,” or “Philosophy-Discipline,” but we might simply call it “a way of life” because Buddhism is meant to transform our entire lives from our selfish, restless, unsatisfied “default mode,” to the pinnacle of human potential: the total eradication of suffering.

Prerequisites

This course is aimed at giving those with some prior meditation experience a more thorough grounding in the ethical and philosophical frame around Buddhist practice. Our goal for this class is to understand the personal transformation that Buddhist practices aim to produce.

The course should be suitable for both advanced practitioners who are striving for Nibbāna and for those who are just starting out on the path. This is done by blending together more beginner-friendly readings with more uncompromising lectures. If either the readings or the lectures aren’t very helpful for where you’re at, feel free to skip what isn’t helpful for you and to just take what is.

Textbook

This course follows the excellent textbook by Bhikkhu Cintita:

This lovely book forms the backbone of the course and is highly recommended.

The book is divided into two, unsurprising halves: Buddhist Life and Buddhist Path: the exterior and interior transformation of the practitioner which follows the gradual path of Buddhism—from the mundane to the transcendent—often taught by the Buddha himself.

The textbook is designed to be a gentle introduction for absolute beginners.

Course Outline

This course will proceed in 15 modules following the chapters in Buddhist Life, Buddhist Path:

  1. Part 1: Buddhist Life
  2. The Buddha
  3. Generosity
  4. Harmlessness
  5. Purity
  6. Harmony
  7. Refuge
  8. Part 2: Buddhist Path
  9. The Higher Training
  10. Foundational Wisdom
  11. Perfecting Virtue
  12. Cultivating the Mind
  13. Disentangling the Mind
  14. Awakening
  15. Conclusion

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