What Happens at a Class at KMC NYC

If you've never attended a class at KMC NYC before, this guide will help introduce you to our class format.

Most of the classes at KMC NYC are suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators. Everyone is welcome.

If you attend a General Program class - our most popular class format - the teacher will typically start by guiding a gentle, relaxing meditation to help everyone develop a beneficial motivation for attending the class.

After that initial meditation, the teacher will give a teaching on some aspect of Buddhist meditation and practice, showing how to utilize Buddha’s wisdom and insights in addressing our own everyday concerns and challenges.

Toward the end of the class the teacher will guide another meditation, designed to help us take the teaching to heart in such a way that we are confident to practice it on our own.

There is also usually time for discussion and questions and answers.

Afterwards, for those who wish, there is a chance to talk to the teacher and other students informally.

Ongoing practice

Having learned some methods for improving our mind, we can then continue to train in these meditations on our own. If we put these methods into practice we will experience our mind gradually becoming more peaceful, our problems diminishing, and our relationships improving.

Although the General Program classes are taught as a series, each class is self-contained, so feel free to attend any one. There is a Fundamentals course at the Main Center held once a month. Nearly all of our half-day courses and retreats are also suitable for beginners. We hold classes throughout the NYC area and New Jersey which are an excellent way to access teachings in your neighborhood. As all General Program classes are based on Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s commentaries, teachers will often reference a particular section of his books. This gives us the opportunity to deepen our familiarity with the topic by engaging in follow-up study.