KMC NYC Offers Qualified Spiritual Study Programs Designed by
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Speaking about the three study programs he has created, Geshe Kelsang has said:
"By participating in them we can improve our wisdom and Dharma experience and use Dharma to solve our daily problems. We can become our own protector by protecting ourselves from danger and suffering, and our own doctor by curing our mental pain with Dharma medicine.
We shall be able to set a good example for others to follow and help others by giving teachings and advice. Eventually we will be able to give extensive teachings and benefit others in many ways by organizing special programs and so forth. In this way we will make both our own and others’ human lives extremely meaningful.”
- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
The importance of Study to Fulfill our Highest Potential
Buddha's 84,000 teachings of Sutra and Tantra are precious wisdom insights that can open the door to a profoundly rich and meaningful life and lead us to lasting happiness. To extract their full meaning, we need to systematically familiarize our minds with these insights until we have penetrated so deeply into their meaning that they become our own.
The study programs at Kadampa Meditation Centers throughout the world are designed to enable us to do this.
The method for taking these teachings deep into our hearts is centered around three key activities: listening, contemplating and meditating. In Joyful Path of Good Fortune, Geshe Kelsang says:
"To increase our wisdom arisen from listening we need to listen to correct instructions from fully qualified Spiritual Guides, read authentic Dharma books and discuss what we have heard. Wisdom arisen from contemplation arises from reflecting again and again upon what we have heard and understood, and wisdom arisen from meditation arises from meditating on what we have heard and contemplated. We need to keep increasing these three wisdoms continuously until we attain enlightenment."
Our study programs are structured to support the development of these three wisdoms.
As we train our minds, it is important to have a close connection with qualified teachers who can give us personal advice and encouragement, to listen to pure Dharma teachings, and to belong to a strong spiritual community. These enable us to maintain a daily meditation practice that is both focused and powerful, and to make real and lasting change.
