Developing A Good Heart
A Deeper Learning Course

February 1 - 8, 2023

The Dalai Lama recently live-streamed teachings from Bodhgaya, the place of the Buddha's enlightenment. As usual, he emphasized the importance of developing an open and inclusive attitude. Over and over he stressed that if we want to meet our personal and collective goals, we should focus on developing a good heart. 

Tibetan Buddhism is well known for its highly effective systems of psycho-emotional development. This course starts at the beginning and offers an accessible, time-tested road map for opening the heart and mind. Designed to be a “relaxed” intensive with downtime between classes, this course will leave you with the knowledge and tools to practice confidently for years to come.

What to expect: as a Deeper Learning Course, expect in-depth classes that skillfully blend Buddhist philosophy with experiential meditations. Deeper Learning courses are not finite experiences that start and end with a class date. They are doorways that open into ever-expanding terrain.

DATES AND FORMAT

Wednesday, Feb 1, 7-8 PM EST— LIVE ON ZOOM
+ Guided audio meditation for Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Sunday, Feb 5, 11-12 PM EST — LIVE ON ZOOM
  + Guided audio meditation for Monday and Tuesday
Wednesday, Feb 8, 7-8 PM EST— LIVE ON ZOOM
  + Guided audio meditation for Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Additional Guided Meditation for Valentine’s Day Week 💕

The Opportunity to Transform Your Practice

COURSE INCLUDES

• A Time Tested Road Map for Effectively Opening the Heart and Enhancing Connection
• 3 Live Online Classes (recordings available but attending live is highly recommended)
• 3 High Quality Audio Meditations for you to revisit again and again
• Handouts with Meditation Prompts
• Plus a Special Audio Meditation on Innate Goodness

What can’t be put in a bullet point: The organization and structure of this course is highly intentional, allowing the material to unfold and blossom well beyond the length of the course. By shining the fresh light of love and awareness on our unexamined behaviors and tendencies, we will encounter new ways of relating to ousrelves and others.

PRICING

This course is offered in three tiers. You’ll be able to enter a donation amount that feels right for you when you register for the course.
Sustainability Range: $200 - $325
Generosity Range: $350 - $500
Access Range: $85- $125

Sustainability Range — Reflects the actual cost for me to offer the course. “This range feels right for me, and I'm really happy that I can participate at this level.”
Generosity Range — Enables me to offer the course below cost at the Access Range. “I can comfortably afford this range and am excited to support others in the Dharma. Here's to a better world!”
Access Range — All are welcome. “This course feels important to me and my resources are limited right now.” As always, if you need more financial assistance or a payment plan, please reach out. 

Read more about the ranges below.

COURSE CONTENT

Class One: In order to open our heart, we need a balanced foundation. This class explores the following questions informed by traditional Buddhist philosophy: What does a balanced foundation / heart even mean? What does it look like? What are the signs that our heart is out of balance? Practically, what we can do to move towards balance?

Class Two: With a stable understanding of balance comes the ability to open to love (ah, love!). In this class, we will practice techniques to help us actually feel love, happiness, and connection. We will also explore how, why and where love fits into the systematic development of the heart/mind complex.

Class Three: Energized and protected by love and happiness, we will turn our awareness to attending to the discomfort of ourselves and others. Attending to discomfort equals healing. In this class, we will explore developmentally appropriate ways to enhance our ability to reach out to ourselves and others.

Intention and What’s Next: The intention of this course is twofold: 1) to offer a roadmap for opening the heart gently and systematically, and 2) to provide students with the tools to practice on their own with confidence. Although this course offers a thorough introduction, it is still an overview. During the first week of March, April, and May, we will explore the themes from each of the three classes (and more!) in greater detail.

MORE ON PRICING
These tiered ranges were inspired by Lama Tstultrim Allione’s center, Tara Mandala. For more context, here’s how Tara Mandala contextualizes these ranges on their website.

GENEROSITY RANGE
Choose an amount within this range if you have the financial security and capacity to support Tara Mandala at a higher level. The contributions we receive within this range make it possible for us to offer a below-cost Access Range to those practitioners with a limited income.

 This range is for you if you:

• Own your own home and live comfortably without financial worry

• Have investments and savings 

• Easily have access to money in times of need or emergencies

• Have the desire to help make the Dharma more accessible to others

SUSTAINABILITY RANGE  
Choose an amount within this range if you have the financial capacity to sustain Tara Mandala’s ability to offer high-quality programs. The contributions we gratefully receive within this range enable us to keep our prices low while covering the basic program costs. 

 This range is for you if you:

• Have the capacity to meet your basic financial needs

• Make your rent or mortgage and other monthly payments 

• Are generally able to purchase new items and experiences for yourself

• Can afford to take trips and go on retreats

ACCESS RANGE  
Choose an amount within this range if you have limited financial capacity or are currently experiencing financial hardship. The contributions we gratefully receive within this range go toward covering costs and are supported by contributions of those who choose the Generosity Range.

 This range is for you if you:

• Have difficulty meeting your basic financial needs 

• Are experiencing housing, employment, or income instability

• Live paycheck-to-paycheck and and lack money in times of need

• Face challenges due to devaluation of your currency against the US dollar.