An Experience: An Introductory Course to Buddhism...& Our Minds

In early February, I joined 80 people from all corners of the world at Kopan Buddhist Monastery for a 10 day 'Introduction to Buddhism' course. What an experience!

Kopan Buddhist Monastery which overlooks Kathmandu's hazy city sprawl from a high green hill.

The monastery is home to a few hundred monks from 11 years to adulthood. The young ones go to school and receive a 'normal', secular education alongside their studies of Buddhism.

It is quite unusual in that it invites non-Buddhist people (Lay people) to stay for residential courses lasting from a few days to 3 months. The particular one I attended has been running for 50 years!

We were 80 wonderful people of all ages and all corners of the world: there was the Chilean mother and daughter doing this together; the British husband, father and Manager in an IT firm who'd got the time off just for this; the 36-year old American who had quit her 'good' but unfulfilling job in advertising in LA and was now in her 9th month of travels; the 40-something Colombian teacher who had split from her partner and was now transitioning to a life of story writing in Europe and beyond. 

I think having such an eclectic variety of ages and cultures always makes for an insightful and interesting experience.

The 10 day schedule
For the first 7 days we started at 6.45am and ended around 9pm. The days included:

2x45minute guided meditations
1hour discussion group
6hours of teaching
3 veggie meals a day plus tea.

The final 2 days were a silent retreat which wonderfully consolidated the teachings. It took the theoretical ideas and, through around 6 hours of guided meditation each day, made them personal. I could really feel the teachings, which may seem peculiar, but for me is also the most fitting explanation.

For the whole time, we left our phones at reception, kept quiet (mostly!) from evening through till after lunch the following day and were encouraged to only read Buddhist-related material.

What did we learn?
A lot! Buddhist psychology, philosophy and the belief system. Yet the course just scratched the surface...you'd study for 15-17 years before graduating as a Buddhist novice! 

Sat on our cushions or chairs in the Gompa (meditation hall) we listened to our teachers, took notes and were encouraged to ask questions and debate the ideas. I wrote around 50 pages of notes on topics including the nature of the mind, reincarnation, Karma, non-virtuous and virtuous actions, anger and selfishness, generating compassion, the suffering of being human, guided meditations, the Four Noble Truths and more. 

My next blog will go into some of the Buddhist psychology in more depth!

So, what is 10 days well spent?
Definitely! Firstly, I hugely enjoyed learning again, having been out of edcuation for a few years now. Being intellectually engaged and getting my head around new ideas was satisfying and stimulating.
Secondly, I loved the aspect of self-reflection and personal learning. In this sense, it was an experience rather than a course. The guided meditations, which were based on the teachings, combined with the silence enabled insight into oneself and ones mind. It provided alternative perspectives, ideas and useful tools for life.

It was an incredible experience. I'd recommend it to everyone who is open to new ideas and ready to go deeper into themselves and question fundamental ideas like, what happens after death.

After the course it took a bit of time to readjust to reality and me being in Nepal - it was quite a bubble and I could have been anywhere in the world!

A touch amusing...

It is common in Nepal for the electricity to cut out for a few moments in the evening during peak time. Every evening, we would be sat listening to our final teachings of the day when, suddenly, we'd be plunged into pitch black. Yet nothing changed! The teacher would carry on talking, we'd all sit still and listening and a few minutes later the lights were back on, like nothing had happened!