Practices on the Buddhist Path — online — neu

— Jahreskurs zum gleichnamigen Buch – international
— Instructors: Elske van de Hulst & Sanghaseveka
— 29 classes from 7 September 2026 to 7 June 2027
— Mondays 19.00–20.30 CET

The European Nyingma Centers in Köln, Amsterdam, and Winterswijk are launching a new international online program in English for all interested students of Dharma.
The program is based on "Practices on the Buddhist Path" by Tarthang Tulku. This beautiful small book contains, in a nutshell, the major elements of the Buddhist path, focusing on daily practice and heartfelt experience. The program will follow the order of the book but will also include “excursions” in which we integrate passages from other books by Tarthang Tulku, such as Hidden Mind of Freedom and Dimensions of Mind, as well as excerpts from traditional texts by Shantideva (Bodhicharyavatara) and Lama Mipham (Gateway to Knowledge).
The book Practices on the Buddhist Path is not publicly available for sale but is dedicated to students of the TNMC International Centers within Tarthang Rinpoche’s worldwide mandala of organizations. A copy of the text will be made available to registered participants in the program.

You are warmly invited to a free information presentation and Q&A session.

For whom?

The program is suitable for both beginning and more experienced students who wish to make Dharma view, attitude, and conduct an authentic foundation for their daily lives. The program will be taught in English via Zoom by Sanghaseveka and Elske van de Hulst.

A one-week meditation intensive retreat entitled Entering Openness is part of the program. This retreat will be held at the beautiful World Peace Stupa Center Europe in Winterswijk. In-person attendance is strongly encouraged. Zoom participation in the retreat will be available only to participants enrolled in the full program.

Module 1 — Faith and Refuge — 5 classes, September 7-October 5

Taking refuge marks a transition from an interest in spiritual growth to a commitment to follow the path to its end. We will investigate the six topics that traditionally are explored before taking that step. What do these topics mean to us in our daily lives? What do we rely on? Where do we place our trust?

Module 2— Meditation — 7 classes, October 19-December 7

Meditation, prayer, and puja develop the subtle light of awareness, deepening and broadening consciousness. There are different methods of meditation, and each cultivates a particular type of experience or insight. Some approaches emphasize focusing on emptiness and discourage words, concepts, and interpretations. Other methods use imagery to evoke blissful feelings, analysis to stimulate the flow of insight, or techniques that promote clarity and peace. In this module, we will explore various approaches and their effects on the mind.
Entering meditation is easiest when you let go of all preconceptions about the right or wrong way to meditate and detach from tendencies to judge experience as pleasant or unpleasant, productive or unproductive. So valuable is meditation in all aspects of life that practitioners seek ways to use every moment and every occasion as an opportunity to extend their practice.

Module 3 — The Way of the Bodhisattva — 12 classes, January 12-April 19

Nyingma practitioners follow the Bodhisattva Path expressed in the Prajnaparamita and other Mahayana sutras and practice all three yanas simultaneously. In our community, while we work to calm the mind and free it from its grosser forms of bondage, we develop an understanding of the Bodhisattva way by practicing the six virtues, beginning with generosity, morality, and patience, and cultivating them until all vestiges of self-interest fall away. This practice culminates in the perfection of wisdom, which arises in fully developed consciousness.
In this third module, we will explore the ways in which we cling to self and solidity, and we will practice methods for opening up the limiting ways in which we experience “reality.”
The module includes a week-long meditation intensive retreat entitled Entering Openness. This retreat will be held at the beautiful World Peace Stupa Center Europe in Winterswijk from February 22-28, 2027. In-person participation is encouraged.

Module 4 — The Power of Prayer and Mantra — 5 classes, May 9-June 7

The impulse toward prayer seems to be nearly universal in human consciousness. Through prayer and mantra, the mind becomes virtuous and tranquil. No longer divided against itself, the mind becomes your friend and supporter. All types of minds, including the thinking mind, worrying mind, desiring mind, confused mind, frightened mind, and emotional mind, become part of the mandala, a means for awakening to realization.
As great poets have expressed throughout the ages, human beings live in a special realm, joined to the heavens and yet caught in the confusion and drabness of everyday life. The distance between the two may be as brief as a single thought, and it is precisely in the mud of daily life that the blossom of the lotus flower finds its roots.

Organizational Information

Info presentation and Questions and Answers: Monday August 31: 19–20

Module 1: Faith and Refuge — 5 classes — September 7–October 5
Module 2: Meditation — 7 classes — October 19–December 7
Module 3: The Way of the Bodhisattva — 12 classes — Jan 12–April 19 — Includes: Meditation Practice & Retreat Entering Openness Feb 22–28, 2027
Module 4: The Power of Prayer and Mantra — 5 classes May 9-June 7

Price of full program: €675 or 9 monthly payments of €75
Retreat only: See Entering Openness on the Stupa Center website.