Living in the Path Online
Realizing the Lamrim, Emptiness: Bringing Emptiness to Life

Overview

Living in the Path is an online program taught exclusively by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual director of the FPMT. Many of the modules are extracted from Rinpoche’s explanations of the topics of the lamrim – the teachings on the stages of the path to enlightenment according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa (Gelug). Other modules cover specific practices intended to help us purify our negative karma and create the merit necessary to actualize the lamrim topics.

Prerequisites

Living in the Path is ideal for anyone who wishes to deepen their personal practice and develop the realizations of the path to enlightenment by relying on Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s heart advice and teachings. However, as Rinpoche’s teachings often assume familiarity with the topics of the lamrim, it is advisable to have done some prior study of the lamrim, such as by having completed some or all of the modules of Discovering Buddhism.

Course Contents

In this module of Living in the Path, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives detailed and very clear teachings on the extremely important subject of emptiness. Rinpoche speaks extensively about the difference between looking for the real—or truly existent—I (which doesn’t exist) and looking for the merely imputed I (which does exist). Although neither I can be found by doing this type of analysis, the first qualifies as meditation on emptiness, whereas the second does not. Rinpoche explains the reason for this and then goes on to emphasize the need to understand the first of four vital points—that of correctly identifying the object to be refuted, the gagja or, as Rinpoche likes to call it, the hallucination. This discussion leads to an explanation of the different objects to be refuted asserted by the five Buddhist philosophical schools, with Rinpoche clarifying in particular the difference between the Madhyamaka Svatantrika’s explanation of true existence and that of Madhyamaka Prasangika.

Course Materials

This module of Living in the Path consists of 49 pages of lightly edited transcripts accompanied by eight short video excerpts (4-10 minutes) drawn from teachings given at the Light of the Path Retreat 2010 held in North Carolina, USA. The module is introduced in a short video featuring Don Handrick.

Chapters:

Introduction
1. Looking for the Real I
2. Looking for the Merely Imputed I
3. Seeing the Middle Way View
4. Now We Need to Think Differently

Videos:

Video 1: “Looking for the Real I”
Video 2: “Nothing to Hold Onto”
Video 3: “How the I Exists”
Video 4: “Seeing the Middle Way View”
Video 5: “It Just Clicks”
Video 6: “Go Through the Fear”
Video 7: “No One Can Cheat You”
Video 8: “Free Your Mind from the Hallucination”

To help deepen your personal understanding and experience of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings, they are supplemented with:

• points for reflection at the beginning of each chapter
• guidelines for meditation at the end of each chapter
• mindfulness practices for keeping the teachings present throughout the day
• a service practice to benefit others

Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teachings are supplemented by MP3 recordings of several review classes with Ven. Steve Carlier.

A “Certificate of Achievement” is granted upon the successful completion of all the course requirements regarding study, meditation, and practice.

Important information about your order of online materials: Following your order, you will receive an email with a link to a webpage to download a PDF document which will contain the enrollment key for the course and instructions on how to access the course on the FPMT Online Learning Center.