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Enter courses from here.
If you are a new student you will see all of Ashoka's current courses.
If you have registered for an Ashoka course, you will see those courses you have registered in. To see Ashoka's other courses click All Ashoka Courses.
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 Seeking to offer these teachings to as many people as can be reached by the Web, Ashoka is committed to charging as little as possible, while supporting our teachers and Ashoka's development efforts.
Compare your Ashoka course experience with a $9 magazine, a $20 book or a $15 tape. Please support the teacher and contribute to our mission to offer a rich and broad curriculum and reach a wide audience of student around the world. Our ability to serve you and others is dependent upon your generosity.
Can't afford the full course tuition? We offer sliding scale tuitions for each course.
Can't afford to pay for a course now? Please email us to request a scholarship.
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| 12 Links of Dependent Arising
Cost: $25.00 |
Taught by The Dalai Lama - with commentary and translation by Jeffrey Hopkins. In this course the Dalai Lama presents the basic world view of Buddhism: how Buddhism views the position of beings in the world and how human beings can make their lives meaningful. The Dalai Lama elaborates on the meaning of life by pointing out the causes behind our situation as well as the altruistic purpose to which life can be put. In this course he offers a view of inner psychic cosmology that has had great influence throughout Asia. From a vivid description of how we become trapped in a counter-productive maelstrom of suffering, there emerges a sense of how Buddhists place themselves in the universe. The unsettling description of the steps of entrapment is in fact a call to action, for it shows how, through reversing the process, the limiting prison of selfishness can be turned into a source of help and happiness for others. Tuition: $25 (sliding scale: $15 - $45)
| Info on tuition and scholarships:  | | Sample pages and contents >>> |
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Bodhisattvas of Compassion
Cost: $25.00 | Taught by Taigen Dan Leighton
In this course you explore seven major bodhisattva figures of the Mahayana tradition who represent various aspects of enlightened activity and awareness and are forces for well-being in our lives. You explore the iconography, teachings, folklore and history of each bodhisattva, as well as the ways that each manifests the paramitas, the ten perfections. And for each bodhisattva you look at modern exemplars, personages from non-Buddhist spiritual traditions. Tuition: $25 (sliding scale: $15 - $40)
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The Buddha's Teaching As It Is
| Taught by Bhikkhu Bodhi In this introduction to the Buddha's teachings, Bhikkhu Bodhi presents the basic teachings of Buddhism from the Theravadan perspective. This course includes the life of the Buddha, the four noble truths, the nature of existence, dependent origination, kamma, the eightfold path, meditation, and the sangha. Tuition: Free
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Cultivating Compassion
Cost: $25.00 | Taught by Jeffrey Hopkins What compels some people to act compassionately without giving it a second thought, while for others it almost seems against their nature? And what will become of our society if compassion dwindles? By learning to live from a more compassionate viewpoint, we can create a better life not only for ourselves but for others. In this course you learn Buddhist meditations (including the Dalai Lama’s favorite) and visualizations to guide you in developing an awareness of your capacity for love and learning to project that love into the world around you. This course delivers a potent message with the power to change our relationships and improve the quality of our lives. Anyone seeking release from negative emotions, such as anger, or simply wanting to increase the love and caring among us, will welcome this timely vision. Tuition: $35 (sliding scale: $20 - $50)
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Ethics of Altruism
Cost: $25.00 | Taught by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama Explore the Dalai Lama's framework for moral living, which rests on the observation that those whose conduct is ethically positive are happier and more satisfied and the belief that much of the unhappiness we humans endure is actually of our own making. Its ultimate goal is happiness for every individual, based on universal rather than religious principles. Tuition: $35 (sliding scale: $20 - $50)
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Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind
Cost: $20.00 | Taught by Robert Thurman Robert Thurman teaches the "preliminary" contemplations that help you develop a solid basis for listening to the teachings and developing a practice. Reflecting upon the precious human birth, impermanence, karma, and the sufferings of samsara frees one of the attachment to life in the realms of samsara. Tuition: $20 (sliding scale: $15 - $30)
| Info on tuition and scholarships: | | Sample pages and contents >>> |
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Generosity
| Taught by Gil Fronsdal.
The practice of giving, or dana in Pali, has a pre-eminent place in the teachings of the Buddha. When he taught a graduated series of practices for people to engage in as they progress along the path, he always started by talking about the importance and benefits of the practice of generosity.
This is the first part of a planned course on the paramis, the ten qualities of character that can be developed to support the path of awakening.
Tuition: Free
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Genjo Koan: The Koan of Everyday Life
Cost: $25.00 | Taught by Dairyu Michael Wenger To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. The Genjo Koan, Dogen Zenji's concise, poetic expression of the practice of the Buddha’s dharma, is one of the most treasured texts in the Soto Zen tradition. In Genjo Koan Dogen presents a basic philosophy of our day-to-day lives as practice in the bodhisattva way. Michael Wenger, San Francisco Zen Center's Dean of Studies, guides you in your engagement with Dogen's teachings on the integration of Zen training and daily life.
Tuition: $25 (sliding scale: $15 - $40)
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Green Dharma
| An introduction to Buddhist perspectives on nature and Buddhist responses to environmental issues. Buddhism's teaching of the interrelatedness of all life forms may be critical to the recovery of human reciprocity with nature. This course explores Buddhism's understanding of the intricate web of life and aspects of the traditions which may help formulate effective environmental ethics, offering examples from both Asia and the United States of socially engaged Buddhist projects to protect the environment. This course also introduces the Earth Charter, which sets forth fundamental principles for sustainable development. Tuition: Free
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The Legacy of Chan
| This course provides an introduction to the nature and style of Chan Buddhism, which has been practiced in China since around the 6th century C.E. and, when exported to Japan around the 11-12th century, became the source of "Zen." The ultimate goal of Chan is the realization of one's true nature and the expression of this realization in our interactions with others. The goal is nothing less than the attainment of our full potential as buddhas—the embodiment of wisdom and compassion. In this course we look at Chan from three perspectives: the teachings, the methods, and the lineage of the patriarchs, masters, and teachers. Created by Dharma Drum Mountain (Master Sheng Yen) and Ashoka.
Tuition: Free
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