Trail to the Summit
a study and mentorship program
Open House
We invite you to a free introduction, and Q&A
Join us Saturday, April 25, 11:45 am to 1:00 PM PDT
Understanding you and your individualized spiritual needs enables us to refine our programs to meet your learning and practice experience more holistically. This survey will take 5-7 minutes, and your responses will remain confidential. Thank you for your time and practice.
Who is This Program for?
Open for individuals at all levels on the path of buddhadharma and Vajrayāna.
Trail to the Summit Study and Mentorship Program is open for individuals at all levels on the path of buddhadharma and Vajrayāna. It aims to offer you both adaptable group structure and personalized mentorship in your practice and your daily life.
It will include instructions in authentic methods of the gradual path of Vajrayāna, and individualized guidance to support your personal progress, help you build confidence and clarity, and cultivate insight and compassion.
While in the present day, we seem to easily meet the teachings of the dharma scrolling through our social media, traditionally, dharma is given when it is requested. This program was inspired by such requests from practitioners who aspire to weave study and practice with consistent and constructive teachings and mentorship. We asked all of you questions in a survey to understand your specific needs better.
The authentic dharma is unchanging, but the program continues to morph in order for us to meet your personal and collective needs. We are here to meet you where you are on the path.
Structure and What Will You Learn?
The program will include regular monthly online teachings, personal mentorship, dynamic group and individual guidance and mentorship.
· Gradual Path: What is the proper order and understanding of how the path is traversed? The rationale for each stage.
· Our spiritual heritage: Starting with the Four Noble Truths, in this class, we will explore the Nine Vehicles (yānas), schools, traditions, and lineages. The program begins with identifying our spiritual heritage from the time of the Buddha all the way to the present day, the importance of lineage, connection with a teacher, method, and model of practice sequence.
· Renunciation: the realization of our condition in cyclic existence, a wish to transcend beyond the states of unsatisfactoriness and constant change that keep us from settling in the present and beyond it.
· Budy & Grounding: how to stabilize your body and nervous system as part of your practice; how to cope with pain, illnesses, aging; posture and individual constitution; is our body a problem or a solution? Re-thinking a wholesome relationship without meditative bodies.
· The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to Dharma: the seminal meditation for the development of renunciation, devotion, compassion, and commitment to the Dharma path. It gives us meaning, purpose for this life, a pledge not to waste this delicate moment, and a realization of the totality of the universe beyond our apparent bubble.
· Ethics and Compassion serve as our guides to accomplish this, and the vows within their scope act as containers for our mindfulness.
· Spiritual Teacher: In relating to a spiritual teacher, we will explore the different kinds of teachers, how to relate, and the importance of lineage and training.
· Mind Training: one of the primary teachings of the Buddha will be approached both in the form of contemplations and in the practice of sitting in Calm Abiding and Insight.
· Dharma and Healing: How emotions, calm abiding, and understanding Karma can reshape our experience.
· Death: cultivate a fearless attitude on the path in preparation for the most important moment of your life and develop the skills to open your heart to the experience of others.
· Retreat: the program will conclude with practical ways to approach and create conducive conditions for a retreat, the process of how to enact and complete it, and finally, how to make any available time and space an opportunity for a retreated mind to thrive.
Program Objectives:
The program objectives are to provide a foundational framework on the path of buddhadharma from where the gradual path of Vajrayāna can be crossed. It endeavors to integrate instructions and receptivity to your needs through mentorship and dynamic individual guidance, inspiring one to live compassionately while taking wisdom as one’s best companion.
Lhamen is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making authentic dharma, healing, and knowledge accessible. We operate with limited resources and a small team of staff and volunteers
Program fees cover the cost of resources and associated expenses. By contributing program fees, participants directly support the continuity and quality of our programming, ensuring we can continue to serve the community now and into the future. The dharma is always a gift to yourself and others.