Bodhi Institute N E W S L E T T E R

WELCOME TO BODHI INSTITUTE Bodhi Institute is a new educational venture which has been designed to provide in-depth courses in the study and practice of early Buddhism – that is, the teachings of the Buddha before they became codified into the doctrines of any Buddhist school.

The programme offered by Bodhi Institute is intended for students who are committed to the practice of meditation and familiar with basic Buddhist ethical, psychological and philosophical concepts. The Institute is open to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

Our core curriculum comprises a two-year programme for committed practitioners, a two-year programme in the newly emerging field of secular Dharma, and a two-year programme to support healthcare and other professionals who use mindfulness-based interventions in their work.

In addition, we offer a number of free-standing modular courses that focus on gaining a deeper understanding of early Buddhist thought through the study of classical Pali texts and Buddhist psychology.

While making use of modern critical scholarship, the goals of Bodhi Institute are not purely academic. We seek to provide a contemplative education that inspires students to realize the ethical and philosophical values of the Dharma in the context of this day and age.

Core faculty are Stephen Batchelor, Christina Feldman, John Peacock and Akincano Weber, all of whom are well known international Buddhist teachers. Other faculty at Bodhi Institute in 2016 will be Bhikkhu Anālayo, Letizia Baglioni, Martine Batchelor, Chris Cullen, Renate Seifarth, Maura Sills, Ajahn Sucitto, and Jenny Wilks.

September 2015

Our courses will take place at a number of venues in the United Kingdom (including Gaia House and Sharpham House) as well as at locations in Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

On 30th October 2015, Bodhi Institute core faculty members Stephen Batchelor, John Peacock and Akincano Weber will hold a discussion at Friends House, Euston, hosted by London Insight, on the theme Early Buddhism: Theory and Practice.

They will also be available to answer any questions you have about the Institute and our vision. We hope to stream part of this event live through our website. For more information go to this London Insight web page.

2016 PROGRAMME ¶ TWO-YEAR COURSES

Committed Practitioners’ Programme (£2560) 6 modules and 2 retreats over two years 2016 dates: 5–10 March; 10–15 June; 2–9 September; 21–26 October with the core faculty

Secular Dharma Programme (£2480) 4 modules and 2 retreats over two years 2016 dates: 17–21 February; 16–23 July; 2–6 November with Stephen Batchelor, Martine Batchelor, Letizia Baglioni and Jenny Wilks

Mindfulness Teachers’ Development Programme (£917 and £733 per module) 4 modules over two years 2016 dates: 4–9 February; 3–7 October with Christina Feldman, John Peacock, Akincano Weber and Chris Cullen

¶ MODULAR COURSES

IN ENGLISH

13–20 March • Mindfulness in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (£595) with Anālayo Bhikkhu (Sharpham, Devon)

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7–12 August • The Knowing Citta: Mind, Obscuration and Understanding (£425) with Maura Sills and Akincano Weber (Karuna Institute, Devon)

12–16 September • Creative Formations (saṅkhāra) (£340) with Ajahn Sucitto (Karuna Institute, Devon)

14–18 November • The Aṭṭhakavagga (£340) with John Peacock (Sharpham, Devon)

IN GERMAN

11–15 May • Budddhistische Psychologie 1 – Verkehrtheiten und die Befreiung des Herzens with Akincano Weber (Waldhaus am Laacher See, Eifel, D) (€305)

12–16 May • Säkularer Dharma: eine Einführung (€160–330) with Stephen Batchelor and Renate Seifarth (Dresden, D) in collaboration with the Sati Verein

IN ITALIAN

17–21 March • Introduzione al buddhismo delle origini (€275) with Stephen Batchelor and Letizia Baglioni (Bologna, I)

BOOKING To apply to join a Bodhi Institute course, click on the course title in the programme above which will take you to our website. There you will find the admission criteria, further details on the courses and teachers as well as course dates and venues. To book, simply follow the instructions.

CORE FACULTY Stephen Batchelor is a Buddhist teacher and writer, known for his secular approach to Buddhism. A former Buddhist monk in the Tibetan and Sŏn traditions, he is the translator and author of several books including Buddhism without Beliefs and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. His next book After Buddhism will be published by Yale in 2015.

Christina Feldman has been teaching insight meditation retreats internationally since 1976. She is a co-founder of Gaia House and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. An author of several books, she teaches Buddhist

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psychology for teachers of mindfulness-based applications in England, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Dr. John Peacock is both an academic and Buddhist practitioner. A former monk in the Tibetan and Theravada traditions, he is currently Associate Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and teaches on the Master of Studies programme in MBCT at Oxford University. He has been leading meditation retreats for 25 years.

Akincano Weber is a Swiss Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist. A former monk, he has practiced for 20 years in European and Thai Forest monasteries. He is currently guiding teacher of Atammaya Cologne, is part of the MBSR-Institute Freiburg and teaches meditation and Buddhist psychology in Europe and overseas.

HOW CAN I HELP? As a fledgling institution, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of donors to enable us to operate. We have established a Development Fund to support the evolution of Bodhi Institute and a Bursary Fund to enable students who are unable to afford the full cost of the courses to attend. Bursaries will become available in 2017.

MORE INFORMATION You will find further information about our vision and our activities at www.bodhi-

institute.org. Resources on the website include comprehensive reading lists on early Buddhism as well as a selection of articles, audio talks and videos by the core faculty and others.

To receive newsletters and other information from Bodhi Institute, sign up to our mailing list.

If you have any questions, write to administrator Aline Petit by email at ask@bodhi-institute.org.

Please share this newsletter with people you know who might be interested in the work of Bodhi Institute.

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