DISTANCE
     LEARNING
     PROGRAM

SHAMATHA

This course will cover the shamatha teachings from A Treasury of Dharma:  Essential Study Material for the Rigpa Sangha. This collection of CD's of teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche is fondly known as The Mengak Study Pack because Rinpoche gives precious heart advice in these teachings. The Mengak Study Pack contains Rinpoche's complete teaching on shamatha, or 'calm abiding' meditation, in two hundred pages of notes and over eighteen hours of teachings on audio. These teachings have never before been brought together in such a complete way.

The point is not to just receive the teachings, but to actually know them. Therefore, the crucial point is study. The Mengak Study Pack is for you to study, to memorize, and to understand, to keep in your heart. Ignorance is what creates obscurations and needs to be purified. It is the wisdom and the compassion of the teachings that purify ignorance.  This is why study is so crucial.

In The Mengak Study Pack, I have gathered the quintessence of all teachings. Not only my teachings, but also teachings from various sources in order to make something complete and definitive and which gives you a clear foundation for the spiritual path and for the study of Buddhadharma.

—Sogyal Rinpoche

PREREQUISITES AND LEVEL OF THIS COURSE

• Completion of "The Way to Inner Peace and Contentment" course

• Membership to a Rigpa mandala

• Commitment to study the Mengak Study Pack to completion

AIMS OF THIS COURSE

Students will have the opportunity to:

• Gradually study the Mengak Study Pack; at the end of the course, they should know the main points and definitions, and be familiar with the structure of the teaching

• Gradually enter into the personal practice and experience of shamatha meditation, and establish a daily shamatha practice

• Get accustomed to listening regularly to the audio teachings of the Mengak Study Pack, both for their study and to inspire sitting.

FORMAT OF THIS COURSE
Students receive a DVD and a logon to the course website. Assignments are posted weekly and students are encouraged to post their homework to a class forum and discuss their insights with each other. An instructor reviews student postings, gives guidance, and is available for answering student questions. See this document for a detailed description about how the course works.

MATERIALS NEEDED

• Internet and email access

• The Mengak Study Pack MP3 CD's and notes (must be ordered separately online from ZAM America

• An MP3 player or the ability to play an MP3 CD on your computer. For more information on MP3 players, see this document.

• A computer that plays DVD's.  The DVD will be a DVD you must watch on your computer.  It will not play on a regular DVD player.

• The free VLC movie player which you can download from
  www.videolan.org