Presenting the Path to Enlightement

Discovering Buddhism module 3 is a general overview of the Lam Rim – stages of the path to enlightenment. This system of clarifying the teachings of the Buddha and how to practice was taught to the Tibetan people by the famous Indian Buddhist master, Guru Atisha Dipamkara Shri Jnana around 1000 years ago. Based on Master Atisha’s seminal work, A Lamp for the Path, many later books and poems were composed in Tibet, by masters such as Gampopa and Tsongkhapa, all the way up to modern times.
The Lam Rim gives us a road map for our study and practice – a way to make sense of all the volumes of Buddhist scriptures and commentary. When we understand the Lam Rim, we understand how all the Buddha’s teachings fit together as a practice for an individual person, i.e., ourselves.
Topics covered:
The goal: enlightenment, i.e., buddhahood
structure of the lam-rim, stages of the path
lam-rim literature and outlines
Three Principle Paths:
1. deciding to get out of suffering
2. developing the compassionate courage of a bodhisattva
3. understanding the nature of reality
How to meditate on the lam-rim