Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Healing Practices for the Modern World

Certificate Programs at the Nyingma Institute

The Nyingma Institute offers a series of programs that lead to certificates of completion. Certificate programs provide a cohesive series of classes, workshops, and retreats that enhance cognitive and experiential learning. Although students may still attend individual classes, workshops and retreats as auditors, we recommend a certificate program in order to gain the greatest benefit from study at the Nyingma Institute.

NYINGMA INSTITUTE’S APPROVAL TO OPERATE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS A PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTION IS BASED ON PROVISIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION ACT (CPPEA) OF 2009, WHICH IS EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2010. THE ACT IS ADMINISTERED BY THE BUREAU FOR PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS. THE BUREAU CAN BE REACHED AT: 2535 CAPITOL OAKS DRIVE, SUITE 400, SACRAMENTO, CA 95833.

Both the Nyingma Meditation and the Beginning Kum Nye Programs have at their heart a series of beginning classes that present fundamental movement and sitting practices to calm body, breath, and mind. These practices form the basis for life-long learning and inner growth. The Nyingma Psychology Program introduces cognitive and experiential practices to recognize negative emotional patterns and cut them at their root. Each of these three programs is designed as a one-year course of study, but students may take up to two years to complete them.

The Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program provides students who already have a background in Nyingma teachings with a path to deepen their training, and the Four-Month Human Development Training Retreat provides an intensive, reliable method to greater self-knowledge and spiritual transformation. Our two ongoing Dharma studies programs—the Path of Liberation and Path and Practices of Liberation—are a gateway to the teachings of the Buddha. In these programs, we study the great vision of the Buddha, and learn to practice introspective techniques designed definitively to lead us out of the state of confusion and suffering that is the hallmark of our fragmented, modern world.

STARTING JANUARY 3, 2012!

Path of Liberation, Two-Year Buddhist Studies Program

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6—7:45 PM, starting January 3, 2012 and concluding December 12, 2013; with sixteen weekend workshops and one retreat

Dynamic and alive, the lineage of the Buddha’s teachings has the power to liberate us from suffering and pain. The Nyingma Institute is pleased to offer a two-year intensive program inspired by Tarthang Tulku that explores how the path of liberation is activated and applied.

We begin by focusing on embodiment: how ordinary human being can be transformed into awakened being. We then sequentially explore teachings of awakened speech, mind, qualities, and action, with each quarter deepening the understanding of the path and its practices. Quarterly courses are as follows:

An Awakened Vision of Being (WINTER 2012: January 3—March 8) A journey into the Buddha’s vision of what embodiment means.

Transmitting Insight; Penetrating Illusion (SPRING 2012: March 20—May 24) This course focuses on how the information transmitted between the body, mind, and world can be clarified to accord with the truth of existence.

Who Owns Mind? (SUMMER 2012: June 5—August 9) We sensitively explore consciousness, looking for the source of thoughts, feelings, impulses, and actions, glimpsing how mind, free of the confines of ‘self’, might function.

Four Foundations of Mindfulness (SEPTEMBER 2012: August 28—September 18) Learning to be mindful in all things.

Compassion in Action (FALL 2012: October 2—December 6) Study of cause and effect and the actions of enlightened masters of the past shows how the Buddhist vision could unfold in our actions.

The Resolve for Ultimate Goodness (WINTER 2013: January 8—March 14) We study teachings on Bodhicitta (the ‘seed of enlightenment’) and continue to work on mind training practices that overcome the destructive forces of anger, attachment, and ignorance in our lives.

Gateway to Knowledge (SPRING 2013: March 26—May 30) We deepen our search for awakened mind through penetrating analysis, we look again at inner and outer phenomena and the sense fields.

Deluded Mind/Awakened Mind (SUMMER 2013: June 11—August 15) As awakened mind is further cultivated, what seemed confused or difficult becomes magically workable.

Majestic Aspirations (SEPTEMBER 2013: September 3—24) We study the vows and commitments made by those on this path of liberation.

The World as Sacred Space (FALL 2013: October 8—December 12) Powerful Buddhist symbols point toward a comprehensive vision in which the universe itself arises as a mandala—a sacred space in which the journey to awakening is assured. We explore this vision, studying how every aspect experience can be transformed.

Weekend workshops are as follows (held Friday evenings, 7 to 9 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM to 4:45 PM):

Visions of Enlightenment (January 13-14, 2012) Contemplation of the awakened ones.

Faith in Dharma (February 17-18, 2012) The awakening of faith in the Dharma means that we have surrendered our heart to truth. This workshop outlines the steps to such faith.

Turning the Mind to the Dharma (March 30-31, 2012) We will contemplate the four “mind-changing” thoughts: Freedom and Good Fortune, Impermanence, Suffering, and Karma.

Training for Freedom (May 4-5, 2012) This workshop will introduce the “three trainings,” traditional tools for clearing away the network of confusion and karmic patterns.

Question of Identity: Ten Kinds of Self (June 22-23, 2012) Experiential exercises will shed light on how identity forms and operates, while lecture will examine the ten kinds of “self.”

Four Immeasurable States of Being (August 3-4, 2012) Love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and impartial equanimity will be expanded beyond all limits.

Finding Compassionate Love (November 23-25, 2012) Gentle visualization, mantra and meditation practices cultivate a compassionate love that heals the painful divisions between beings.

Making Mind the Matter (January 25-26, 2013) In order to make the Dharma relevant to our lives, we explore the activity of our mind, gaining insight into how samsara is being fabricated. Filled with Devotion (February 22-23, 2013) We learn how faith can be based on insight.

The Wheel of Life (April 5-6, 2013) The symbolic imagery of the Tibetan wheel of life demonstrates fundamental Buddhist teachings about the chain of causality and how life evolves. Cutting Off Negative Thoughts (May 17-18, 2013) The torment of negative thoughts dissolves as insight into the nature of mind and the action of karma deepens.

The Perfections of Patience and Strength (June 28-29, 2013) Based on the Bodhicaryavatara and its Tibetan commentaries, students will study the perfections of patience and strength.

The Perfections of Meditation and Wisdom (August 9-10, 2013 Students will learn about the various types of meditation and approach the study of wisdom texts.

Path of Prayer to the Land of Bliss (November 1-2, 2013) We study texts and teachings about the Buddhafield of Sukhavati and about the Buddha Amithaba.

The Power of Buddhist Symbols (November 22-23, 2013) This workshop delves into the significance of Buddhist symbols in art and architecture.

Primary Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Jack Petranker, with assistance from the Institute’s Buddhist studies faculty. Cost: $4,000 (may be paid in quarterly installments) Prerequisites: A background in meditation or Nyingma Psychology is recommended, but the only requirement is the wish to study the Buddhist teachings of enlightenment.

Nyingma Psychology Program

Begins any quarter

The Nyingma Psychology Program focuses on how to use analysis and meditation to precisely determine mental and emotional states. With this knowledge, students learn to apply antidotes that transform negative states and discover how to act in ways that are genuinely positive. At the heart of the Nyingma Psychology Program is the Healing Mind class (NPS101). The program includes an additional four classes, five workshops, and one week-long retreat for the total cost of $1500.

Beginning Nyingma Meditation Program

Begins any quarter

Nyingma Meditation traces its origin to the time of the Buddha, 2,500 years ago. This ancient practice promotes inner calm and clarity, balancing emotions and opening the meditator to new dimensions of conscious experience. The Beginning Nyingma Meditation Program introduces students to the fundamentals of Nyingma Meditation practice and provides the support for students to develop an on-going, daily practice of their own. Components of the program include six classes, four workshops, and one week-long retreat for $1,500. Students may join the Beginning Nyingma Meditation Program in any quarter.

Beginning Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) Program

Begins any quarter

Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) is a natural healing system based on Tibetan medicine and the mind-body disciplines of Buddhism. In the Kum Nye Program students will learn Kum Nye’s basic movement, massage, and breathing practices, which were designed by Tibetan Lama Tarthang Tulku to promote physical and emotional health. Components of the program include six classes, four workshops, and one week-long retreat for $1,500. Students may join the Kum Nye Program in any quarter. The program is designed to be completed in one year of study, but students may take up to two years to complete their coursework.

Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program

Begins any quarter

This program is designed to allow students to sample teachings from all areas of Nyingma studies, coming to a more comprehensive and deeper knowledge of the Nyingma tradition. Working with an advisor, students select courses from the following areas of study, with a focus on intermediate and advanced offerings: Nyingma Meditation, Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga), Nyingma Psychology, Time, Space, and Knowledge, Skillful Means, Nyingma Practices, Tibetan Language, and Dharma Studies.

Students in the Two-Year Nyingma Studies Program have the option to concentrate on a single area, such as Nyingma Meditation, or they may choose to study in several different areas. They may take up to four years to complete their course of study. Students choose twelve classes, eight workshops, and two week-long retreats from an extensive listing of Nyingma Institute offerings. The cost of this program is $2,750 and students may join in any quarter.

Four-Month Human Development Training Retreat

Begins August 30, 2010 and August 29, 2011

This retreat provides students with an intense four-month period of study and practice of Nyingma teachings. The retreat curriculum is a program in human development, working both cognitively and experientially with mind, body, and spiritual awareness. Students develop insight into the nature of consciousness, emotion, thought, embodiment, and feeling. Exercises release the hold of negative habitual patterning within body and mind, allowing previously untapped human qualities to emerge. Retreatants attend day and evening classes and weekend workshops for a total of 622 hours. Retreat dates for 2010 are August 30-December 16; retreat dates for 2011 are August 29-December 15. The cost is $5,200 (nonresidential) and $7,600 (residential). Both residential and nonresidential costs include meals.

Why Choose a Certificate Program?

1. You will receive a thorough grounding in the subjects studied with a clear path of experiential practice and cognitive study.
2. You will be advised by skilled faculty and staff so that you make the most of your training.
3. The cost of the programs is less than the cost of attending the equivalent number of individual classes or workshops.

Programs offered through the Nyingma Institute are not vocational in nature and are not represented to lead to employment.

The transferability of credits you earn at the Nyingma Institute is at the complete discretion of an institution to which you may seek to transfer. Acceptance of the certificate you earn in your program is also at the complete discretion of the institution to which you may seek to transfer. If the credits or certificates that you earn at Nyingma Institute are not accepted at the institution to which you seek to transfer, you may be required to repeat some or all of your coursework at that institution. For this reason, you should make certain that your attendance at the Nyingma Institute will meet your educational goals. This may include contacting an institution to which you may see to transfer after attending the Nyingma Institute to determine if your credits or certificate will transfer.

Nyingma Institute has not entered into any articulation or transfer agreement with any other postsecondary school.

Certificates awarded in Nyingma Institute Programs are not teaching credentials. Earning a certificate in a Nyingma Institute Program will not, by itself, qualify you to teach at the Nyingma Institute, or anywhere else.

For complete information regarding our Certificate Programs, including financial information and school policies, see our 2011 School Catalog.