Discovering the Heart of Buddhism

The foundation of all spiritual training in the Awakened Heart Sangha is Discovering the Heart of Buddhism. This introduces you to the underlying principles of Buddhism in your own experience. All students are strongly encouraged to engage with thoroughly, and this usually takes at least one or two years.

Heart of Meditation is the first part of this journey. It introduces formless meditation, the core practice of Discovering the Heart of Buddhism and the Awakened Heart Sangha.

This is followed by a set of teachings and reflections written by Lama Shenpen Hookham to explore the core principles of Buddhism: Indestructible Heart Essence, Confidence, Heart Wish, Openness, Clarity, Sensitivity, Mandala Principle

Trusting the Heart of Buddhism

Trusting the Heart of Buddhism then builds on Discovering the Heart of Buddhism to bring in the vaster vision of the Buddhist tradition and the principles that underlie it. It also involves teachings and reflections written by Lama Shenpen.

Living the Awakened Heart

'Living the Awakened Heart' is the name of the whole training in the Awakened Heart Sangha, including Discovering the Heart of Buddhism. 

There is no single common pathway for everyone in the Sangha. Rather, once we have worked through the Discovering the Heart of Buddhism training, we are encouraged to chart our own way, deepening our practice in an area that we feel drawn to. We see the spiritual path as a process of spiral learning, an ever-deepening exploration of the same basic themes.

Students are invited to join one of the Living the Awakened Heart year-long streams, where we meet in practice groups to focus on a particular practice for 3 months at a time. 

Find out more about the Living the Awakened Heart training.