Core Buddhist Pathways

• 427EMantra of Compassion

  Analyze the symbolic meaning of each syllable in OM MANI PADME HUM; evaluate how mantra recitation functions as both meditation practice and a method for cultivating compassion; and implement regular practice while documenting personal observations about the relationship between mantra repetition and emotional patterns or responses to challenging situations.
• 406ELoving-Kindness

  Analyze the nature of metta/loving-kindness; improvise a guided meditation that generates this quality; and initiate kind actions based on understanding all beings’ desire for happiness.
• 401EDhyana: Meditation Techniques

  Compare and contrast multiple Buddhist meditation techniques (shamatha, vipassana, loving-kindness, walking meditation), analyze how each method addresses specific mental states and obstacles, and design appropriate meditation practices for different situations and temperaments.
• 324EFive Skandhas

  Analyze the five aggregates (skandhas) as the components that create the illusion of a permanent self; evaluate how understanding the constantly changing nature of form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness supports the teaching of anatta (no-self); and synthesize this understanding by implementing daily practices that demonstrate selfless action based on logical analysis of the impermanent nature of identity.
• 325EAbhidharma

  Define abhidharma precisely; analyze how its practice reduces aversion, craving, and suffering; and evaluate examples from personal experience.
• 326EThe Three Trainings

  Analyze the interconnected relationship between ethical conduct, concentration, and wisdom within the three trainings’ framework; then evaluate how each training supports the others in personal transformation. Evaluate how your personal practice of the three trainings fits into daily life in a balanced way that will reduce harm and increase clarity, compassion, and discernment.
• 328EAnicca

  Analyze the principle of impermanence, evaluate how perception of it transforms experience, and implement this insight to address fixation and suffering.
• 330EAnatta Overview

  Explain the truth of selflessness and how clinging to a sense of self affects our experience. Apply insight of the impermanent, changing quality of the self to be more at ease with different experiences.
• 332EDependent Origination Overview

  Investigate the interconnected nature of phenomena through direct observation; cultivate appreciation for the web of conditions supporting daily life; and apply the principle of dependent origination to understand how positive change is possible by addressing root causes.