Renunciation Home Page

The Course

"Renunciation" is a 12-week online course offered by Sravasti Abbey, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Newport, Washington. This course is the second of four offered as part of the SAFE (Sravasti Abbey Friends Education) Program.

NOTE: I'm taking the course April-June 2013.

This Web Site

This Web site is a repository for my own notes, summaries, and graphic organizers as I go through the course, posted here in the hope that they may benefit somebody else studying the same topics. (I did something similar for the first SAFE course, Introducing the Buddha's Teachings.) This rather academic approach is something I seem to need to do, not only to get the concepts into my head initially, but also to have some chance of remembering them. I've only recently realized with greater clarity, however, that learning the concepts is just the start of practicing the Dharma, certainly not the end or even the main point!

Gratitude

These SAFE courses are a lifeline for me. I have tried to study and practice Buddhism on my own these last three years. I was terribly unsystematic and bouncing all over the place with my efforts until I found and took the first SAFE course. What a wonderful experience! The teachings, my fellow students, the ever-so-helpful facilitator—everything about it turned out to be exactly what I needed. I am so grateful to Venerable Thubten Chodron (who founded Sravasti Abbey) for all her teachings and for making the courses available, and to all the folks at the Abbey who make this Dharma learning at a distance such a positive, supportive experience.

Other Notes

Getting Around This Site

The best place to start is at the site map. There you'll see the list of pages available so far, organized by week of the course, by topic, or in alphabetical order.

Course Materials

The study materials consist of various online readings and videos (mostly of Venerable Chodron's teachings), as well as readings from the following books:

  • The Three Principal Aspects of the Path by Geshe Sonam Rinchen
  • Guided Meditations on the Stages of the Path by Venerable Thubten Chodron
  • Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage by Geshe Jampa Tegchok