Foundation Programme

The Foundation Programme (FP) provides an opportunity to engage in structured study and meditation on the essential subjects of Kadampa Buddhism based on six books by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.

Classes consist of teachings, meditation, and discussion. The emphasis is on gaining practical experience of the teachings that you can apply to your daily life.

FP is a tried and tested way to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of Buddha’s teachings, maintain a daily meditation practice that is both focused and powerful, and make genuine spiritual progress.

If you feel you want to go a bit deeper with your study and practice – this systematic study of these essential Buddhist texts on FP may be a perfect next step for you.

“Our present understanding and experience of Dharma is quite superficial. We are like someone who has entered a huge food store and seen many things but sampled only a few. We may have received many different teachings from many different teachers, but we have taken in very little, just a few morsels.

There is a gap between us and the Dharma. It feels as if the Dharma is there and we are here. Our mind is not mixed with Dharma and so we cannot apply it in our daily lives. As a result our ordinary everyday problems remain. We also find it difficult to integrate our spiritual path into our daily lives so we cannot use this Dharma to solve our daily problems. When we study Dharma out mind remains passive, like someone watching television. Therefore our life and our Dharma remain completely separate and unrelated.

Why is this? It is because we are not studying and practicing systematically according to a specially designed spiritual program. If we just dabble superficially in a spiritual path we will never gain a deep and stable experience, and our wisdom will never develop to its full potential. This is why the spiritual programs offered by the New Kadampa Tradition are so important.” — Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.