Starting wherever you find yourself now, you can unravel your personal preoccupations and discover your innate potential for compassion, love, and wisdom.

This is part 1 of a two-part course series.  Part 1 includes seven weekly Tuesday evening classes via zoom, beginning January 2, 2024.  Part 2 includes six classes beginning March 5, 2024.

Course Overview

This course is based on a series of talks by Pema Chödrön that was filmed in the intimate setting of Gampo Abbey.  Each class includes a video talk by Pema, followed by group discussion.

As her theme for the course, Pema uses a short Buddhist text especially close to her heart, Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. This classic text, which could be said to summarize the major themes of Pema’s teachings over the years, presents ways that we can work with our own hearts and minds. Starting wherever you find yourself now, you can unravel your personal preoccupations and discover your innate potential for compassion, love, and wisdom. In her usual down-to-earth and practical language, Pema uses this text as a lens to offer new teachings.

Part 1 topics include:

• Awakening Bodhichitta
• Stretching Beyond Our Habits
• The Power of Letting Go
• A special feature – a class in which Pema teaches tonglen, the practice of taking and sending.

Our Generosity Policy

In order to make our programs accessible to everyone, we have a “pay what you can afford” policy. If the program price is an obstacle for you, please decide what works for you and offer whatever you can.

For those who can offer more than the program price, we have a “patron price”. Your generosity in offering the patron price helps cover the costs for others who are not able to pay the full price.

About the teacher

Pema Chödrön is an American Tibetan-Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Chödrön has written several dozen books and audiobooks, and is principal teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia.  Her books include: The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, When Things Fall Apart, The Places that Scare You, No Time to Lose, Practicing Peace in Times of War and most recently Taking the Leap – Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears.