Foundations in Buddhist & Asian Contemplative Practice
Inner / outer: Primarily inner — this is direct cultivation of the inner world, the first tool you'll use throughout the rest of the curriculum.
Duration:Loading…
Format: Reading, exercise & a personal 1-to-1 tutorial
Overview
The opening course, and deliberately the gentlest. Before you study any system, you need a working relationship with your own attention — this course establishes that through direct meditative practice, drawn from Buddhist and wider Asian contemplative sources, rather than through doctrine.
What this course covers
The discipline of meditation itself — breath, posture, attention; the core Buddhist teachings on impermanence and non-attachment; and a wider taste of Asian philosophical thought beyond Buddhism, including Taoist and Vedantic ideas on the nature of self and stillness. You leave with both a practice and a broadened frame of reference, not one tradition's doctrine alone.
Suggested reading
The Dhammapada (any reputable translation)
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind — Shunryu Suzuki
The Tao Te Ching — Lao Tzu
The Bhagavad Gita (a short, accessible translation)
Topics of investigation
What does “non-attachment” actually mean in daily life, as distinct from indifference?
Where do Buddhist and Taoist views of the self agree, and where do they diverge?
What happens in the body and mind during sustained, simple attention to breath?
Practical Activity & Exercise
A structured daily sitting practice over the course period, closing with a short written reflection on what changed in the quality of your attention.
Who it's for
Complete beginners
No prior meditation or study experience is assumed — this is deliberately the gentlest course, and the recommended starting point.
Anyone who wants a working practice, not just theory
The course centres on a real daily sitting practice, not only reading about one.
Everyone continuing the curriculum
Courses 03 and beyond draw on the meditative grounding built here.
How it works
1
Read
Work through the short, curated reading list above at your own pace.
2
Investigate
Follow the specific topics of investigation raised by each text.
3
Practise
Complete the course's practical activity and exercise.
4
Tutorial
Your exercise becomes the basis of a personal 1-to-1 tutorial with Benjamin.
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