“I have chosen six subjects with the hope that they will lay out a comprehensive overview of Buddhist thought. The Four Noble Truths, the first teaching the Buddha gave after he attained enlightenment, is the logical starting point. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has given teachings on the Four Noble Truths on many occasions, says that they are the blueprint for all Buddhist teaching and practice. Within them lie the root of all Buddhist philosophy and the entire path to enlightenment. Whatever we study after the Four Noble Truths will echo back to this most essential teaching, and conversely this teaching will be revealed in everything else we study.

If The Four Noble Truths Then based on these, the remaining three courses address what it means to be a practising Mahayana Buddhist. The Awakening Mind module looks at the vast altruistic mind called the mind of enlightenment (bodhichitta), and the 5th module Emptiness looks at the wisdom that understands that all things are interdependent and lack intrinsic nature. The final course gives a glimpse into how the tantric practices are done.”