Intro to Buddhism
Welcome to this journey of discovery. Over the next eight modules, we'll explore the fundamental teachings of Buddhism as practical philosophy for reducing suffering and living more skillfully. Work through them at your own pace; each builds on the previous, creating a foundation you can return to again and again. Remember: You don't need to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist. You can use what you learn to simply be a better whatever you already are.
Your AI Teacher Companion
You are not alone on this journey. Our AI teacher is trained on all course materials and can answer your questions, provide clarification, and help deepen your understanding at any time.
Course Curriculum
- 1
What Is This All About?
The Prince Who Walked Away From Paradise Twenty-five hundred years ago, there lived a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama. He had everything our culture tells us we need to be happy: wealth, po...
9 min read - 2
Why We Struggle
The Buddha's Medical Model The Buddha structured his teachings like a physician would approach a patient. First, he diagnosed that there was a problem. Second, he identified the underlying cause ...
14 min read - 3
The Illusion of the Fixed Self
The Laminated Photos That Define Us Several years ago, I received a letter from a friend whose mother-in-law works at a dementia unit in Australia. He had visited her at work and met some of the ...
15 min read - 4
How Everything Connects
The Prisoners Who Saw Only Shadows Twenty-four hundred years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato told a story that perfectly captures what we're exploring this week. Imagine prisoners who have been ...
16 min read - 5
Living Mindfully
The Friend Who Taught Me About Living Many years ago, my close friend and business partner Jordan was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. We had been meeting regularly every Tuesday for lunch to dis...
15 min read - 6
Wisdom — Your Map and Compass
Setting Out on the Journey For the past five modules, we've been exploring fundamental insights about the nature of human experience: why we suffer, the fluid nature of identity, how everything i...
12 min read - 7
Integrity — Building Your Vehicle
The Vehicle for Your Journey Last week, we equipped ourselves with navigation tools—the map of Wise View and the compass of Wise Intention. Now we need to build a reliable vehicle for the journey...
14 min read - 8
Mental Discipline — Training the Driver
The Final Piece of the Journey Over the past seven modules, we've been building everything you need for the journey of skillful living. You have your navigation tools—the map of Wise View and the...
13 min read
Ready to begin your learning journey?
Start First Lesson