Taking Consciousness as the Path

The Nine Yanas

In Ācārya Malcolm Smith’s new course, you’ll learn:

• The main points of the whole path from Nyingma perspective, and Dzogchen’s unique points
• How Dzogchen is distinguished from the nine vehicles
• The inner distinctions between the three series of Dzogchen
• Why Dzogchen transcends the cause and result approach of the nine vehicle system
• And more

Full Tuition: $297

After enrolling, check your email for a welcome email with instructions on how to take the course. When you enroll in any Wisdom Academy course, you agree to our terms of use. Enrolled students have lifetime access to course materials. Wisdom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your tuition supports the creation of more courses like this one. Thank you! For more about our terms, please see the Wisdom Academy FAQ.

The Yoga of Niguma – Bonus Video Content Preview

In this exclusive clip, certified Hatha yoga instructor and The Yoga of Niguma co-author Michele Loew introduces preliminary practices of the Niguma yoga including numerous important physical postures. This material is part of an exclusive 90 minutes’ worth of video demonstrations (led by both Michele and H. E. Kalu Rinpoche) that are offered exclusively to purchasers of the acclaimed new book The Yoga of Niguma.

6 Myths We Live By

Available early! Use code MYTHS20 at checkout and save 20% until November 10.

Buddhist wisdom for everyday problems rooted in Buddhist psychology and meditation, 6 Myths We Live By shows us how to uncover our misperceptions and leads us on a path to self-development.

The truth is you probably believe all sorts of myths, but you don’t even know it. To escape any hardship, any suffering or discomfort, we all believe myths about how the world works and how we live in that world. In 6 Myths We Live By, therapist and long-time Buddhist practitioner Karuna Cayton guides us through six common myths that may give us comfort, but actually only perpetuate our problems:

the myth of reality;
the myth of identity;
the myth of permanence;
the myth of randomness;
the myth of happiness;
the myth of only living once.

Cayton takes us through each of these myths using real-world examples and draws upon Buddhist principles, psychology, and meditation practices to show how we can wake up to reality. By planting a seed of doubt about the beliefs that we’ve always thought were true, we can open our eyes and deepen our relationship with the way we see our life, our potential, and the nature of our struggles and achievements.

Wisdom Dharma Chat | Lama Alan Wallace – Aug. 2025

August 13, 2025

In this episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats, host Daniel Aitken welcomes Lama Alan Wallace to discuss his new volume, Śamatha and Vipaśyanā, and to reflect on his formative years studying and practicing in India. Lama Alan shares stories from his rigorous training under eminent Tibetan masters, highlighting how these experiences shaped his understanding of the Mahāyāna path and the union of wisdom and skillful means. The conversation delves into the essential role of śamatha and vipaśyanā in overcoming the five obscurations, cultivating irreversible bodhicitta, and progressing toward full enlightenment. Lama Alan explains how these practices—rooted in centuries-old instructions—are equally relevant today, offering a powerful antidote to modern-day distractions and a path toward both spiritual awakening and psychological healing.

Daniel and Lama Alan also explore the intersection of contemplative traditions with science and mental healthcare, noting the limitations of modern education and research funding in addressing the mind’s deeper needs. They envision a renaissance in contemplative practice that integrates precise, empirical methods for investigating consciousness with the transformative compassion at the heart of the Dharma. Rich with insight, history, and practical guidance, this conversation invites practitioners to bring these timeless meditations fully into the context of contemporary life.

Meet Our Guest

Lama Alan Wallace

B. Alan Wallace is president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He trained for many years as a monk in Buddhist monasteries in India and Switzerland. He has taught Buddhist theory and practice in Europe and America since 1976 and has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including H. H. the Dalai Lama. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he earned his MA and PhD in religious studies at Stanford University. He has edited, translated, authored, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, and the interface between science and religion.

Alan is also the founder of the Center for Contemplative Research (CCR), which now has retreat center locations in Crestone, Colorado, and in Castellina Marittima, Italy. A new center is also being established in New Zealand. The CCR is dedicated to researching the role and methods of the ancient contemplative practices of Shamatha and Vipashyana, and their involvement in mental health and wellbeing, as well as their role in fathoming the nature and origins of human consciousness.

The CCR vision builds on the results of the Shamatha Project. It is guided by a Scientific Advisory Board that includes the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and biologist Steven Chu (Stanford University), neuroscientist and clinical psychologist David Presti (UC Berkeley), theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser (Director of the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement at Dartmouth College), and philosopher Michel Bitbol (Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique). Cognitive scientists at the University of Pisa, the University of Trent, and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa are committed to conducting research in collaboration with the CCR.

For an introduction, listen to The Nature of Reality: A Dialogue Between a Buddhist Scholar and a Theoretical Physicist. In this public dialogue, Alan Wallace and Sean Carroll, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and best-selling author, discussed the nature of reality from spiritual and scientific viewpoints.

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