THE WISDOM ACADEMY PRESENTS
Ganges Mahāmudrā
An Online Course with His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa
A song from the Ganges
Over a thousand years ago, on the banks of the Ganges River, the great Indian mahasiddha Tilopa sang a song directly to his heart disciple, Naropa. This song distilled the entirety of the Mahāmudrā path, revealing how to recognize the nature of mind directly, without reliance on conceptual elaboration.
Naropa transmitted this teaching to Marpa Lotsawa, who brought it to Tibet, where it was passed down through the Kagyu lineage.
Now, that living stream continues—taught with clarity and devotion by His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa, whose commentary opens the meaning for contemporary practitioners.
The course begins September 26. (Scroll down for a full schedule.)
Enroll now — $100 off through August 26. No code needed!
Full Tuition: $297 Your Tuition: $197
Lifetime access
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.
“Mind resting free of focus is mahāmudrā.
When you’re accustomed to this, unexcelled awakening is attained.”
—Tilopa in “Ganges Mahamudra,” translated by Michele Martin
This course provides the rare and precious opportunity to:
- Learn directly from one of today’s most sought-after teachers, who was one of the closest students of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa.
- Experience the profound emptiness of your mind
- Learn practices for calming the dualistic mind
- Rise above difficulties in your life with a practice of boundless possibility
- Learn how to let thoughts settle naturally
- Discover the stages of meditative experience
- And more.
- Lesson 1: The nature of mind—ineffable and vast like space
- Lesson 2: Resting without contrivance in mind’s natural state
- Lesson 3: How thoughts dissolve in the natural state
- Lesson 4: Dispelling ignorance with natural luminosity
- Lesson 5: Merging practice with your primordial nature
- Lesson 6: The path to realizing bliss-emptiness
- Lesson 7: Devotion as the basis for realization
- And beyond
Your Course Includes
7 high-quality video lessons with His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa
Direct oral commentary on every line of the root text, featuring a new translation exclusively created for this course
Guided practices & specially curated readings
Discussion forum
Lifetime access for enrolled students
Enroll now — $100 off through August 26. No code needed!
Full Tuition: $297 Your Tuition: $197
Lifetime access
Lesson 1: Tilopa’s Ineffable Mahāmudrā
Begin the journey with His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa as he introduces the Ganges Mahāmudrā Pith Instruction, its lineage, and the nature of mind—described as ineffable and vast like space.
Lesson 2: Immaterial as Space, Luminous as the Sun
Explore Tilopa’s teaching on mind’s natural purity—spacious and luminous. This lesson focuses on resting without contrivance and realizing mind through meditation.
Lesson 3: Like Ripples Upon Water
Learn how thoughts dissolve in the natural state, why a qualified guru is essential, and how to clear obscurations on the path to freedom.
Lesson 4: A Lamp Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance
Discover how distraction, laziness, and dualistic conception obscure the mind. His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa shows how natural luminosity dispels even eons of ignorance.
Lesson 5: Where the River Meets the Sea
Follow the process of dissolving discursive thoughts. His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa teaches how to merge the striving of your practice with the foundation of your primordial nature, and unpacks view, meditation, conduct, and fruition through vivid metaphors.
Lesson 6: Until Awareness Dwells in its Nature
Practice breath and gaze techniques to calm discursive thought and focus awareness, and learn about bliss-emptiness.
Lesson 7: A Refined Understanding
Conclude the course by reflecting on Tilopa and Naropa’s lives, deepening your understanding, and dedicating aspirational prayers. His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa emphasizes devotion as the basis for realization.
- September 26: Lesson 1 released at 9 a.m. US Eastern time.
- October 3: Lesson 2
- October 10: Lesson 3
- October 17: Lesson 4
- October 24: Lesson 5
- October 31: Lesson 6
- November 7: Lesson 7
His Holiness Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa is a Buddhist master of the Karma Kagyu tradition, and was one of the closest students of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. He oversees a vast network of Karma Kagyu monasteries, retreat centers, and Dharma centers worldwide and has made great contributions toward training the next generation of Buddhist masters. He is also a scholar, poet, calligrapher, artist, author, architect, and geomancer.
Born in 1954, H.H. Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa was considered an emanation of the future Buddha, Maitreya. On the day of his birth, the entire region witnessed two solar orbs illuminating the sky. The details of his birth were completely in accordance with the prediction the 16th Karmapa made in a letter written after he had a vision concerning His Holiness’s rebirth.
The young H.H. Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa was taken to Palpung monastery and at 18 months was enthroned there by the 16th Karmapa. At age six he fled Tibet into exile along with the 16th Karmapa and the 6th Mingyur Rinpoche.
In 1974, when he was 21, His Holiness took charge of two monasteries that had been offered to the 16th Karmapa. The following year, he founded the Sherab Ling monastic center (near the town of Bir in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh) at the request of his Tibetan students who had settled in northern India. In 1980, he made his first tour to Europe, and has since traveled widely, teaching Buddhist philosophy and meditation around the world.
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