Awakening Here and Now
Learn to recognize that what you seek is already here
An online course with Haemin Sunim
Let's talk about awakening
What is enlightenment? How does it happen? In this six-week online course, South Korean Zen monk Haemin Sunim maps out a clear, direct path to awakening. Through traditional koan practice and insights from his personal experience, Haemin Sunim will guide you toward a glimpse of awakened nature.
Clarifying the goal
Awakening is the goal of the Buddhist path. And yet the exact nature of this awakening is unclear to most of us. Years can be spent seeking and practicing without a clear idea of what we are trying to achieve. But this needn't be the case. We can develop a clearer understanding of enlightenment and the practices that lead us there. We can learn to discern between the many pleasant, profound experiences we may encounter on this path and a genuine enlightenment experience. This knowledge is what the Buddha referred to as right view, and developing it is the most helpful factor in our own journey to awaken.
This practical online course will give you the benefit of the insights Haemin Sunim has realized through his own search for spiritual enlightenment. He will share his own experiences candidly and offer instruction in the koan practices that enabled him to break through doubt and confusion to see the world differently. In each unit, Haemin Sunim will guide you through a metaphor commonly used to describe awakening and point out the truth behind it. Having set the proper direction for practice, Haemin Sunim will guide you through practices, reflections, and inquiries that will deepen your experience of the path.
Meet Haemin Sunim
Haemin Sunim was born in South Korea and studied at Berkeley, Harvard, and Princeton in the US. He trained in the Jogye Order of Korean Zen and taught Buddhism and Asian religions at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. He is the founder of the School for Broken Hearts in Seoul, a nonprofit that helps people in difficulty through group counseling and meditation.
Haemin Sunim has been nicknamed the "Twitter monk" because of his influence on social media. His book, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down has sold more than three million copies worldwide, and his latest book, Love for Imperfect Things: How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfection has received widespread acclaim.
If you'd like to know more, read an interview with Haemin Sunim in the New York Times or view the free lesson preview of Awakening Here and Now.
Sample: The Sunglasses Metaphor
Features
Expert instruction
Haemin Sunim is a Zen monk in the Jogye Order and bestselling author of The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down.
6 hours of high-quality video
Immerse yourself in compelling and concise video teachings.
Koan practice
Become proficient in this powerful technique for breaking through to a direct understanding of reality.
Metaphors
In each unit, Haemin Sunim takes one of the central metaphors describing awakening and makes its meaning and practical importance clear.
FAQs
Troubleshoot your practice and understanding of awakening with Haemin's down-to-earth answers to common questions.
Testimonials
It was very direct with very little intellectualizing. I learned quite a lot quickly and easily. Teacher was very clear with no meandering.
Excellent. Accessible and profound in the same time.
It was a great course, easy to follow and understandable explanations. It delivered what it promised. I highly recommend it.
Made me feel and think about things with curiosity and without any pressure that I had to be clever, I could just be. One of your best courses Tricycle!
Fantastic course! I found Haemin to be a wonderful teacher. In listening to him speak, things started to make sense in a way that I had not previously understood from just reading about them.
How the exploration unfolds
This is a 6-unit course, available now, and which you are invited to study at your own pace. You will retain access to the course for as long as you need. Each lesson will offer roughly 45-60 minutes of video teachings. There will also be prompts for reflection, optional quizzes, and a communal discussion board. As part of your training, Haemin will suggest take-home practices, including koan study, for you to explore throughout from unit to unit.
Detailed curriculum
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- Introduction
- The Limits of Language (10:47)
- Introducing the Heart Sutra (3:46)
- The Heart Sutra
- Object and Awareness Are Not Two (5:54)
- The Sandcastle Metaphor (5:10)
- Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form (2:09)
- Newborn Baby Meditation (3:39)
- Frequently Asked Questions (7:29)
- Check Your Understanding
- Reflect
- Discussion
- Summary (3:34)
- Introduction
- Emptiness and Compassion Are the Same (2:20)
- Natural Compassion (5:59)
- Integrating Insight into Your Life (7:49)
- Merit (5:18)
- Cultivation Without Cultivation (8:53)
- Meditation: Love in Emptiness (10:08)
- Frequently Asked Questions (5:24)
- Check Your Understanding
- Reflect
- Discussion
- Course Summary (8:16)
- Continuing Your Practice (1:54)
- Discover Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
- Refer a Friend
- Your Next Course (2:54)