SIX-WEEK BUDDHIST STUDIES COURSE
UNDERSTANDINGÂ KARMA &Â THE SIX REALMSÂ
with ETHAN NICHTERN & TEACHING TEAM
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Tuesdays, March 25th – April 29th, 2025
from 7:00pm – 9:00pm ET
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This six-week course explores how Buddhist teachings illuminate the patterns of human consciousness and behavior, helping us understand why we fall into habitual cycles and how we can transform them.
During the course, the central focus of our practice will be Metta, or loving-kindness meditation, a technique that fosters compassion, reduces stress, and strengthens our ability to connect with others. This practice serves as a bridge between individual insight and interpersonal transformation, grounding our exploration of karma and the Twelve Nidanas. The teachings on the Twelve Nidanas offer a detailed map of how consciousness operates—revealing the precise moments where we become stuck in conditioned patterns and where we have the power to shift our responses. Through this lens, we investigate the mechanisms that keep us repeating the same behaviors and discover ways to break free from cycles of reactivity and suffering.
We will also explore one of the most vivid and imaginative frameworks in Buddhist philosophy: the six realms of existence. These realms describe the psychological and emotional states that shape our experience of the world and our interactions with others. By recognizing these realms within our own lives, we gain deeper insight into how our mind constructs reality and how we can cultivate greater awareness, freedom, and compassion.
Join Ethan Nichtern, Lou Sharma, Maho Kawachi and Eric Gerard for this unique program, where meditation, philosophical inquiry, and self-reflection come together to deepen our understanding of the mind and our place in our interconnected web of existence.
REGISTER NOW FOR $325YEARLONG BUDDHIST STUDIES
The full yearlong program is comprised of five six-week online courses. Courses like the one above can be taken individually and are suited for students of all experience levels.
Click here for more info about our Yearlong Buddhist Studies program. Please email [email protected] with any registration or payment questions.
ABOUT ETHAN
Ethan Nichtern is a Buddhist teacher and the author of The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path (Farrar Straus and Giroux, North Point Press), recognized as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2015 and featured on Tech Insider’s “9 Books That Define 2015.” His most recent book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds (New World Library), was released in June 2024 to critical acclaim.
In addition to his writing, Ethan hosts The Road Home podcast, which has been exploring modern Buddhism and meditation since its launch in 2018.
Since 2002, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City and North America and Europe, along with working with students privately.
Ethan’s insights on Buddhism and meditation have been featured by CNN, NPR, ABC/Yahoo News, The New York Times, Vogue.com, Ten Percent Happier, Business Insider, Nautilus, and Vice.
UNDERSTANDING KARMA & THE SIX REALMS
TEACHING TEAM
LOU SHARMA
Lou Sharma has practiced meditation for over a decade, and has studied Dharma within Tibetan Buddhist traditions since 2016. In 2021, she completed Dharma Moon's Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. Lou is interested in the ways mindfulness can empower more compassionate cultures of work, inspired by 10+ years of experience as a corporate researcher and brand strategist.
MAHO KAWACHI
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Maho first encountered meditation and Buddhism in downtown Manhattan in 2000. She became an avid practitioner in 2008 and has over a decade of experience, practice, training, and certification credentials including completion of the Interdependence Project Teachers Training, Mindful Meditation Teachers Certified Program, and Mindful Mentor Training. She has trained with and under many influential teachers, including Ethan Nichtern, Jack Kornfield, and Tara Brach, and was fortunate to meet with HH the Dalai Lama in 2017.
ERIC GERARD
Eric has been practicing mindfulness for about nine years and recently graduated from the Spring 2024 MMTT cohort after three years of private study with Ethan Nichtern. He also completed the two year Year Long Buddhist Studies course, which has shaped his life and practice in meaningful ways. Originally from Chicago, Eric is an actor and also serves as the Co-Owner and Artistic Director at Blackbox Acting, a school that aims to prepare artists for their careers through a holistic approach.Eric is passionate about helping artists foster genuine connections with themselves and their work while encouraging vulnerability and bravery. He hopes to support others in developing a mindful and healthy relationship with their craft, whether that craft is art or the complex journey of existence.
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