First Floor (Small Vehicle)

Introduction

  • The First Floor focuses on mindful living and personal clarity through systematic study of concentration, investigative meditation, and ethics. Students learn to examine their own experience directly, developing skills in attention, self-reflection, and wise conduct. This level provides the foundation for all subsequent contemplative education and culminates in a short solitary retreat, where students experiment with mindful living in Tarpa’s cabins for 7–10 days.

    Note: This course is actively being developed and will launch in November 2025. Students may currently access this material through individualized study plans with instructors.

Educational Pillars & Arches

Buddhist Philosophy

Students examine the philosophical frameworks underlying contemplative practice:

Buddhist Meditation Theory

Students learn the Buddhist meditation techniques for cultivating “calmness” (śhamatha) and “liberating insight” (vipaśhyanā) together with the theory behind how they work and why they matter. This includes learning specific techniques for:

  • Developing meditative concentration (on the breath, sensory focal points, loving kindness, and so on) and contentment through nonjudgmental acceptance of experience

  • Investigating the nature of all experience: Observing closely the momentary experiences of body, feelings, mind, phenomena from the perspective of four hallmarks.

  • Post-meditative practice: ethical commitments (historically called ‘refuge precepts’) studied comparatively and practiced as secular habit-formation exercises in mindfulness between sessions.

The First Floor also includes comprehensive study of how meditation works:

  • Psychological mechanisms: How attention training affects mind and emotions

  • Stages of progress: Recognizing signs of development and common obstacles

  • Individual differences: Matching practices to different temperaments

  • Integration strategies: Connecting formal practice with daily life

  • Troubleshooting: Working skillfully with challenges that arise

Educational Outcomes

Students completing the First Floor will demonstrate:

  • Concentration skills: Ability to sustain attention for extended periods, recognize and work with distraction

  • Investigative capacity: Skills in examining direct experience systematically, recognizing patterns of reactivity

  • Ethical understanding: Comprehension of the principle of not harming others as a guideline for personal wellbeing and civic engagement

  • Theoretical knowledge: Understanding of Buddhist meditation theory and basic philosophy

  • Daily life integration: Capacity to bring mindfulness to routine activities and relationships

  • Foundation for compassion: Readiness to expand from focusing on personal clarity to focusing on universal benefit

Students assess their own progress through reflective writing, discussion with instructors, and evaluation of whether they can explain core concepts clearly and apply them in personal investigation. Retreat participation deepens learning but is not required for completing theoretical study.

Climbing the Stairs

  • The First Floor helps students establish clarity through mindful living, concentration, and investigative meditation into the nature of personal identity. With these foundations in place, students are ready to climb the steps to the Second Floor, where compassion practices and universal perspectives on wisdom begin to expand their field of study.

    This course will be accessible in November 2025. Sign up for updates to be notified when it launches.