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Foundation Floor • Module 1:

• Introduction
• Video 1: Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
• Video 2: The Buddha Overview
• Video 3: The Dharma
• Greg's Insights
• Questions for Reflection

Estimated time to complete: 60 minutes

A Question of Orientation

When you first encounter Buddhism, you face an immediate problem: where do you start? Buddhist texts number in the tens of thousands. Meditation practices vary wildly across traditions. Philosophical positions seem to contradict each other. Some sources present Buddhism as psychology, others as religion, still others as pure philosophy.

Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

Duration: 13 minutes

What to watch for: Geographic spread of Buddhism across Asia, the three types/vehicles framework (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna), and how the Three Jewels structure Buddhist traditions.

You've now seen Buddhism's geographic spread and the three-vehicle framework that Tibetan Buddhism uses to organize the tradition: Small Vehicle (Hīnayāna), Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), and Diamond Vehicle (Vajrayāna). These correspond roughly to Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Northern/Tibetan forms of Buddhism.

But this raises an immediate question: how did one person's teaching evolve into such different forms? To answer that, we need to understand where it all began—with a single human being said to have become awakened. Who was this person?

The Buddha - Overview

Duration: 8 minutes

What to watch for: The distinction between "Buddha" as a title versus personal names (Siddhārtha, Śākyamuni, Gautama), the four phases of his life story, and the tension between historical person and mythological elaborations.

Now you understand the Buddha as a historical figure: Siddhārtha Gautama, born into the warrior caste, who is said to have become awakened under the bodhi tree. "Buddha" is a title meaning "awakened one," not a unique identity—the tradition holds that anyone can become a Buddha.

His life story divides into four phases, each connected to a major pilgrimage site: birth (Lumbinī), awakening (Bodh Gaya), teaching (Sarnath), and death (Kushinagar).

But knowing who the Buddha was leads immediately to the next question: what exactly did he teach after his reported awakening? What is this "Dharma" that forms the second jewel?

The Dharma

Duration: 13 minutes

What to watch for: Four key analogies (Arrow, Goldsmith, Raft, Dream) that characterize the Dharma, the psychology/philosophy/religion question, and the introduction to the Four Hallmarks framework.

The Dharma—the Buddha's teachings—resists simple categorization. Is it psychology, philosophy, or religion? The answer seems to be aspects of all three, yet not reducible to any single one.

You've encountered four key analogies the Buddha reportedly used to characterize his teaching:

· • The Arrow: Focus on removing suffering, not metaphysical speculation

· • The Goldsmith: Test teachings in your own experience, don't accept on faith

· • The Raft: Many teachings are provisional, meant for crossing over

· • The Dream: Awakening means waking up from the nightmare of cyclic existence

A few Insights:

Why the Three Jewels Matter

When I first started studying Buddhism, I thought the Three Jewels were just organizational scaffolding—a convenient way to structure introductory material. Teacher, teaching, community. Simple enough.

What We've Covered

You've now been introduced to the Three Jewels framework that organizes all Buddhist traditions:

The Buddha – A historical human being (Siddhārtha Gautama) said to have become awakened; "Buddha" is a title meaning "awakened one" that theoretically applies to anyone who achieves awakening
The Dharma – The Buddha's teachings, which resist easy categorization as psychology, philosophy, or religion; characterized by four key analogies (Arrow, Goldsmith, Raft, Dream) emphasizing pragmatic investigation over metaphysical speculation
The Sangha – The Buddhist community (monastic and lay) that preserves and transmits the teachings; to be explored more fully in Module 3
Three Vehicles – The framework Tibetan Buddhism uses to organize Buddhist evolution: Small Vehicle (Hīnayāna), Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), and Diamond Vehicle (Vajrayāna)

Questions for Reflection

You are welcome to explore these questions through ordinary intellectual analysis or, if you choose, through contemplative investigation.

1. Comparative Perspective

How does the idea of the Buddha as "an awakened human being" differ from founder figures in other traditions you know? What does this difference suggest about human potential?

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