Discovering our Buddha Heart — MAH 305
Wednesdays evenings
6:00–7:30 pm PT
April 8–May 13, 2026
The buddha nature literature says that this basic awakened state of our mind is luminous, unchanging, and possesses many positive qualities. But if we lack an understanding of emptiness and selflessness, these terms are somewhat dangerous to use. For that reason, the teachings on prajñaparamita and emptiness are very important to understand the meaning of buddha nature. For, there seem to be many different notions of what buddha nature is: Is it a virtuous thought? Is it compassion? Is it love? Is it some kind of luminosity or clarity of our mind? Is it the awareness aspect of our mind? Is it just emptiness?
— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Discovering our Buddha Heart
Acharya Tashi will facilitate this course on Buddha Nature, the fifth in this six-course series examining Mahayana Buddhism. Those who have taken MAH 301–304 recently and those who have taken MAH 305 previously are welcome to enroll.
Details
Classes are facilitated by Acharya Tashi with help from Karunika Karen de Luna. There are six class sessions.
Schedule, Dates, Class Outline
Wednesdays evenings
6:00–7:30 pm PT
April 8–May 13, 2026
April 8 — Class 1: Buddha Nature and the Three Vajra Jewels
April 15 — Class 2: The Many Facets of the Single Buddha Heart
April 22 — Class 3: The Fourth Vajra Point: All You Need to Know About Tathagatagarbha
April 29 — Class 4: Buddha Heart, Mahamudra Mind
May 6 — Class 5: All-Pervasive Changeless Luminosity
May 13 — Class 6: The Buddha Emerging From the Lotus
Prerequisites
The prerequisites for this course are MAH 301, MAH 302, MAH 303, and MAH 304.
Any student who has previously taken the Nalandabodhi Mahayana Study curriculum classes is welcome to refresh understanding, renew familiarity, and re-engage with the material.
Format
All classes will be hosted on Zoom and will be recorded. Access to recordings will be available until two weeks after the course has concluded. After registration, you will be sent an email with the Zoom link and password as well as a link to the Resource Page with the recordings [subject: Registration Confirmation: Mahayana 305 (zoom link)].
The Text is Discovering Our Buddha Heart (Mahayana 305) and can be purchased at Nalanda Store.
Questions?
Please contact seattle@nalandabodhi.org if you have questions about this course.
Facilitators
Acharya Tashi Wangchuk is the resident teacher at Nalanda West in Seattle, the seat of the international Nalandabodhi sangha. He belongs to Karma Kagyu lineage of Vajrayana Buddhism. Acharya Tashi was born in Bhutan and he embarked on his spiritual journey at early age, eventually finding his way to the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute, the esteemed Karma Kagyu Monastic College in Sikkim, India. While there, he studied over ten years and attained his master’s (Acharya) degree. Currently calling Seattle home, he teaches at Nalandabodhi centers worldwide, in North and South America and in Asia.
Karunika Karen de Luna is a lifelong mover, a dancer and former aerial arts and flexibility coach. Currently the co-director of Nalandabodhi Seattle, she enjoys helping others improve their flexibility so that they can sit with an inward smile, just like the Buddha.
Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed., May 13, 2026
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Location
