+45 3115 5327 admin@ISLearning.org
Course 01

The Quiet Mind

Foundations in Buddhist & Asian Contemplative Practice

Inner / outer: Primarily inner — this is direct cultivation of the inner world, the first tool you'll use throughout the rest of the curriculum.
Duration: Loading…
Format: Reading, exercise & a personal 1-to-1 tutorial

Overview

The opening course, and deliberately the gentlest. Before you study any system, you need a working relationship with your own attention — this course establishes that through direct meditative practice, drawn from Buddhist and wider Asian contemplative sources, rather than through doctrine.

What this course covers

The discipline of meditation itself — breath, posture, attention; the core Buddhist teachings on impermanence and non-attachment; and a wider taste of Asian philosophical thought beyond Buddhism, including Taoist and Vedantic ideas on the nature of self and stillness. You leave with both a practice and a broadened frame of reference, not one tradition's doctrine alone.

Suggested reading

  • The Dhammapada (any reputable translation)
  • Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind — Shunryu Suzuki
  • The Tao Te Ching — Lao Tzu
  • The Bhagavad Gita (a short, accessible translation)

Topics of investigation

  • What does “non-attachment” actually mean in daily life, as distinct from indifference?
  • Where do Buddhist and Taoist views of the self agree, and where do they diverge?
  • What happens in the body and mind during sustained, simple attention to breath?
Practical Activity & Exercise

A structured daily sitting practice over the course period, closing with a short written reflection on what changed in the quality of your attention.

Who it's for

Complete beginners

No prior meditation or study experience is assumed — this is deliberately the gentlest course, and the recommended starting point.

Anyone who wants a working practice, not just theory

The course centres on a real daily sitting practice, not only reading about one.

Everyone continuing the curriculum

Courses 03 and beyond draw on the meditative grounding built here.

How it works

  1. 1

    Read

    Work through the short, curated reading list above at your own pace.

  2. 2

    Investigate

    Follow the specific topics of investigation raised by each text.

  3. 3

    Practise

    Complete the course's practical activity and exercise.

  4. 4

    Tutorial

    Your exercise becomes the basis of a personal 1-to-1 tutorial with Benjamin.

Get in touch

Not quite ready to enrol, or have questions before you commit? Send a message below and it opens directly in your email client, addressed to the institute — free, and without obligation.

admin@ISLearning.org
+45 3115 5327
Fynshovedvej 584, Mårtofte, Denmark
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