with Geshe Tenzin Legtsok

Twelve Monday Teaching Sessions
June 16 – September 8, 2025
6:30pm – 8:30pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)

Two Sunday afternoon Practice Days
August 31 and September 14, 2025
2:00pm – 5:00pm PDT

Three 90-minute Study Group Sessions
4^th week of June, July, and August
Meeting time varies based on study groups.

in-person at OCBC and online

Program Category: Dharma Education — Foundational

Exploring Buddhism is the newest foundational-level course co-developed by FPMT Education Services and senior FPMT teachers, including Geshe Tenzin Namdak, Geshe Tenzin Legtsok, and Venerable Joan Nicell. It was conceived as a bridge between the FPMT Discovering Buddhism and the FPMT Basic Program.

The Exploring Buddhism program presents selected topics that provide a strong basis for more advanced study. The program is intended for students with a good understanding of basic Buddhism.

Read an overview of the Exploring Buddhism program that will be offered at Ocean of Compassion and Vajrapani Institute.

This module presents the mind or consciousness, our principal means for knowing reality, with its nature, functions and divisions along with mental factors that positively or negatively impact its operation.

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok has been ordained as a Buddhist monk since 2001 and is the first American to complete the twenty-year Geshe Studies Program in classic Indian Buddhist treatises and their Tibetan commentaries at Sera Jey Monastic University in South India, following the tradition of ancient Nalanda University. In 2025, he completed the traditional study of tantra at Gyudmed Tantric Monastery.

With over two decades of study and practice under the guidance of great masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Legtsok brings profound insights into the application of Buddhist teachings. Born in Virginia, USA in 1973, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College in 1995. His quest to answer the question, “What makes for the most happy and meaningful life,” led him to major in philosophy, eventually guiding him to study meditation and philosophy with teachers among the exiled Tibetan communities in India and Nepal since 1999.

Dedicated to studying and teaching Buddhist philosophy, Geshe Legtsok seamlessly blends ancient wisdom with modern-day relevance. His teachings emphasize understanding and transforming the mind through practice, and he is committed to helping others navigate the spiritual path with clarity and patience.