Glimpses of True Freedom:

Reading Pema Chödrön's Guide to 

The Myth of Freedom

by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche 

Tuesdays, April 21 - June 9,  7 – 8:30 pm

at The Aligned Center (with Zoom option)

Led by Jane Kolleeny, David Frankel and Kelsa DeBrabant

What if the freedom you seek isn’t found by changing your circumstances but by embracing life exactly as it is? In Pema Chödrön's latest book, Another Kind of Freedom, she returns to the early and deep influence that The Myth of Freedom, by her root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa, had on her path.  She highlights his underlying message of true freedom; how to find what he calls an ultimate and fundamental sense of freedom; what that is experientially, what gets in the way of experiencing it, and how to work compassionately, wisely and directly with whatever keeps us stuck.  

This open course is an opportunity for students of all levels to gather together read a book that is a unique collaboration between an eminent meditation master, Trungpa Rinpoche, and one of his most devoted and influential students. We hope you can join us in exploring how meditation, mindfulness, and radical self-acceptance can transform our struggles, neuroses, and pain into gateways to awakening. 

“These were the teachings,” Pema says, “that inspired me most in my early years of practicing Buddhism. They continue to inspire me now and have influenced all the teachings I’ve given over the years.”

An Intermediate-level course based on 

The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

Wednesdays 7 - 8:45 PM ET

April 15th - June 17th, 2026

Meets in person at The Aligned Center (with Zoom option)

Led by Tom Pantaleoni, Warner Dick, Dorian Burden, and Erich Kramer

Suggested Offering: $100

The concluding semester of this course will focus on the final sections of the book, which present fundamental aspects of the path of individual liberation. Having fully explored the qualities and essence of shamatha and vipashyana, the text turns to the fruition of practice.

Karma:  Who Did What and Why?

April 22 - May 27th 2026

On Zoom

Wednesdays, 7-9 PM

This spring we explore “Karma: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and Why It Matters,” by Traleg Kyabgon.

The Buddha’s teaching on karma is his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. This supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions found in popular culture. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon,  Rinpoche shows, and he lights the way to our clear understanding.