Applied Buddhist Psychology

The Five Aggregates: Who am I? (Hybrid)
2024-04-20 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
In this class, Khensur Rinpoche Thupten Tenzin, assisted by Isa Gucciardi, PhD, breaks down the nature of the self by defining each of the five aggregates – Form, Feeling, Perception, Mental concepts, and Consciousness. Form begins with understanding the physical body. Feeling begins with exploring the nature of emotional response. Perception begins with exploring how we understand experience through the five senses. Mental concepts focus on how we compose our thoughts and develop intention and personal will. And the exploration of consciousness helps us understand how we hold awareness of our situation based on the first four aggregates. These lectures are offered in Tibetan by Khensur Rinpoche with translation by Niyma Tsam.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Advanced Buddhist Practice Instruction (Live Stream)
2024-05-21 17:00 - 18:30 | Distance Learning
This class is for students who have taken Applied Buddhist Psychology 1: Entering the Stream, Applied Buddhist Psychology 2: The Enlightened Mind, The Psychology of the Bodhisattva, The Alchemy of Enlightenment: The Five Wisdoms, and Advanced Meditations with the Paramitas. It offers them the opportunity to review all the lectures and meditations for those classes for six months while meeting with Isa once a month for Practice Instruction. Isa will also offer short lectures more advanced concepts such as The Five Aggregates, The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, Deity Meditation, and more during the Practice Instruction meetings. The class is designed to help you direct, support, and expand your meditation and practice.
Tuesdays, May 21, June 18, July 23, August 20, September 17, October 22, 2024
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Pacific (8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Psychology of the Bodhisattva (Hybrid)
2024-07-15 09:00 - 11:00 | Distance Learning
The Applied Buddhist Psychology Retreats are day-long courses involving lecture and meditation. These retreats take advanced Buddhist concepts and teachings and apply them in ways designed to help students transform psycho-spiritual imbalance and move to greater levels of realization and understanding about the nature of the self. Counseling professionals will find these retreats useful for working with their clients.
Saturday, July 15 at 9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific
Saturday, July 29 at 9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Applied Buddhist Psychology 1: Entering the Stream (Hybrid)
2024-09-18 17:00 - 19:00 | CA
The Applied Buddhist Psychology 1 workshop provides an introduction to Buddhist concepts and practices to help foster a sense of self-acceptance, inner peace, and belonging. Counseling professionals will find this course useful for working with their clients.
Wednesdays, September 18 & October 2
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.﻿

New Year’s Meditation Retreat (In Person and Live Stream)
2025-01-12 10:00 - 13:00 | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
Join Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. for the annual New Year’s Meditation Retreat. In this retreat, you will focus on the past year, learn how to better discern the main teachings that have emerged out of your experiences and incorporate those teachings to set your course for the coming year with clarity and intention. Each meditation retreat begins with a Samatha or mindfulness meditation for centering and calming the mind, then moves into a Vipassana style meditation in which you will focus on the theme of the retreat. This meditation is appropriate for beginners and experienced meditators alike.
Sunday, January 12
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D.: Cultivating Resilience in Difficult Times (Live Stream)
2025-02-02 10:00 - 11:30 | Distance Learning
In these complex and volatile times, many of us are finding it difficult to steady ourselves and stay positive. Anxiety and depression are on the rise, globally, and there is a collective angst rippling through societies due to increased worldwide conflicts, economic fears, and environmental decline. In this talk, respected author, Buddhist scholar, and former Tibetan Buddhist monk, Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., shares his wisdom on facing adversity and cultivating a calm and positive mindset. Drawing from his extensive knowledge of Buddhist practices including Mind Training and Lojong as well as his experience as a young monk living in exile, he will offer his thoughts on these turbulent times and how to hold onto aspiration for the common good and cultivate a positive vision for the future.
Sunday, February 2, 2025
10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific (1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Applied Buddhist Psychology 2: The Enlightened Mind (Hybrid)
2025-02-08 09:00 - 11:00 | Distance Learning
The Applied Buddhist Psychology 2 workshop will train you in practices that will help you generate positive emotions more consistently and neutralize emotional reactivity. Counseling professionals will find this course useful for working with their clients.
Saturday, February 8 at 9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific
Saturday, March 1 at 9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

The Wisdom of Emotions with Khensur Thupten Tenzin Rinpoche (Hybrid)
2025-03-15 09:00 - 11:00 | Distance Learning
In The Wisdom of Emotions, Khensur Rinpoche Thupten Tenzin will explore the anatomy of emotions, revealing how mental states will shape emotional responses. Drawing from Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, he will share profound insights into working with our emotional experiences to foster a balanced and stable response to life’s challenges. Khensur Rinpoche, a revered Tantric master, will demonstrate how Vajrayana practice can help us connect with the core qualities of strong emotions, enabling us to transform them into powerful teachers. Additionally, he will offer practices to help loosen the attachments often embedded within difficult emotions, allowing us to approach them with greater awareness and equanimity.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
9:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Psychology of the Bodhisattva (Hybrid)
2025-07-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Distance Learning
The Applied Buddhist Psychology Retreats are day-long courses involving lecture and meditation. These retreats take advanced Buddhist concepts and teachings and apply them in ways designed to help students transform psycho-spiritual imbalance and move to greater levels of realization and understanding about the nature of the self. Counseling professionals will find these retreats useful for working with their clients.
Tuesday, July 15 at 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific Time (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time)
Tuesday, July 29 at 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific Time (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Applied Buddhist Psychology 1: Entering the Stream (Hybrid)
2025-09-10 17:00 - 19:00 | Distance Learning
The Applied Buddhist Psychology 1 workshop provides an introduction to Buddhist concepts and practices to help foster a sense of self-acceptance, inner peace, and belonging. Counseling professionals will find this course useful for working with their clients.
Wednesdays, September 10 & 24, 2025
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific Time (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Worlds Beyond Death (In Person & Live Stream)
2025-11-08 09:00 - 16:30 | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
This powerful workshop focuses on the transition of spirit from form into formlessness. Through teachings, meditations, and practices drawn from shamanism and Buddhism, this highly experiential workshop helps bring the often uncomfortable issue of death into a compassionate field where greater understanding can unfold. Taught only once every two years, this workshop offers insights into the experience of death from a variety of perspectives and assists participants in exploring their own attitudes and expectations of death.
Saturday & Sunday, November 8 & 9, 2025
9:00 am – 4:30 pm Pacific Time (12:00 pm – 7:30 pm Eastern Time)
AND
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Pacific Time (8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Eastern Time)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

New Year’s Meditation Retreat (In Person and Live Stream)
2026-01-04 10:00 - 13:00 | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
Join Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D. for the annual New Year’s Meditation Retreat. In this retreat, you will focus on the past year, learn how to better discern the main teachings that have emerged out of your experiences and incorporate those teachings to set your course for the coming year with clarity and intention. Each meditation retreat begins with a Samatha or mindfulness meditation for centering and calming the mind, then moves into a Vipassana style meditation in which you will focus on the theme of the retreat. This meditation is appropriate for beginners and experienced meditators alike.
Sunday, January 4, 2026
10:00 am – 1:00 pm (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Applied Buddhist Psychology 2: The Enlightened Mind (Live Stream)
2026-02-16 17:30 - 19:30 | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
This workshop offers practical tools for cultivating positive emotions and reducing emotional reactivity through the lens of Buddhist psychology. Participants will take a deeper look at mind training, explore how Buddhist principles can be meaningfully applied to Western life experiences, receive instruction in Vipassana meditation techniques, and learn how the Four Immeasurables—Equanimity, Lovingkindness, Compassion, and Joy—reflect the essence of the enlightened mind. By cultivating these qualities, you gain insight into the nature of the enlightened state and learn to shift emotional patterns toward greater balance and harmony.
Mondays, February 16 & March 2, 2026
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Pacific (8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Eastern)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.

Applied Buddhist Psychology 1: Entering the Stream (Hybrid)
2026-09-22 17:00 - 19:00 | Foundation of the Sacred Stream Center, 2149, Berkeley, CA, United States
Buddhism offers a profound path of self-reflection and transformation, inviting us to explore the nature of reality and the inner workings of the mind. Far more than a religion, Buddhism is also a science and philosophy—providing timeless frameworks for understanding the psyche and offering practical tools for navigating the complexities of human experience. In this workshop, we explore essential Buddhist teachings and meditation practices that foster inner peace, self-acceptance, and the ability to embody these principles in everyday life. Through guided meditation and inquiry, students will learn to apply these teachings in practical and personal ways. Suitable for those new to Buddhism and experienced practitioners.
Tuesdays, September 22 & October 6, 2026
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific Time (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern Time)
Registration and additional information via sacredstream.org.
