School of Mind Training

The course ended my spiritual shopping spree and inspired my life journey. My deepest appreciation and respect go out to the Course faculty for their teachings, patience, understanding, and compassion, which helped me deal with life outside of the classroom. I cherish the chance to return to the class and learn and re-learn as well as get connected to the community and deepen my understanding of the mind. Thanks so much for creating this course.

Vaibhavi Agrawal

Architect

The program was a wonderful experience, be it the lectures, the games, the movie clippings or the informal interactions that opened our minds. The learning was so profound that expressions like worldly concerns, errors of perception, dependent arising, impermanence, skilful means, antidotes to afflictive emotions have become a part of our daily vocabulary as we understood them through stories and day to day examples of life. The encouraging environment by Elaine & Charu made it all the more interesting as we practiced contemplation and mindfulness....

Dr. Renu Mahtani M.D (Medicine)., FMNM (USA)

Consulting Physician, Autoimmune, Metabolic & Degenerative Diseases

Buddhism and mindfulness practices have been center stage in my life for a decade. One of the most important milestones in this journey was my Applied Mahayana Buddhist Psychology and Ethics" course. It's exactly applied for learners who want to address their spiritual and scientific quest to the huge wisdom in buddhism and its most important day to day practise use and relevance. The crisp clear course material, content and discourses from Asha and all the sangh at WCCL helped me to get deeper insights along with its practical perspective. I professionally contribute as a mindfulness coach and these learnings are helping me facilitate my sessions more effectively.  Thank you WCCL and a lot of mangal maitri to the sangha for designing such a unique course for all learners.

Dr. Ram Gudgila,

Public Health Consultant Mindfulness Coach

This course showed great care and expertise. It mixed Buddhist wisdom well, making it easy for everyone. What made this course special was its practical side. It wasn’t just theory, it showed me how to implement the teachings in my everyday life, like being kind and mindful. Through guided meditations and contemplative practices, the Way of the Bodhisattva course beautifully explained Bodhicitta (the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings). It was a journey of self-discovery, compassion, and growth. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for inner and outer change.

Chaahat Advani

Artist / Visual Art Teacher

This course has transformed my thought process and impacted my life positively. Asha's style of teaching is so refreshing, so warm and inviting unlike how we usually learn at schools. One of the highlights for me was how every concept introduced can and is reflected back to your life which enabled me to apply learnings! All in all, it felt like self-therapy! Would highly recommend this course to everyone looking to transform their life or just to learn more about their mind and feelings.

Varsha Ramesh

Research Manager

I attended the Way of the Bodhisattva course from WCCL conducted by Ashaji. I found this course to be very helpful in day to day life, as it addresses lot of questions that we ask ourselves when faced with different situations in our life. At times, I used to feel what I can do for the benefit of others. This course taught me that one can aspire for liberation of all beings and not just for self-enlightenment. Also, Ashaji explained the text in a language of our times, with examples from the life that we lead today. That made this ancient text by Shantideva very relevant for me. By the end of this course, Buddhism became more of a practical psychology to practice, rather than a philosophy that I earlier thought it was. My sincere thanks to WCCL, Ashaji, Elaine and Charu and to other participants

Shailendra Jha

Leadership Coach

I attended the Applied Mahayana Buddhist Psychology and Ethics course in 2011 when it was first introduced in Pune University. I was going through a bad phase and out of sheer desperation decided to do this course to see if it helped me. From the first day I was hooked. Asha is a superb teacher and she has the ability to deliver and help people understand the state of their mind and introduce the Buddhas teachings in a manner that resonate with you and want you to get out of the state of suffering. During the course, we also received teachings from various monks who were practitioners. It made me realise that it is possible to achieve what all of us are looking for - happiness. The year that I spent with Asha and her team changed the way I viewed life. It also made me want to practise and learn more, so much so that twelve years down the line I continue to strive to be a better version of myself. This association also gives me the opportunity to attend sessions and interact with several practitioners that keeps me on the path. I would truly like to thank all the members of WCCL foundation who made it possible for me to see the light.

Varsha Chaudhary

Consultant

As students of Kendriya Vidyalaya school we would often sing community songs during morning Assembly. One of the songs that I most enjoyed was “Bharat ka Swarnim Gaurav Kendriya Vidyalaya Layega….Takshila, Nalanda ka itiha laut kar Aauega…”. WCCL Post-Graduate Certificate Course in Applied Mahayana Buddhist Psychology and Ethics for me was the realisation of a dream that was ignited by that song…a critical step towards reviving the golden wisdom tradition of ancient Nalanda University. Enrolling for this course has been the most important decision of mine. I was mesmerised to learn that we had such advanced techniques and methodologies to understand and deal with our own minds and the reality around us.  Today Buddha’s philosophy, my teachers and the friends (Kalyan Mitra) that I met during and after the course are my life support system and a frame of reference for training my mind and to navigate the world that I interact with. For all of this my family and I will always be grateful to WCCL for starting and continuing this course, in my humble opinion this is a greatest act of compassion. This course is what each one of us needs not only for our personal transformation but also towards being able to understand and address some of the greatest social and environmental challenges facing us

Neema Pathak Broome

Programme Coordinator, Conservation and Livelihoods Programme, Kalpavriksh, India South Asia Coordinator, ICCA Consortium

बुद्ध मूलभूत पद्धतीने समजावा,अभ्यासावा अशी खुप वर्षांपासूनची इच्छा होती. बुद्धाविषयीची मिथकं, त्याचं सामाजिक-राजकीय महत्व माहित होतं. आणि त्यामुळे ओढा अधिकच होता. AMBPE ह्या कोर्सच्या कॉर्डीनेटर पैकी एक असलेली माझी मैत्रीण चारू ने मला ह्या कोर्स विषयी सांगितलं. केवळ सांगून ती थांबली नाही, तिने मला परीक्षा देण्यासाठी प्रोत्साहनही दिलं. हा काळ पँडेमिकचा होता. सगळीकडेच तेव्हा माणसाच्या मानसशास्त्रीय गरजांविषयी गंभीर चर्चा चालू होती.या अगोदर मी विवेकनिष्ठ मानसशास्त्राचा एक छोटासा कोर्स केला होता. ती फ्रेमवर्क उपयुक्त होती तरीही आपल्या 'स्व'भावाबद्दल काहीतरी मूलभूत समजत नाहीय असं वाटत राहायचं. MBPE कोर्सने आत्म(की अनात्म?)विद्येच्या प्राचीन विचारप्रवाहाशी नाळ जोडून दिली. दुःख म्हणजे काय आणि दुःख निरोध कसा करता येईल ह्या मूलभूत प्रश्नातुन बुद्ध दर्शनाचा उलगडा करत, त्याआधारावर विकसित झालेल्या मानसशास्त्रीय व नीतिशास्त्रीय विचारव्यूहाशी ओळख करून दिली. हे दर्शन बोजड न करता, रोजच्या जगण्यासंदर्भात भाष्य करत खेळीमेळीने समजावलं, शिकवलं गेलं. आशा पिल्ले यांच्यासारखा शिक्षक मी दुर्मिळच अनुभवला आहे. त्यांची शिकवण्यातली सहजता संसर्गजन्य आहे. त्यांनी समजावून सांगितलेल्या संज्ञा, विचारसूत्र व त्याअनुषंगाने वर्गात होणाऱ्या चर्चा ह्या आपल्याला बौद्धकालीन संघाचा भास करवतात. आशा त्यांच्या विद्यार्थ्यांसोबत चालण्यात विश्वास ठेवतात. हे समान चालणं हि श्रमण परंपरेचा भाग वाटतं.त्यांनी सहज सांगितलेली वाक्य, प्रसंग सूत्रासारखे दिशादर्शक म्हणून सोबत राहिले आहेत. इलेन आणि चारू ह्या या समकालीन संघाला एकत्र ठेवणाऱ्या सन्मित्र आहेत. त्यासाठी दोघी अथक प्रयत्न करत असतात. त्यांचा उत्साह, सातत्यपूर्ण उपस्थिती, मैत्रीपूर्ण संवाद हे सगळ्या विद्यार्थ्यांना कोर्स सोबत जोडून ठेवतात. मला ह्या कोर्स मध्ये जे मिळालं ते माझ्या व्यक्तित्वाचा, रोजच्या विचारप्रक्रियेचा भाग झालं आहे. बुद्ध दर्शनाच्या अभ्यासातुन एका उत्तम संघाशी जोडलो गेलो ह्याचा खूप आनंद वाटतो.

योगेश कुऱ्हाडे

Doing the ABPE course has been one of the best decisions of my life. It opened my heart and mind in ways I did not imagine was possible. Every aspect has been thoughtfully designed - from the course material to the weekly practice assignments. The course covers the basics of Buddhist thought and practice, while providing a blueprint for deeper engagement. Our teacher, Ms. Asha, was a gentle yet firm guide. She skillfully supported the diverse class through concepts that can potentially get overwhelming. All in all, this course is a solid springboard into Buddhist thought and practice for those who wish to engage with the ocean that is Buddhism.

Divya Sarathy