The Buddhist Correspondence Course for prisoners is administered and taught by the Dharma Teacher Order with the support of the Buddhist Association of the United States (BAUS). Most of our students are incarcerated in the U.S. but a few have come from U.S. territories and Canada.
The Course is designed to familiarize the students with the life of the Buddha, Buddhist concepts, theory and practice, as well as the major schools of Buddhism and their practices. The goal is to help the students learn Buddhist practices which help reduce unskillful states of mind such as anger and hatred and cultivate skillful states of mind such as equanimity and compassion.
The Course consists of a series of reading assignments and practices in Buddhist meditation and mindfulness training. Written questions are asked on the material covered in each assignment that will test not only the students’ understanding of the material, but also their thoughts on how the material may be applicable to their lives. Answers to these questions are returned in writing for review by the Course faculty. The students receives feedback on a regular basis, as to their understanding and application of the material covered.
Upon receipt and acceptance of a student application for the Buddhist Correspondence Course, the new student will be assigned a mentor. The first book will then be sent to the student along with written questions covering the first assignment.
All materials sent to students are provided at no charge to them. There is no set time limit for completing the course, and students are free to progress at their own pace. The Course faculty will continue to be available to students after completion of the Course to assist them in continuing their studies and practice of Buddhism.
The course was developed and run for many years by Rev. Richard Baksa and Rev. Adrienne Baksa from their home, first in New York and then in Costa Rica. They have now turned over the responsibility of running the program to the Phap Nguyen Buddhist Congregation in Pearland, Texas. This is also the home of the Texas sangha of the DTO and the home of the DTO’s founder, the Venerable Thich Tri Hoang.
Rev. T.N. Phap Lan is the Course Director, and Rev. Minh Khong skillfully tends to the many technology-related aspects of running the Course. The Baksas continue to be involved in supporting Course operations, and Rev. Richard Baksa remains active as the Director of the BAUS Prison Program. Venerable Thich Tri Hoang is the Spiritual Director of the Course.
All correspondence for the Buddhist Correspondence Course should be directed to:
Buddhist Correspondence Course
Phap Nguyen Buddhist Congregation
c/o Rev. T. N. Phap Lan
1838 County Road 129
Pearland, TX 77581
phaplan@buddhist-correspondence-course.org
More information on the program can be found at:
Buddhist Correspondence Course (buddhist-correspondence-course.org) – a BAUS.org program
or at: https://www.baus.org/
