Training the Heart

Pre-Launch Programs in Mindfulness, Ethics, and Daily Dharma Practice

Before a monastery teaches others, it must first learn to listen — to the world, to the lineage, and to the quiet movements of the human heart.
At Giao Long Monastery & Institute, this early period — before the doors officially open — is dedicated to cultivating the inner ground on which all future learning will stand.

In Tibetan Buddhism, training the heart precedes training the mind. The Kangyur reminds us:
དྲན་པ་ནི་ལམ་ལ་སྐྱོང་བའི་མེ་ལོང་།

❝Mindfulness is the lamp that guards the path.❞

These pre-launch practices begin with simple rhythms: morning meditation, short recitations from the Bodhicaryāvatāra, and a daily reflection on the ethical precepts. They are small actions, but they shape the entire atmosphere of the future sangha.

In planning the curriculum, GLM looks deeply into the Tengyur, where Shantideva writes:

གཉིས་པ་ནི་སེམས་ལ་སྦྱོངས་པ་ཡིན་པས། བདེ་བ་གང་ཡང་བརྩེགས་པར་མེད།

This principle shapes GLM’s pre-launch programs:
mindfulness classes rooted in the Satipatthāna logic of awareness,
introductory Vinaya workshops on compassionate conduct,
and reflective sessions on how to embody Dharma in daily life.

The heart that trains consistently becomes soft enough to understand others, and strong enough to support them. This is the kind of heart GLM hopes to cultivate — long before the first cohort arrives.

These early efforts — quiet, disciplined, sincere — form the unseen architecture of the institute.
A monastery is not built only by carpenters and planners, but by those who practice before anyone is watching.

If you feel a calling toward this way of learning — gentle, steady, rooted in ancient wisdom — then the path is already opening for you.
You are invited to walk with us from the very beginning.