The Joy of Being

Why study and learn to teach The Joy of Being by Tarthang Tulku?

The first Kum Nye book, Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (KNTY), focuses on the sensation of feelings—of feeling tones—in the body through a series of massages, movement and breathing practices, and perhaps three or four meditation exercises. In contrast, The Joy of Being has a wider focus on all of the perceptual senses (seeing, hearing, taste, smell, and mentation, as well as on the felt-sense itself). There are fewer, more nuanced, movement exercises, which are found at the back of the book, and which include many that explore the dimension of space in depth.

Arguably, The Joy of Being is a meditation manual, as about 50 meditative practices can be found throughout the text, both explicitly and implicitly identifiable. Another view sees The Joy of Being as presenting ‘Kum Nye for the Mind’; and the main text concludes with profound advice for ‘surrendering to calmness’, and moving beyond relying on instructions in the practice of Kum Nye and meditation. This may be understood as the culmination of the third level of relaxation as described in Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga.

These differences between the two books necessitate the development of a completely new approach for those who want to become qualified to teach the Kum Nye presented in The Joy of Being. To this end, a course of two parts, each part consisting of 24 lessons, is being developed by teachers who have been working with The Joy of Being since it was published in 2006. The first part lays the foundation for practice, and covers breathing exercises, and the exercises for five physical senses. The second part will present ‘Kum Nye for the Mind’. Weekend workshops also comprise a significant component of the curriculum.

It is planned that the course will be presented both in English and in other languages by Nyingma Mandala centers in non-English speaking countries. The English language course will be coordinated by the Nyingma Institute, Berkeley, assisted by teachers from the UK Kum Nye Group. For those who are taking the course as a teaching qualification, it will be necessary that they are appropriately trained teachers of KNTY with Level 1 certification. It may be possible to take the course for personal development of one’s own practice, with the consent of the instructors.