Foundations of Pragmatic Buddhism

A free, self-paced course for people new to Buddhism from a pragmatic perspective
Center for Pragmatic Buddhism

Who This Course Is For

Foundations is for anyone who wants to know what Buddhism teaches and how Pragmatic Buddhism practices it. No knowledge of Buddhism is needed. Many of us arrive with a picture of Buddhism put together from films, meditation apps, and yoga classes. The course starts from that picture and builds a more accurate one, lesson by lesson, alongside a daily practice.

What You Will Be Able to Do

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

    • Explain the core teachings of Buddhism (the Four Ennobling Realities, the Eightfold Path, dependent origination, karma, non-self, and enlightenment) in terms more accurate than the popular picture of Buddhism.
    • Judge a teaching, or a belief of your own, by Pragmatic Buddhism's two-part test.
    • Keep a daily sitting practice and work with the difficulties that commonly come up in it.
    • Use the Threefold Ethic and the precepts to think through a decision that affects other people.
    • Describe where Pragmatic Buddhism comes from and how its Centers practice together.
    • Read a reference to the early discourses and check a quotation attributed to the Buddha.

How the Course Works

Twelve lessons, taken at your own pace. The course is written for one lesson a month. Each lesson takes 25 to 45 minutes to read and comes with ten minutes of meditation a day, a practice card to download, a short knowledge check, and one reflection question. Each lesson has a discussion in the Community for Pragmatic Buddhism, where a teacher from the Order answers questions.

Course Curriculum

Your Teacher

Danielle MacCartney

Danielle MacCartney

Danielle MacCartney is Abbot of the Order of Pragmatic Buddhists. She has taught meditation, given dharma talks, led sittings for the St. Louis Center for Pragmatic Buddhism since 2010. She studied with Jim Eubanks, now Abbot Emeritus of the Order, and succeeded him as Abbot.

Danielle holds a Ph.D. in sociology and is Professor Emerita at Webster University. There she taught sociology, criminology, human rights, and women and gender studies, and served in many administrative roles, including interim dean. Her research is on the ethics of care in higher education. She wrote Foundations for adults who are new to Buddhism. The course teaches a pragmatic approach to the dharma and helps students build a dharma practice they can sustain.

Questions People Ask

Do I need to be a Buddhist? No. The course is open to anyone, of any faith or none.

Do I need a Center near me? No. We hold online and hybrid sittings at a variety of times, listed on our Meetup page.

What does it cost? Nothing. Donations to the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism are welcome and go toward the costs of running the course.

How long does it take? About a year at one lesson a month. Some students move faster.

Course Pricing

Free enrollment

Free

  • The full course and the community, free.

Enroll for free

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