An Intermediate-level course based on 

The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

Wednesdays 7 - 8:45 PM ET

January 14th to April 8th, 2026

Meets in person at The Aligned Center (with Zoom option)

Led by Tom Pantaleoni, Warner Dick, Dorian Burden, and Erich Kramer

Suggested Donation: $120

We will closely follow the chapters in the book, including a deep exploration of the heart of buddhist practice, shamatha-vipashyana meditation. We begin with the simplicity of shamatha or "calm abiding," and explore many topics, culminating in a discussion of vipashyana; the development of an insightful, skillful awareness that can expand to all aspects of our life.

WMC Introductory Level Course

Tuesdays 7 – 9 PM

Jan 13 - June 9, 2026

In person at the Aligned Center, Irvington, and also on Zoom, for those unable to attend in person.

Taught by Jane Kolleeny, Paul Griffin and David Frankel

We have a choice in how we react to the circumstances of life. We can let them harden us and make us resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us, allowing our inherent human empathy to emerge. In The Places that Scare You: Cultivating Fearlessness in Difficult Times, Pema Chödrön provides essential tools for dealing with the difficulties that living our lives entails, teaching us how to encourage our basic human goodness and connect more easily with others—to accept ourselves and our world including its imperfections. She shows the courage that comes with staying with what’s happening in our lives right here, right now and helps us unmask the ways in which ego causes us to resist life as it is. If we go to the places that scare us, Pema suggests, we just might find the boundless life we’ve always dreamed of. We will use the book as the centerpiece of this class.

WMC Introductory Level Course

Tuesdays 7 – 9 PM

Sept 9 - Dec 9, 2025

In person at the Aligned Center, Irvington, and also on Zoom, for those unable to attend in person.

Taught by Jane Kolleeny, Paul Griffin and David Frankel

This in-person weekly meeting is intended for those developing or establishing their daily meditation practice. It covers the basics of mindfulness-awareness meditation, from proper posture to learning to settle with gentleness, patience, and humor—the three ingredients for a well-balanced practice. This course will also cover the art of stabilizing the mind, shamatha (or calm abiding), and how to remain present with whatever thoughts and emotions arise in our practice.

An Intermediate-level course based on 

The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

Wednesdays 7 - 8:30 PM ET

September 10th - December 17th

Meets in-person at The Aligned Center (with zoom option)

Led by Tom Pantaleoni, Warner Dick, Dorian Burden, and Erich Kramer

Suggested Donation: $120

We will closely follow the chapters in the book, including topics such as the "frozen space of ego," the pain of samsara or cyclic existence, and the possibility of liberation through taking refuge and through the three trainings: discipline, meditation and insight. Our discussions will emphasize joining our understanding of the course material with our meditation practice.

A WMC advanced-level course based on

The Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva

Wednesdays 7 - 8:30 PM ET

September 10th - December 17th (13 classes)

Meets online via Zoom only

Led by Gene Bobker and Arthur Segreti

Suggested Donation: $130

Please join us this Fall for an in-depth exploration of the classic Buddhist text The Bodhicaryavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva). The text presents the highest ideal of the Mahayana tradition, the life of a bodhisattva; beginning with the recognition of the great potential within each of us, and outlining the cultivation of confidence, joyfulness and compassion. Together we will closely follow Shantideva's verses, along with Pema Chodron's expert commentary.

WMC Intermediate Level Course – Semester Three

Wednesdays 7 – 9 PM ONLINE - Zoom Only

May 21 - July 2, 2025

Led by Derek Kolleeny and Colleagues

A seven-week exploration of the Mahayana Buddhist contemplative tradition of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. The Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness presents a series of meditation practices on a particular aspect of the Buddha’s teachings. The idea is that by beginning with one’s first rather coarse common-sense understanding, one progresses through increasingly subtle and more refined stages until one arrives at complete and perfect understanding. Each stage in the process prepares the mind for the next in so far as each step is fully integrated into one’s understanding through the meditation process. 

WMC Foundation Level Course – Semester Three

Wednesdays 7 – 8:30 PM

April 23 - June 25, 2025

In-person at the Aligned Center, Irvington, and also on Zoom, for those unable to attend in person.

Taught by Gene Bobker & Tom Pantaleoni

Join us as we explore the authentic path of meditation and insight as originally described by the Buddha and skillfully transmitted to the West by one of the great Tibetan masters of our time, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The course will be based on a curated sourcebook of readings from his work, and will include meditation, presentation, and discussion.

WMC Intermediate Level Course – Semester Two

Wednesdays 7 – 9 PM ONLINE - Zoom Only

January 15 – April 9, 2025

Led by Derek Kolleeny and Colleagues

This intermediate-level course is a continuation of our exploration of the Mahayana Buddhist path in the Tibetan Kagyu and Nyingma traditions. Here we will focus on the practice of Shamatha-Vipashyana – the main type of meditation in the Mahayana. We will examine presentations from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and other major Tibetan teachers on the fundamental aspects of these two practices, and their union, as a way of exploring how to deepen our own meditation practice.

WMC Foundation Level Course – Semester Two

Wednesdays 7 – 8:30 PM

January 8 – April 9, 2025

In-person at the Aligned Center, Irvington, and also on Zoom, for those unable to attend in person.

Taught by Gene Bobker & Tom Pantaleoni

Join us as we explore the authentic path of meditation and insight as originally described by the Buddha and skillfully transmitted to the West by one of the great Tibetan masters of our time, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The course will be based on a curated sourcebook of readings from his work, and will include meditation, presentation, and discussion.

WMC Intermediate Level Course – Semester One

Wednesdays 7 – 9 PM ONLINE - Zoom Only

September 11 – December 18, 2024 (note new start date)

Led by Derek Kolleeny and Colleagues

This Intermediate-level course will survey the entire range of Buddhism’s development into what are called the three yanas, or "vehicles" of Tibetan Buddhism — Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana — as stages of development that individuals follow along the Buddhist path. We will undertake a close reading of the wonderful book by Traleg Rinpoche, The Essence of Buddhism, which serves as a handbook for the various meditative approaches of Buddhist practice.