The Five Wisdoms of Tantric Buddhism

Shambhala Online 


Saturdays: July 19, 26 / August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m ET/9 am - 11 am PT

This course explores the Five Wisdoms of Tantric Buddhism. Each wisdom—mental clarity, resourcefulness, emotional intelligence, effective action, and spaciousness—unveils a unique facet of human consciousness and experience.

 The course covers topics such as ego development, emotional intelligence, and the mandala principle. Participants delve into the energetic dimensions of experience, learning to identify and work with personal energy patterns. They engage in various practices including meditation, somatic exercises, and expressive arts.

By the end, participants should have a deeper understanding of themselves and the interconnectedness of all things through the lens of the Five Wisdoms.

This course is designed for individuals who:

• Seek a deeper understanding of themselves through the Five Wisdoms system
• Want to understand Tantric Buddhism in an accessible way
• Desire to foster personal growth and transformative experiences
• Gain spiritual development through embodied practices
• Take skillful action in daily situations

Course Reading 

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path

Session 1

Introduction to the Five Wisdoms

Objectives:

  1. Understand the basic concept of the Five Wisdoms system. 
  2. Recognize the energetic dimension of experience.
  3. Introduce the Five Wisdoms Energies.

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path
  1. Chapter 1 To Know Yourself

Content:

  1. Welcome and course overview 
  2. Introduction to the Five Wisdoms system
  3. The energetic dimension of experience 
  4. Explore the qualities of the energies:
Buddha (Spaciousness)
  1. Cultivating openness and receptivity 
  2. Overcoming overwhelm and resistance
Vajra (Clarity)
  1. Developing discernment and insight 
  2. Balancing critical thinking with compassion
Ratna (Richness)
  1. Cultivating a sense of inner abundance 
  2. Balancing generosity with healthy boundaries
Padma (Passion)
  1. Developing empathy and heart-centered awareness
  2. Navigating emotional intensity with wisdom
Karma (Activity)
  1. Cultivating effectiveness and timeliness in action 
  2. Balancing doing with being 

Practice:

Invoking the Five Wisdoms practice: Tuning into each energy.

Session 2

What Is Your Unique Mix of Colors?

Objectives:

  1. Begin to identify personal energy patterns

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path
  1. Chapter 2 What Are Your Wisdom Energies?
  2. Chapter 3 What Is Your Unique Mix of Colors? 

Handout:

How We Get Stuck and How We Shine

Content:

Our Mix of Colors Exercise

Practice:

  • Buddha wisdom body scan meditation 
  • Vajra wisdom analytical meditation 
  • Ratna wisdom gratitude meditation 
  • Padma wisdom loving-kindness practice
  • Karma wisdom mindful movement practice 

Session 3

How We Get Stuck and How We Shine

Objectives:

  1. Understand the psychology of getting stuck: ego development. 
  2. Understand the key to getting unstuck: unconditional loving kindness.
  3. Identify challenging emotions and experiences.
  4. Develop greater emotional intelligence and resilience. 

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path
  1. Chapter 7 How We Get Stuck 
  2. Chapter 13 Transmuting Your Confusion Into Your Brilliance 

Content:

  1. The principle of transmutation in the Five Wisdoms
  2. Identifying personal patterns of confusion and stuckness
  3. Practice for transmuting:

    - Spaciness into spaciousness
    - Anger into clarity
    - Pride into equanimity
    - Passion into discriminating awareness
    - Jealousy into all-accomplishing action 
  4. Working with emotions using 4 approaches: cool, warm, hot, and impervious 
  5. Cultivating a compassionate relationship with all aspects of self

Practice:

  • Guided meditation on Five Psychophysical Aspects
  • Guided meditation on Six Intensified Realities 

Session 4

Discovering the Tantric World

Objectives:

  1. Understand the relationship between the Five Wisdoms and Tantric Buddhism

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path 
  1. Chapter 17 Discovering the Tantric World
  2. Chapter 18 A Radical Perspective on Wisdom  

Content:

  1. Somatic practice: Embodying the wisdom energies 
  2. The elements 
  3. The sense perceptions  

Practice:

  • Expressive arts exercise: Creating a personal mandala 
  • Invoking the Five Wisdoms practice with movement 

Session 5

Your World Just Got Bigger: the Mandala Principle

Objectives:

  1. Understand the mandala principle: the interconnectedness of everyone, everything, everywhere.

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path 
  1. Chapter 19 Your World Just Got Bigger
  2. Chapter 20 The Dimensions of Reality 

Content:

  1. Discussion of reading

Practice:

  • Five Modes Presentations 

Session 6

Discovering the Tantric WorldThe Five Wisdoms Mandala

Objectives:

  1. Understand the Five Wisdoms mandala

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path 
  1. Chapter 24 The Five Wisdoms Mandala
  2. Chapter 25 The Five Wisdoms Journey  

Content:

  1. Discuss the reading
  2. Apply the Five Wisdoms to:

    - Personal relationships
    - Professional life
    - Spiritual growth

Practice:

  • Five Modes Presentations

Session 7

Living the Five Wisdoms Path

Objectives:

  1. Understand how these energies manifest in daily life 
  2. Learn to balance and integrate all Five Wisdoms 
  3. Develop strategies for skillful action in daily life  

Reading:

Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path 
  1. Chapter 28 Creating Your World 
  2. Chapter 29 Five Wisdoms in Your Life  

Content:

  1. Discuss reading 
  2. Develop strategies for skillful action in daily life
  3. Recognizing the interplay of energies
  4. Cultivating flexibility and responsiveness
  5. Applying the Five Wisdoms to decision-making and life challenges 

Practice:

  • Group sharing: Insights and transformations
  • Guided meditation: Envisioning your life guided by the Five Wisdoms
  • Creative exercise: Craft a personal symbol or affirmation for your Five Wisdoms path
  • Journaling exercise: Creating a personal action plan guided by the Five Wisdoms  

Closure:

  1. Resources for continued learning and practice
  2. Closing ceremony: Honoring our journey and setting intentions  

Join Us


Saturdays: July 19, 26 / August 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m ET/9 am - 11 am PT

IRINI ROCKWELL

Five Wisdoms Institute Founder, Director and Principle Trainer


Irini Rockwell, MA is a distinguished author and internationally acclaimed teacher of the Five Wisdoms. With a background in Buddhism, psychotherapy, and dance, she has dedicated over four decades to exploring the essence of who we are. Irini's pioneering work in the field of human development deftly bridges the gap between esoteric teachings and practical application in contemporary Western contexts. As the founder and director of the Five Wisdoms Institute, Irini has guided countless individuals through transformative workshops, retreats, and trainings around the world. Her books, The Five Wisdom Energies, Natural Brilliance, and Unfolding the Mystery of Your Life on the Five Wisdoms Path have inspired readers to discover their inherent wisdom and live more vibrant, meaningful lives.

My Story

One summer day in 1976, I was sitting in a friend’s apartment in Boulder, CO, where we were both assistant teaching at Naropa Institute [now University], a school that focuses on training in the arts, Buddhism, and contemplative psychotherapy. I was reading "Cutting through Spiritual Materialism," written by Naropa’s founder, the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa. The following passage caught my eye: “In the Tantric tradition energy is categorized in five basic qualities or Buddha Families: Vajra, Ratna, Padma, Karma and Buddha. Each Buddha family has an emotion associated with it which is transmuted into a particular ‘wisdom’ or aspect of the awakened state of mind. The Buddha families are also associated with colors, elements, landscapes, directions, seasons, with any aspect of the phenomenal world.”

Reading those words changed my life. It led me to a contemplative tradition with an understanding of energy at its core. My immediate connection came from my passion for exploring the dynamic qualities of expressive movement as a dancer and choreographer. I explored human emotions—the heat of love, the strength of anger, the stiffness of pride, the sparkle of joy. So I instinctively knew about the energies of which he wrote. My awareness of these energies began to color my perspective in many aspects of my life, particularly my relationships with people. Why was it that one man brought out my intellectual curiosity and another my physical desire? Why did I feel at ease with one person and anxious with another? Why would I feel powerful in one situation but inhibited and frustrated in another? What was the energetic relationship between myself, these people, and these situations?

Almost 50 years later, I am still at it!

Curious about your personality from a spiritual perspective?

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