Buddhism is not simply a religion in the usual sense of the word, but equally a science of mind that allows us to work skillfully with the positive potentials and negative energies of our own mind. The teachings of the Hinayana represent the most original and fundamental instructions of the Buddha, which are central to everything that follows. Hinayana studies, therefore, are the foundation for Buddhist learning. In the Nalandabodhi study path, Hinayana studies introduce us to Buddhism as a science of mind. Studies of the Hinayana continue for one year, divided into two courses: The first course covers the ground or view of Hinayana, and the second covers the Hinayana path and its fruitions. The first course, Hinayana view, introduces the Hinayana as the indispensable foundation of the three-yana system (Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana). The main elements of the Hinayana view are then presented in a detailed examination of the building blocks of the Buddhist science of mind. The second course, Hinayana Path and Fruition, shows how the view is applied dynamically through the practices of the Hinayana path, where techniques of mindfulness, concentration, and insight are explored in detail. The Hinayana courses also present the core principles of Buddhist ethics and society, and the relations of the Hinayana to the other teachings of Buddhism which are studied in the 300 and 400 levels of the Nalandabodhi study path.
