MMTCP's curriculum weaves together traditional vipassana teachings, modern psychology, trauma-informed approaches, and practical teaching skills into a comprehensive 18-month journey.
Curriculum Foundations
The program is grounded in:
Traditional Wisdom:
Vipassana (Insight) meditation teachings rooted in Buddhist contemplative practice
Modern Psychology:
Neuroscience, attachment theory, and contemporary understandings of human development
Trauma-Informed Approaches:
How to teach mindfulness safely and skillfully to people who've experienced trauma
Cultural Sensitivity:
Examining identity, power, privilege, and how to teach across differences
Practical Application:
Real skills for designing courses, facilitating groups, and responding to challenges
Core Curriculum Areas
Meditation Practice & Theory
What You'll Learn:
- Foundational mindfulness and awareness practices
- Concentration and insight meditation
- Working with difficult emotions and experiences
- Body-based awareness practices
- Loving-kindness and compassion practices
- The neuroscience of meditation
Why It Matters:
You can't teach what you haven't experienced. This deepens your own practice first.
Teaching Methodology
What You'll Learn:
- How to guide meditations with clarity and presence
- Structuring and pacing guided practices
- Offering dharma talks and teachings
- Responding skillfully to questions
- Working with challenges that arise in groups
- Creating psychologically safe containers
Why It Matters:
These are the practical skills that make you an effective teacher.
Trauma-Informed Teaching
What You'll Learn:
- Understanding trauma and the nervous system
- How meditation can help—and sometimes harm—trauma survivors
- Language and approaches that create safety
- Recognizing signs of dysregulation
- When and how to refer to mental health professionals
- Self-care for teachers holding others' pain
Why It Matters:
Many people who seek meditation are working with trauma. You need to teach skillfully and safely.
Diversity, Equity & Social Justice
What You'll Learn:
- Examining your own social conditioning and privilege
- How identity shapes experience and perspective
- Teaching mindfulness across differences
- Cultural humility and responsiveness
- Addressing harm and conflict skillfully
- Making practices accessible to diverse communities
Why It Matters:
To teach with integrity, you must understand how power, identity, and culture shape the teaching relationship.
Ethics & Boundaries
What You'll Learn:
- Ethical frameworks for teaching
- Power dynamics in teacher-student relationships
- Maintaining appropriate boundaries
- Recognizing and addressing ethical dilemmas
- Self-disclosure and authenticity vs. oversharing
- Financial ethics and sustainability
Why It Matters:
Teaching mindfulness comes with responsibility. You need clear ethical grounding.
Course Design & Facilitation
What You'll Learn:
- Designing introductory mindfulness courses
- Structuring sessions and curricula
- Sequencing practices appropriately
- Creating engaging learning experiences
- Marketing and outreach (basics)
- Practical logistics of running programs
Why It Matters:
You'll be designing and teaching your own courses—you need practical skills to do it well.
Personal Growth & Inner Work
What You'll Learn:
- Working with your own patterns and conditioning
- Developing emotional intelligence and self-awareness
- Finding your authentic teaching voice
- Working with imposter syndrome and self-doubt
- Self-compassion and resilience
- Your own healing as foundation for teaching
Why It Matters:
The deepest teaching comes from your own inner work and transformation.
How the Curriculum Is Delivered
Monthly Video/Audio Teachings
Jack and Tara teach the core curriculum through video and audio lessons you can study at your own pace.
Live Sessions
Guest teachers bring specialized expertise in areas like neuroscience, racial justice, trauma, addiction, and more.
Mentor Groups
Your mentor group explores teachings together, practices skills, and supports integration.
Peer Groups
You practice what you're learning in a safe, supportive environment with fellow students.
Personal Reflection
Journal prompts and reflection questions help you integrate teachings into your own life and practice.
Reading Suggestions
Optional readings deepen your understanding (not required, but enriching).
Practicum (Year 2)
You apply everything you've learned by designing and teaching your own course with comprehensive support.