The fifteen Formal Study Courses cover the main ideas of the entire course of study followed by a Tibetan monk-scholar (or geshe) at one of the great monasteries of Tibet. The three-part Great Ideas series summarizes all fifteen ACI Courses, along with the teachings of the traditional training of a Tibetan Buddhist Master. In part one, we cover the first five ACI Courses: The Principal Teachings of Buddhism, Buddhist Refuge, Applied Meditation, Proof of Future Lives, and How Karma Works. The first half of each class in this Course was taught by Geshe Michael, and the second half of each class occurred in smaller study groups. Therefore, only the first half of each class is recorded in the audio portion of this series.