practice before theory
Courses here unlock through practice, not payment. This is the whole mechanism, plainly.
Vipassana, Tantra, Vedanta, Bhakti, Stoic, Kids & Family — each names its tradition, source text and era, so you always know whose practice you are sitting. A Path is one tradition taken in order. See the Paths.
Introductions and talks are open to listen to whenever you like. The guided sittings open in order, and only once the previous one has genuinely been sat — the server checks elapsed time, so a track cannot be skipped to the end. It is how a retreat works.
At the threshold of a deeper stage you are asked to put your practice into your own words — a written reflection, read by a teacher rather than scored by software. It marks the point where a curious listener becomes a sādhaka, a committed practitioner.
The 15-minute Anapanasati taster and the first three tracks of every course are open to anyone, with no account. With a free account, both Vipassana Part 1 courses open in full, by donation, and several other courses open their first sittings. Practice lowers the price: sit on 20 days in a month and the next month costs 25% less; 25 days, half; every day, and the next month is free. No one is turned away for money. One honest paragraph to tounknown.com@gmail.com is enough to be given full access. Every price, on one page.
The shape — one Path at a time, depth earned by practice, guidance as the thing worth paying for — is the Gurukula model of learning, explained on the methodology page.