His Holiness the Dalai Lama Begins a Series of Teachings at Gyutö Tantric College

Sidhbari, HP, India, 10 May 2015 - Approximately 5000 people gathered today at the Gyutö Ramoche Temple in Sidhbari below Dharamsala to listen to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They included a large number of monks from the two Tantric Colleges of Gyumey and Gyutö and lay-people filling the large temple hall, its surrounding verandas and even the yard below. The customary introductory prayers, including the ‘Heart of Wisdom’ the salutation from the ‘Ornament for Clear Realization’, the ‘Praise to the 17 Masters of Nalanda, were said. The incumbent Abbot of Gyutö. Jhado Rinpoche offered the mandala and three representations of the body, speech and mind of enlightenment and His Holiness began to teach.

He explained that Gyutö Monastery has made long-standing requests for teachings, many of them quite extensive, which it would be tiring for him to fulfil all at once, but he thought there was an opportunity to give some of them now. He had decided to teach Jamyang Shayba’s ‘Seven Chapters of Vajrabhairava’, which he taught once before at Gyumey Tantric College in South India. A requirement to listen to such a teaching is to have received a tantric empowerment and as there is a saying in Gyumey and Gyutö, “Wherever you go, Guhyasamaja is done,” His Holiness decided he would give a Guhyasamaja empowerment on this occasion.

He remarked that on completing his explanation of Guhyasamaja, Je Tsongkhapa asked who would preserve and uphold this teaching. Je Sherab Sengey stood up and said, “I will.” In due course he was to found Se-gyu Monastery and later Gyumey. His Holiness mentioned that Nagarjuna was the principle exponent of the explicit content of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, the explanation of emptiness. He and his disciples Aryadeva and Chandrakirti made Guhyasamaja the main focus of their tantric practice and this is the tradition Gyumey and Gyutö, the two tantric colleges of Central Tibet maintain.

His Holiness clarified that granting a tantric empowerment is not just a matter of going through the ritual. You have to be more practical than that since you also need a basic understanding of the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wisdom understanding emptiness, both of which are explained in the sutras. He said that one aspect of tantric practice involves visualizing ourselves as a deity and to do that we need some understanding of emptiness, a sense that things do not have a solid independent existence. It is through such an understanding that we overcome our disturbing emotions.

Regarding the general structure of Buddhism, we have to study. Je Tsongkhapa said there are many yogis who do not have much training or the acumen to analyse the meaning of the scriptures. His Holiness noted that amongst the gathering were abbots and former abbots of Gyumey and Gyutö, monks, nuns and laypeople, many Tibetans and among the foreigners a substantial number of Chinese brothers and sisters.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at Gyuto Tantric College in Sidbhari, HP, India on May 10, 2015.
Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
“We all follow the Nalanda tradition and because of that we all need to know what the Buddha’s teaching means. That’s why we need to study. The Buddha told his followers not to accept what he taught at face value nor just because he had said it, but to examine, investigate and experiment with it. This also means, ‘Don’t leave the teachings in the book, but apply them in practice’. Je Tsongkhapa also remarked that there are many learned ones who are unskilled in the essential points of practice. He also said rely on reason and logic, not faith alone. In this context, I’d like to say that when I first began to meet with scientists, the older abbots were wary. Now, I think both sides see the mutual benefit.”

Turning to the texts he wanted to read as preliminary instructions, His Holiness began with Je Tsongkhapa’s ‘Praise of Dependent Arising’, which he composed when he completed his study of Madhyamaka thought and finally understood emptiness. With an understanding of emptiness comes the understanding that cessation is possible. His Holiness said that he had received an explanation of this text from Khunu Lama Rinpoche, who in turn had received it from Gyen Rigzin Tempa, and a reading transmission from Trijang Rinpoche.

He continued with the ‘Song of Spiritual Experience’, which is the most concise of Tsongkhapa’s three presentations of the path. His Holiness again commended putting the teachings into practice as advised in verses 11 and 12:

Then, the root of creating well the auspicious conditions
For all the excellences of this and future lives
Is to rely properly with effort both in thought and action
Upon the sublime spiritual mentor who reveals the path.

Seeing this we should never forsake him even at the cost of life
And please him with the offering of implementing his words.
I, a yogi, have practiced in this manner;
You, who aspire for liberation, too should do likewise.

He also recalled what Milarepa said:

“I have nothing else to offer but my practice.”

His Holiness mentioned, in conclusion, that the ‘Song of Spiritual Experience’ is a summary of Atisha’s ‘Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment’. He then read briskly through Tsongkhapa’s ‘Three Principal Aspects of the Path’, which deals with the determination to be free, the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wisdom understanding emptiness. At the end, Tsongkhapa exhorts Ngawang Drakpa, to whom he sent this advice:

Child, when you realize the keys
Of the Three Principal Aspects of the Path,
Depend on solitude and strong effort,
And quickly reach the final goal.

Some of the 5000 people attending His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teaching at Gyuto Tantric College in Sidbhari, HP, India on May 10, 2015. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDLFinally, His Holiness read the short ‘Song of Four Mindfulnesses’ composed by the Seventh Dalai Lama on the basis of a teaching that originated with Je Sherab Sengey. He said he had received it from Yongzin Ling Rinpoche. It succinctly explains mindfulness of the teacher, mindfulness of the awakening mind that aspires to enlightenment, mindfulness of your body as the body of a deity and mindfulness of the view of emptiness. When it came to the third mindfulness, His Holiness chuckled and said:

“We’ve got all these monks here who practise Guhyasamaja, but one of the Kadampa masters remarked: ‘Everyone has a deity to meditate on, and everyone has a mantra to recite, but they lack anything to think about.’”

Pointing out that the texts he had read support and supplement the practice of Guhyasamaja, His Holiness urged his listeners to learn the ‘Song of Four Mindfulnesses’ by heart and to read the other texts again and again. He will give the Guhyasamaja empowerment on Monday and Tuesday and on Wednesday an explanation of Jamyang Shayba’s ‘Seven Chapters of Vajrabhairava’.

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Statement from International Buddhist College, Thailand on Bodhgaya Bombing on 7 July, 2013

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Penang, Malaysia -- The International Buddhist College is deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news on the bombing at Bodhgaya on July 7, 2013.

This is the holiest place for Buddhists from all countries. At this very site, the Buddha who was the advocate of non-violence attained his Enlightenment. At this time, we still do not know why and who targeted Bodhgaya for this violent act.

This is the time for Buddhists to uphold the Buddha's teachings on Love, Compassion and Non-violence.

Ven. Dr. Wei Wu, Chairman of the Council of the International Buddhist College, appeals to Buddhists to remain calm and refrain from violence in physical, verbal and mental actions. He also appeals to Buddhists to pray for the victims and attacker(s) and their families.

He said in his address to the staff and students of the college, ?While we condemn the senseless violence in any form, we must not retaliate with violence. The Buddha has taught us in the Dhammapada that 'Hatred is never appeased by hatred, hatred is appeased by love. This is the eternal law. The victor breeds hatred; the defeated lives in pain; the peaceful lives happily giving up victory and defeat.' This is the Buddhist solution to violence.

While we pray for the early recovery of the victims from physical injuries, we also pray for the early recovery of the attacker(s) from their mental anguish and the repentance of the senseless acts of violence.

While we appeal to the brothers and sisters of other religious faiths to practice mutual understanding and respect, let us also practice understanding and respect of other religious faiths ourselves.?

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Enter the Buddhist College at the foot of Mt. Emei

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Mt. Emei, China -- At the foot of Mt. Emei in SW China's Sichuan province, stands a unique college - Emei Buddhist College. The college is built in Dafo Temple. Unlike other temples filled with worshippers, the Buddhist College is tranquil and solemn.

According to Master Changquan, all the students in the college are chosen from candidates recommended by temples or Buddhism associations around the country. What's more, they should take entrance exams before being accepted.

Comparing with other colleges or universities, Emei Buddhism College is small. However, students here have classes from morning to afternoon, Tuesday to Sunday. There are 74 monks and 36 nuns studying in the college.

Students begin a day's study at 5:30 a.m. every morning. In class, they will stand up and chant "Amitabha" as a greeting to the master (teacher). At 11:15 a.m., all the students will line up to have lunch in Wuguan Hall after a break in the dorm.

The foods are very simple, potatoes and cabbage, with rice as staple food. After lunch, students will have one hour's rest. Some will read books in the dorm, some will sit in meditation and chant sutras, and some will lie down for a while. At 2 p.m., afternoon classes will start. There is a nun's class in the college. The nuns study in Fuhu Temple, which is far away from Dafo Temple.

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Buddhist Monk returns to Hopkinsville Community College

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HOPKINSVILLE, KY. (USA) -- For the 4th year, Buddhist Monk Venerable Tsering Phuntsok will visit the campus of Hopkinsville Community College beginning the week of April 1. According to Dr. Ken Casey, Tsering will be reunited with the group of students and faculty who visited with him last summer at his home in Dharamsala, India as part of the Study Abroad group from the college.

Tsering Phuntsok has been a practicing Buddhist Monk since 1987. He has studied in the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, receiving training in Buddhist scripture and philosophy, meditation, ritual and lama dancing and music. Tsering has received teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. While the Study Abroad group from HCC was in Dharamsala last summer, they were able to participate in the birthday celebration of His Holiness.

Tsering facilitates cultural exchange programs between the Tibetan community and U.S. college students to improve the lives of Tibetan refugees and Indian locals. The soft spoken man with quiet and engaging energy and humor works to explain Buddhist Dharma so as to enable alleviation of suffering and generation of compassion.

On April 3 at noon in the HCC Auditorium, the Religion and Philosophy Club of HCC will present a talk entitled Loving your enemies: Buddhist and Christian Perspectives, featuring Tsering and Dr. Ken Casey, local religion and philosophy professor. Dr. Casey received his Ph.D at Vanderbilt University in Philosophy and his M.Div from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The men will compare and contrast practices within the two belief systems, and address two questions why should we love enemies and how we can love enemies when it seems to be contrary to human psychology. Tsering Phuntsok will use the teaching of Shantideva and the Dalai Lama to give the Buddhist perspective while Dr. Casey will use the teaching of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux to set forth the Christian perspective.

Dr. Pat Lake, interim president of HCC said, HCC welcomes the return of Tsering Phuntsok to campus. We celebrate the diversity of our campus and community by supporting his visit.

While in Kentucky, Tsering Phuntsok will visit with faculty and students at KCTCS institutions in Elizabethtown, Madisonville and Louisville.

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New building for Buddhist College of Singapore

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Singapore -- THE Buddhist College of Singapore located at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Bishan will have a new building by 2014.

The new premises at the monastery will include a new library, computer room and student hostel which can house up to 200 students. Currently, the school, which is Singapore's first tertiary college of Buddhist Studies, only has 80 students at a time.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new building as well as for the monastery's new carpark was held today at its grounds.

The new carpark, to be completed by early 2014, will increase the monastery's parking space from 100 to 270 lots.

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Mahabodhi temple plans hospital, medical college

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Patna, India -- Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple, one of Buddhism's holiest shrines plans to set up a world class hospital and medical college with international financial aid in the holy town in Bihar, an official said Wednesday.

"The temple management committee have decided to establish a Buddhist world hospital and medical college in Bodh Gaya with the help of Buddhist countries of southeast Asia," the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee secretary N. Dorjee said.
Dorjee told IANS over telephone that it will be first such development project in Bodh Gaya with the sole aim to serve poor and provide them best medical and health care.

"I am happy to disclose that a number of officials of embassies of Buddhist countries of southeast Asia have shown keen interest to help the proposed project in Bodh Gaya," Dorjee said.

Dorjee said that funding for the project would not be a problem. "Most of the 22 countries of southeast Asia are going to fund the project as it would come up at Bodh Gaya," he said.

The committee has already approached the Gaya district administration for land and other requirements.

"We would start work on the project soon after the land is provided to us by the state government," Dorjee said.
The Mahabodhi temple was declared a World Heritage Site in June 2002 by the UNESCO. Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment 2,500 years ago near this temple.

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Cradle of Han Chinese Buddhism Has first Buddhist College

Located in the scenic Tongbai Mountains known for their monastic heritage, HBC covers an area of 6.96 hectares. The main architectural complex is in the style of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and comprises the monastery, classrooms, an administrative building, residential quarters and a Buddhist cultural center.

Venerable masters from temples at home and abroad, prominent scholars as well as Buddhist disciples across the country gathered at Sunday's ceremony, presided by Shi Yongxin, the incumbent abbot of the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of kong fu, and vice president of the Buddhist Association of China.

Zhang Lebin, vice president of China's State Administration for Religious Affairs, said the founding of HBC is significant in promoting the sound development of Buddhism in China and nurturing outstanding Sangha members with expertise.

Henan is known as the entry point of Buddhism in China from India nearly 2,000 years ago. It is in Henan that China's first Buddhist temple, White Horse Temple, was established. Henan is also home to the ancestral temple of Zen Buddhism, the Shaolin Temple, as well as China's first royal temple, the Daxiangguo Temple.

However, the shortage of qualified Sangha members poses a challenge for Chinese Buddhism in modern society. An official survey by Henan Provincial Buddhist Association showed that only 30 percent of the leaders of Henan's more than 500 temples have received proper higher education.

HBC emphasizes the study of the original Buddhist scriptures and literature, including the history of Buddhist thinking in India and the history of Buddhist schools in China, according to the Venerable Long Zang, HBC's vice president and dean.

"Besides the traditional practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom, HBC also trains Sangha members with courses such as English, computer science, and Buddhist painting," said the Venerable Long Zang.

The college has enrolled more than 40 students since it welcomed its first batch of students in March 2011.

"I definitely had a hard time adjusting myself to a vigorous daily schedule here in the college. But I know it takes time to truly comprehend the spirit of Buddha," said Tan Jing, a monk student originally from Beijing.

Ming Chen, a local monk student from Henan, explained why he decided to renounce the world and be ordained as a monk. "The rampant moral corruption and money fetish have turned me disillusioned. To join the Sangha and study in the college is the best way for me to pursue the truth of life and benefit others."

"Education in a Buddhist college is neither vocational training nor the attainment of a piece of diploma. Instead, it's an education of life," said the Venerable Long Zang. "For a monk student, the best perspective upon graduation is to find a direction worth striving for," he added.

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Buddhist programmes from Sussex College network to mark Sambuddhathva Jayanthi

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Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The Sussex college network conducted a range of Buddhist programmes to commemorate the Wesak festival, the Poson Festival and the Sambuddhathva Jayanthi in their branches island wide.

The objectives of conducting these Buddhist programmes are inculcating Buddhist values in the students of the Sussex network of colleges and pointing them towards a lifestyle of religious ideals. Under the guidance of the Sussex college network Chairman K.A.S. Jayathissa, these programmes were conducted in 20 colleges of the Sussex network including Nugegoda, Kiribathgoda, Ambalangoda, Anuradhapura, Galle, Kandy, Horana and Bandarawela branches. The Sussex college network has planned to conduct these programmes throughout the year.

Among these Buddhist programmes held with the participation of students, parents and the staff, alms givings, observing Sil, meditation, conducting Bodhi Poojas and Buddha Poojas, Bhakthi Geetha programmes, listening to sermons, lighting Wesak lanterns, Pahan Pooja, designing Wesak Greeting Cards and art exhibitions took pride of place. The specialty of these programmes is that even though students belonging to various religions and nationalities study at the Sussex network of colleges, all of them participated and gave their fullest co-operation to make these programmes a success.

The Nugegoda branch of the Sussex college network is working towards establishing an inter-religious fellowship association and conducting public welfare programmes such as helping the elderly, hospital service and assisting students with economic difficulties.

The Sussex English medium college network teaching the Sri Lankan syllabus in the English medium is the largest English medium network of colleges in Sri Lanka and the first to achieve the ISO 9001:2000 global standard. The branches of the Sussex network of colleges are located in Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Kandy, Bandarawela, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Matara, Ambalangoda, Gampaha, Malabe, Horana, Kuliyapitiya, Nugegoda, Kiribathgoda, Negombo, Wennappuwa and Ampara. The Sri Lankan syllabus is taught in the English medium from pre-school level to Advanced Level at the Sussex network of colleges, and the necessary text books have been already prepared.

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