During His Holiness’s teaching on Jangchup Lam Rim at Tashi Lhunpo monastery
Photo: dalailama.com
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has spent two weeks in Bylakuppe in Karnataka state in south India, taking part in the Mind and Life Conference at Sera monastic university and engaging in other teachings, visits and ceremonies during his stay, including the Jangchub Lam Rim Teaching at Tashi Lunpo Monastery.
Over 900 people from 16 different countries attended the 30th Mind and Life Conference which looks at how both science and Buddhist teachings can work together: a dialogue between modern science and Buddhist science. The conference was held from December 14 – 18.
His Holiness opened the session, saying “30 years ago I had a wish to have in-depth discussions with scientists. I’d been interested in science since I was a child in Tibet. I thought it would be good if I were able to meet with scientists in person. And when I did, I was struck by how unbiased they were. Our subsequent discussions were mutually beneficial. I discovered that those of us who come from the Nalanda tradition were able to learn from them about matter and the material world, but that they too could learn from us about the mind.”
Participants observed monks debating and were able to visit exhibitions on climate change and the local Sera Jey secondary school’s display of their thoughts on water.
His Holiness visited different University departments and spent time giving teachings and readings of texts to the monks who study there. One such reading was Je Tsongkhapa’s Three Principles of the Path. At the end of the reading he commented,“Je Rinpoche said we should not be content with a rough understanding of the teachings, but should study all kinds of texts. We should aspire not only to be scholars, but to also apply the teachings as he did.”
His Holiness at the Mind and Life Conference in Sera monastery
Photo:dalailama.com
The Mind and Life conference was co-organised by the Mind and Life Institute and the Dalai Lama Trust.The first conference was held in 1987 in Massachusetts, United States, and has since been held annually in India and in several European countries.
As the four-day conference came to an end, and before the Tibetan leader left Sera Monastery the Tibetan people offered His Holiness the Tenshug, or long life prayer. He praised the work that has been done to restore the monastery in exile. Of the offerings that were received he said, “The Tibetan people and the Sera Monastery have offered the Tenshug for my longevity today but the more important aspect remains the faith and the connection between the teacher and the student which is visibly present in everybody here.”
The offering of Tenshug, or long life prayer to His Holiness
Photo: Tibet.net
His Holiness then relocated to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, also in Bylakuppe, until the end of the month. He gave the Jangchub Lam Rim Teaching to over 30,000 people, which included the transmission of the Collected Stages of the Path Texts and the Dharmakirti’s Commentary of Valid Perception. While at Tashi Lhumpo Monastery, the seat of the Panchen Lama, he inaugurated and consecrated the new prayer hall there.
To follow details of His Holiness’s teachings and schedules, visit: http://www.dalailama.com/
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