Buddhist Teacher lil typo

[Guest guest]

er - - make that August 30th, not September 30th...

heh to the lil typo ;-)

[Guest guest]

Hi Valerie,

I looked up Geshe Ngawang Dakpa on www.google.com and a few webpages came up.

http://www.tsatsastudio.org/whats_happening.htm

seems the most informative.

I don't know this teacher (Geshe means teacher). Buddhist studies are

very good, the Dalai Lama is a wonderful person, down to earth,

realistic, pragmatic and clear. Done a lot with Tibetan Buddhism over

time.

Too bad that my travels don't go to Alaska, would love to visit you too.

Wim

v [amused (AT) ptialaska (DOT) net]Sent:

Thursday, August 22, 2002 8:52 PMTo:

Subject: Buddhist

Teacher lil typo

er - - make that August 30th, not September 30th...heh to the lil typo

;-)

/join

All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

Welcome all to a.Your use of is subject

to the

[Guest guest]

Our NameTse Chen Ling is a Tibetan phrase meaning "the land of great

compassion."

Our center was given this name by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His

Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Our GoalTse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies is

committed to making the teachings of the Buddha available to busy

city dwellers who wish to bring compassion and insight to their own

lives and to those of others. Transforming confusion into clarity,

anger into compassion, and suffering into peace, the teachings of the

Buddha are relevant to daily life as well as to spiritual practice.

 

Tse Chen Ling is an FPMT Member Center

Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies is the San

Francisco center of the Foundation for the Preservation of the

Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international association of 80

meditation centers dedicated to practicing in the Gelugpa tradition

of Tibetan Buddhism. The FPMT was founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten

Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who were among the first Tibetan

teachers to dedicate their lives to making the living practice of

Tibetan Buddhism available in the west. The FPMT is now under the

spiritual guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

"Even without reference to any religion you can see in the ordinary

world that some individuals are respected as being kind, honest

persons. Others are seen as being cruel, dishonest persons. The

difference between them is their state of mind. So we ask ourselves

what is the difference and try to cultivate more the attitude of the

person who is known to be kind, honest and superior and avoid the

state of mind of the inferior person. Different religions have their

own way of attaining this kind, honest state of mind. It's good in

whatever way to make efforts to cultivate that state in oneself. In

Buddhism it is the particular responsibility of the Lama or teacher

to help disciples cultivate this state of mind. "

Like the Dalai Lama, resident teacher at Tse Chen Ling, Venerable

Geshe Ngawang Dakpa answers questions about his life and his

achievements with "I'm just a simple Buddhist monk." Yet Geshe-la

(the la- added to indicate respect and admiration) is an

extraordinary human being with an astounding life story. The

title "Geshe" itself indicates as much. The degree is given within

the monastic universities after many years, in his case 25 years, of

studying Buddhism.

Born in Nagchu, Central Tibet, a village 14,000 feet high with year

around ice and snow, he lived with his nomadic family. At the age of

10 he entered Orbak Monastery, learned to read and write; was

ordained as a novice monk at 13 and memorized sutras (Buddhist

teachings) ritual prayers, pujas (rituals); learned how to build

mandalas (graphic symbols of the universe), play ritual instruments.

He studied Tibetan grammar, poetry, and astrology. In 1953 he

traveled to the capital of Lhasa and entered Sera, one of the 3 great

monastic universities in Tibet, and home to 7200 monks. It was the

Junior Tutor of the Dalai Lama who fully ordained him as a monk. His

contemporaries at Sera were Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa, founders of Tse

Chen Ling.

In 1959, during the cultural revolution, Chinese troops shelled Sera.

Geshe La's life hung on a thread for days. When he learned that the

Dalai Lama had fled, he decided to follow and escaped to India. He

continued his studies at the Sanskrit University in Benares

(Varanasi) where he earned an M.A. with honors. Invited by the Queen

of Sikkim to teach Tibetan at the University of Sikkim, he ended up

staying for 20 years before returning to Sera Je monastery in South

India to gain his Geshe degree. At the top of his class, he became an

expert in Dharma (Buddha's teachings), astrology, Tibetan education,

grammar, and poetry, as well as in philosophy. Before coming to San

Francisco he was resident teacher at the FPMT Center in Tapai,

Taiwan.

Well renown for his brilliant scholarly achievements, we are

continually inspired by his breadth of knowledge and willingness to

open his heart and mind in sharing the treasures of Buddha's

teaching.