Denma Locho Rinpoche

Khensur Denma Locho Rinpoche was born in Kham, eastern Tibet, in 1928. At the age of six he was recognised as the reincarnation of a famous yogi, Ch'ying Gyatso. He entered Drepung Loseling Monastery at the age of eleven. Rinpoche received his Lharampa Geshe degree in 1953 (coming first in his class) and completed his Tantric exams at Gyume Tantric College in 1958. He received many teachings from the late Venerable Ling Rinpoche (the senior tutor to His Holiness the Dalai Lama) and became the main lineage holder of all his teachings.

After escaping to India in 1959 Rinpoche spent two years on a research fellowship at Calcutta University and was principle of the Buddhist School of Dialectics in Ladakh for six years. In 1967 he was abbot of a monastery in Manali before moving to Dharamsala where he now resides. He served as Abbot of Namgyal Monastery (the private monastery of his Holiness the Dalai Lama) from 1986 to 1991.

Teachings by Denma Locho Rinpoche

Three Principle Paths - Denma Locho Rinpoche

This set of teachings detail the need to realise the three essential points of renunciation, bodhicitta and correct view that together form the heart essence of Tibetan Buddhist practice.

Steps on the Path - Denma Locho Rinpoche

Using Lord Buddha's initial teaching on the Four Noble Truths Locho Rinpoche summarises the Buddhist Path. He then further outlines the philosophic view of emptiness and how to generate compassion and the altruistic intention.

Dr Alex Berzin

Alexander Berzin, born 1944 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA, received his PhD from Harvard University in 1972 from the Departments of Far Eastern Languages and Sanskrit and Indian Studies, specializing in Tibet.

From 1969 to 1998, he resided in India, where he studied and practiced with masters from all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. His main teacher was Tsenshab Serkong Rinpoche, the late Master Debate Partner and Assistant Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He served as his interpreter and secretary for nine years, accompanying him on several world tours.

He has also served as occasional Dharma interpreter for HH the Dalai Lama. He was a founding member of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, and is the translator and author of numerous books and articles on Tibetan Buddhism.

Since 1983, he has been traveling around the world, teaching various aspects of Buddhist practice and theory at Dharma centers and universities in more than seventy countries. He currently resides in Berlin, Germany, where he continues to write and teach.

You can access his teaching archive by clicking on the link below:

The Berzin Archives (click HERE)

Teachings by Dr Alex Berzin

How to Relate to the Guru

Practical advice is provided here about forming an appropriate relationship with our spritual teachers. Often in the West we are unsure how to act towards a teacher, particularly when we hear that the person serves as a guru to others. Alex brings clarity to this issue and discusses the different ways we can relate to him or her in a healthy way.

Introduction to Tantra

In this talk Alex gives a concise introduction to the tantric path. He covers the prerequisites that determine our readiness to enter this profound path as well as the uncommon features that distinguish it from the open teachings of the Buddha.

The Two Truths

The two truths describe on one hand how phenomena appear or manifest on a relative level and on the other how they exist at a deeper or ultimate level.
Understanding the deeper or empty nature of self and phenomena cuts through the confusion that perpetuates the uncontrollably recurring problems that we all experience. In this talk Alex introduces these concepts and outlines a meditation on emptiness.

The Passing of Serkong Rinpoche

In this teaching Alex talks about the inspirational life story of his teacher Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche who was a debate partner of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Balanced Sensitivity

Buddha Nature

Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Dr Elena Antonova

Dr Antonova has obtained a BSc in Psychology in 2000 from the University College London, and then a PhD in 2004 from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London, UK. From the beginning of her academic career she has developed an interest in the prevention, management and treatment of schizophrenia. Her PhD addressed this through the study of the predictors of responsiveness to atypical antipsychotics using structural brain imaging. Subsequently, the work shifted towards the investigation of the predictors of responsiveness to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for psychosis. With the advent of mindfulness-based interventions, Dr Antonova has dedicated herself to the development of the neuroscience of mindfulness, studying the effects of mindfulness expertise on brain structure and function using MRI. She also engages closely with philosophical issues in cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry. Dr Antonova has recently received Templeton Positive Neuroscience Award (http://www.posneuroscience.org/research-awards.html) for a project investigating the effect of mindful attention on sensory information processing in expert mindfulness practitioners using fMRI.

Teachings by Dr Elena Antonova

The Neuroscience of Abhidharma

Gareth Sparham

Gareth is an old friend of Jamyang's. He was a Buddhist Monk for more than 25 years, studying traditional courses in India and spending many years in retreat in the Himalayas.

Teachings by Gareth Sparham

The Boddhisattva's Path

Bodhisattva's final pathof Meditation. Looks into the roles of belief, dedication, transformation and rejoicing.

Geshe Graham Woodhouse

English Buddhist monk Geshe Graham Woodhouse is one of the very few Europeans qualified in the traditional way as a Gelug Geshe. He studied in India for 19 years. His teacher the Venerable Lobsang Gyatso was the founder and first principal of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala.

Teachings by Geshe Graham Woodhouse

Impermance

Impermanence is the first of the Four Seals of Buddhism. Suffering is the second.
Over two weekends (the second in May) Geshe Graham will teach on these first two of the Four Seals. In these two courses we will attempt to understand the suffering state of cyclic existence as clearly as possible in order to develop the strong wish to have done with it.

'Reflecting in this fashion realize well
All worldly deeds are but as winnowed chaff...
So then despair of and renounce the world
All keen to know what binds you to the round.' (Je Tsongkhapa)

In order to enter wholeheartedly on the path to awakening, how do we withdraw not just from anger and greed but from all distraction of worldly desires? We will follow a preliminary translation by Graham Woodhouse of a text on the Four Seals by Gen Lamrimpa Ngawang Puntsog (1922-1997) a lama who never left Tibet but who managed to stay in Drepung till the end of his days.

The four seals are the four distinguishing features of Buddhist philosophy. We will contemplate the first two in particular. The first of the four seals is that all compounded things are impermanent, the second is that all contaminated phenomena are suffering.

Suffering

The four ‘seals’ of Buddhism are what mark Buddhists from non Buddhists. One of those seals is “All contaminated phenomena are Suffering”, another is “All compound phenomena are impermanent”. Join Geshe Graham Woodhouse to explore what these key propositions about our daily lives mean for the way we live our lives and our aims and goals. How can anyone not disenchanted with this world appreciate peace? Cyclic existence, like home, is difficult to leave behind.

Those who set their sights on enlightenment despair of and renounce the world. To do the latter they must experience the truth of the four seals, or fundamental assertions, that distinguish Buddhist thought from other philosophical systems. The first two of the four seals are that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent and that all contaminated phenomena are suffering. To attain those two insights they must overcome the first two of the four misconceptions that keep us wandering in cyclic life. They are viewing the impermanent as permanent and viewing what is suffering as happiness. Over these two weekends we will attempt to do just that. The first weekend will take up various aspects of Buddha's extensive teachings on cause and effect in order to bring subtle impermanence in to focus. The second weekend will trace the link between impermanence and suffering. Is there a distinction to be made between the truth of suffering and suffering? Is understanding impermanence the key to establishing the difference between the suffering of change and pervasive compositional suffering? We shall draw on a text by Gen Lam Rimpa, Ngawang Puntsog (1922-1997), called the 'Lamp Illuminating the Main Points of the Four Seals.'

Introduction to the Ornament for Clear Realizations

As part of Jamyang London's first FPMT Basic Programme, Geshe Graham will teach on the Ornament for Clear Realizations from the vantage point of the fourth chapter over six weekends in the autumn of 2015 and 2016. This year's dates are as follows:...

Geshe Jampa Tegchok

Born in 1930, Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchok became a monk at the age of eight. He studied the major Buddhist treatises at Sera-je Monastic University in Tibet for 14 years before fleeing his homeland in 1959 after the abortive uprising of the Tibetans against the Communist Chinese occupation of their country.

After staying in the refugee camp at Buxa, India, Rinpoche went to Varanasi, where he obtained his Acharya degree and taught for seven years. He then began teaching in the West - three years in England and ten years at Nalanda Monastery in France, and then in the United States. In 1993, His Holiness the Dalai Lama appointed him as abbott of Sera-je Monastic University in India. He has recently retired from that post.

Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchok is the author of 'Transforming Adversity into Joy and Courage: An Explanation of the Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas', and a commentary on Seven-point Mind Training.

Teachings by Geshe Jampa Tegchok

Introduction to Tantra

Geshe Tegchok gives clear advice on when to enter the path of Tantric Buddhism. When are we ready? What are the prerequisites? Should I take the initiation? These questions are all covered.

The Purpose of Meditation

Gehse Tegchog gives a brief introduction to the practice and importance of Buddhist meditation.

Delusions

Lord Buddha taught that the real enemies are not the external ones but the delusions or disturbing attitudes in our own minds. In this teaching Geshe Tegchog outlines the main delusions that arise in our minds and how we can combat them.

Wisdom of Emptiness

In this comprehensive set of teachings Khensur Tegchog examines the unsatisfactory nature of our existence and how to find freedom through the Buddha's teachings on wisdom. In particular he describes the causes and conditions required to develop the wisdom realising emptiness, knowledge that enables us to achieve not only self liberation but also the liberation of full enlightenment, thereby perfectly fullfilling our potential to be of greatest benefit for others.

An excellent translation into English is provided by Venerable Steve Carlier.

12 Interdependent Links

Shamatha Calm Abiding

Sunyata

Eight Verses

Paramitayana practice of method and wisdom: the first seven verses deal with method?loving kindness, bodhicitta?and the eighth deals with wisdom.

The Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Teachings given during the first Dharma Festival in 2007 with Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Jampa Tegchok and Geshe Tashi Tsering. The weeks teachings were held at the Springhead centre in Dorset and were open to all the UK centres and groups, and it is hopefully the start of an annual Dharma Festival in the UK. The translation was provided by Gareth Sparham.

Praise to Dependent Arising

Equalising and Exchanging Self With Others

Karma

Lama Tsongkhapa Biography

Thought Transformation & Mind Training

The mind training teachings are a set of condensed and comprehensive instructions on how to change from being self-centred to truly altruistic and how to replace negativity with positivity in our approach to ourselves and others. First introduced to Tibet by the great Bengali master Atisha, they are probably best known through his ?Seven point mind training?. In the Tibetan tradition the connotation of mind training is the development of Bodhicitta, the determination to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient being. And of the various methods for the development of bodhicitta, mind training emphasizes the practice of transforming suffering into happiness, using the various problems and obstacles we encounter in life as supports for oru spiritual practice and not allowing them to overwhelm us or even slow us down. Our much loved dharma friend Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchok shares his understanding of this powerful practice system with us basing his teachings of the commentary ?Mind Training like the Rays of the Sun?

Three Principle Aspects of the Path

Geshe Soepa

Geshe Thubten Soepa was born in Zanskar, India in 1955. At the age of fourteen he entered the monastery of Dromo Geshe Rinpoche in Kalimpong. At the age of 19 he was sent to Sera Jey monastery in South India. Geshe Soepa was fortunate enough to study under some of the greatest teachers who had fled Tibet in 1959. He counts his Holiness the Dalai Lama as his root guru and took his novice vows before the Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche and his full vows before Kyabje Ling Dorjechang, the 97th head of the Geluk tradition (Tib: Ganden Tri Rinpoche). He also received many teachings and initiations from them, as well as from Ganden Zong Rinpoche. After three years as resident teacher at Dzongkha Chode monastery, Lama Zopa Rinpoche of the FPMT invited Geshe Soepa to be the resident Geshe in our sister Centre of Arya Tara in Munich, where he has taught for nine years.

Teachings by Geshe Soepa

Geshe Tashi Tsering

Geshe Tashi teaches in English and is renowned for the warmth, clarity and humour with which he makes complex subjects accessible to Western Students. Besides Jamyang, he is a regular guest lecturer at other Buddhist centres in the UK and around the world as well as creator and teacher of the Foundation of Buddhist Thought, the two-year FPMT correspondence and campus course on the basics of Tibetan Buddhism.

Links to the FBT online course:

Foundation of Buddhist Thought

Note on the audio recordings:

You can either access the teachings via the Archive.org list below or if you click on the teaching title, this will get you also to the audio recording you with to listen to.

There are two file formats for each sound recording, the mp3 file is suitable for laptops and desktop computers, the ogg flies is suitable for mobile phones and tablets (smaller file size).

Teachings by Geshe Tashi Tsering

Basic Buddhist Practices

Geshe Tashi outlines a simple "package" of practice lasting about forty-five minutes for people who are interested in taking up a regular meditation practice. This series of teachings outlines the calming meditation done at the beginning of any session, refuge, bodhicitta and the seven-limb practice.

Taking Refuge

Our present existence has many positive things but it is not perfect. We often feel that our life has an underlying emptiness or disatisfaction. Is it possible to find a life free from this kind of conditioning? The Buddhist method begins with taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. What does refuge mean? How should we take refuge?

Dealing with Anger

There is no magic trick to rid us of anger. Dealing with anger is something we need to do by ourselves, through internal analysis and meditation and through patience. Only through realising the destructive nature of anger and that its causes always lie in our own minds, will we start to reduce it and lessen its control of our lives.

Peace and Happiness in Life

Geshe Tashi discusses the advantages of a calm and peaceful state of mind and what we can do to cultivate this in everyday life.

The Essence of Tibetan Buddhism

Our states of mind, our habitual thoughts and our emotions play an important role in shaping our experiences of happiness and suffering in everyday life. In reality though, few of us are really doing much in our own pursuit of happiness to deal directly with our destructive thinking patterns and afflictive emotions. This series of teachings looks at the approach taken by Tibetan Buddhism.

Reflections on the Path

Using two of Je Tsongkhapa's abbreviated Lam Rim texts as a guide Geshe Tashi provides a very accessible introduction to the Tibetan Buddhist Path in this set of teachings.

Three Principle Paths

The Three Principal Aspects of the Path written by the great Tibetan Master Lama Tsongkhapa encapsulates the essential aspects of the path to enlightenment as taught by the Buddha.

Great Compassion

All major religions emphasise compassion as something that it is extremely important to develop and Buddhism is no exception. In Buddhism the mind called "Great Compassion" is the centrepiece of all the realisations which we should cultivate within ourselves. Geshe Tashi uses selections from several texts to outline the Buddhist approach to this practice: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara, which begins with a homage to Great Compassion, the opening chapter of Dignaga's Pramanasamuccaya and the second chapter of Dharmakirti's Pramanavartika. Geshe Tashi also discusses the four immeasurables, emphasising in particular the importance of cultivating equanimity as a preliminary to developing Great Compassion.

Relating to a Spiritual Teacher

This is the first teaching that Geshe Tashi has given on the subject of relating to a spiritual teacher. It follows on from teachings Geshe-la had been giving on the Ngondro practices and before teaching on the subject of the six-session guru yoga practice as part of this series, Geshe-la considered it appropriate to begin with an examination of the role of a spiritual teacher in a broad sense. What is the spiritual master? What is his or her role in our spiritual practice? How do we search for a spiritual teacher? How do we make a connection? Once we have made a connection, how should we maintain the relationship in a constructive way?

Preparation for Vajrayana

Geshe Tashi in his practical and accesible way addresses the question of when we should consider entering the Tantric or Vajrayana path of Buddhism. Tantra is sometimes called the fast path to enlightenment but thit does not mean we can bypass the gradual approach to enter this profound vehicle.

The Four Bodies of the Buddha

This topic was chosen to continue teachings on Buddha nature Geshe-la had been giving the previous year. Here the main focus is on the four bodies of the Buddha as taught in Mahayana literature. This is a very important topic to understand, in particular for those whose focus in on the Mahayana path. In the Mahayana teachings there is a strong emphasis on generating the aspiration to attain the state of a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings, but without knowing clearly what Buddhahood is it is difficult to understand how attaining this state can help us to benefit sentient beings. An understanding of the bodies of the Buddha is also essential in many other topics, such as refuge and relating to a spiritual teacher, particularly in Vajrayana practice where the practitioner regards his or her Guru as a Buddha.

Shamatha Meditation

In order to transform our minds we need to train our minds in the practice of concentration so we can deepen our understanding or realisations of the teachings of the Buddha. In this set of teachings Geshe Tashi advises us how to develop the quality of shamatha or calm abiding.

Wheel of Sharp Weapons

The Wheel of Sharp Weapons was composed by Dharmarakshita who was a teacher of Indian great master Atisha. It was through the kindness of Master Atisha that this and other great teachings of the Buddha were spread to Tibet.

This text is part of the mind-training or lojong genre of teachings. Lojong texts deal directly with transforming the negative attitudes that bring harm to ourselves and others into more beneficial ones. In particular they show how to open our hearts to others and reduce the self centred attitudes that bind us down.

Geshe-la makes the text very accesible showing how relevelvant these teachings are in our everyday lives.

The translation of the root text used for this series is available from Dr Alex Berzin's website.

Buddha Nature

In this series of teachings Geshe Tashi draws from a number of Indian Buddhist texts and explores the topic of Buddha Nature. In order to have confidence in the Buddhist path it is vital to understand the potential that we all share which enables us to develop the qualities that lead us to complete awakening. By meditating on this potential or Buddha Nature we can overcome the limited views of ourselves that easily obstruct our path.

Also included in these teachings is an oral transmission given by Geshe Tashi of the Tathagatagarba Sutra, one of the most important mahayana sutras spoken by the Buddha on this profound topic.

Practising the Chenrezig Sadhana

Following Khensur Rinpoche?s Chenrezig empowerment, Geshe Tashi explains the practice of 1000-hand 1000-eye Chenrezig, the symbolic representation of the compassion we wish to develop within ourselves.

Using the simple sadhana from the Pearl of Wisdom book, this is an ideal opportunity to see how most Tibetan sadhanas are structured and to get in-depth explanations on aspects of our basic daily meditations.

Suitable for all who have taken any tantric initiation or who are contemplating doing deity yoga.

Guru Yoga

Guru Yoga is widely practiced in all four Tibetan Buddhist Traditions. In the Gelugpa tradition those people who have taken initiation are advised to so some kind of guru yoga every day connected to the deity with whom you have taken initiation. Highest yoga Tantra initiates are advised to do six-session guru yoga and twice a month Tsog offering.

Along with the teaching Geshe Tashi will explain and demonstrate the mudras (hand gestures), chanting, playing the vajra bell and damaru. (Strictly speaking this practice belongs to highest yoga Tantra, but in the Tibetan tradition this practice is also performed in public).

This class is strongly recommended for people who have taken highest yoga tantra initiations.

Please note that due to a technical fault the recording for week 9 is not available

The Mind of Enlightenment

There are two methods to cultivate the mind of enlightenment in this programme. Geshe Tashi will teach in detail the second method which is called "equalising and exchanging oneself for others" which comes from the great Indian master's famous text.

Prostrations to the 35 Buddhas

Lama Tsong Khapa and many Tibetan Masters have used the 35 Buddhas for making prostrations, and it is highly recommended to use the practice with prostrations for purification.

We will look at the individual Buddhas, colours, hand gestures and the benefits of each Buddha as well as the actual practice of prostrations. Suitable for those who haven?t received any Vajrayana teachings but still want to do the practice, as well as those who have Vajrayana Initiations. This is also helpful for those doing the preliminary practices for the big retreat.

The first mp3 is a recording of Geshe-la reciting the practice.

Mandala Offering

In this class Geshe Tashi will teach on the practice of Mandala Offerings, with demonstrations of mudras, explanation of the mandala offering prayer with its many levels of visualisation and how to use the mandala set. This class is particularly useful for people preparing for the preliminary practices.

Karma - looking at cause and effect

Karma is a fundamental Buddhist concept, and in this very fragile world, this understanding and practice will be very powerful, individually and collectively. Our individual world as well as the world community is constantly evolving, mainly due to our actions. It is very important for the Buddhist practitioner to know the processes of Karma, and how our actions effect not just the individual but also the worldwide community.

The Nature of the Mind

The mind is the source of all our happiness and suffering, according to Buddhism, and so it is vital that we understand it. How does it function? How is it different from the brain? What lies below our surface emotions and thoughts? Geshe Tashi will explain the mind?s importance and unfold the ancient wealth of Buddhist philosophy that shows it is truly possible to understand and transform the mind.

Turning the mind around

We seek happiness all the time and yet rarely find it. This is because we are looking in the wrong places. By turning the mind around to see things in a more realistic way we can be freer, lighter and happier, and mind training or thought transformation practices teach us to do just that. Seemingly simple in concept, yet profound and difficult to actualise, they are revolutionary and desperately needed in a world being destroyed by selfish concern. Geshe Tashi will be using the text The Blade Wheel of Mind Transformation.

Emptiness

Emptiness does not mean things don?t exist?. This series of talks was give at Longku Zopa Gyu Centre in Bern, Switzerland (26-28 Jan 2007). Many commented that there are points in this teaching they had not heard Geshe-la raise before.

Initial Stage of Meditation

Geshe Tashi will share the first of Kamalashilas meditation manuals for beginners. Much admired by all the Tibetan traditions the advice and practical guidance is as fresh today as it was then.

The Foundation of All Good Qualities

Geshe Tashi will show how this simple looking prayer can provide many ways to chage our view of the world and being to change our day-to-day lives to help others and ourselves.

Introduction to Buddhism

Using examples from the first teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, Geshe-la will show clearly how compassion and wisdom are not mere concepts but vital parts of our life that are attainable, and crucial for ourselves and our endangered environment.

Buddhist way of Living and Dying

We will explore the advice and techniques that the Buddhist tradition offers to live a positive life and experience a positive death.

What is Buddhist Meditation?

Root text

Initial Stage of Meditation by Kamalashila

Insight Meditation Retreat

Dependent Arising

Following His Holiness the Dalai Lama's teachings in Nottingham, Geshe Tashi will review the teachings on Je Tsongkhapa's Praise to the Buddha for his Discourses on Dependent Arising, a discourse that explains the union of dependent arising and emptiness

Explanation of the Vajrasattva Practice

Explanation of Tonglen Practice

Tonglen means 'giving and receiving' in Tibetan. In Tonglen visualisation, we receive with a strongly compassionate motivation the suffering and pain of others, and we give them all of our love, joy, well-being and peace. Geshe Tashi explains how, although at first the Tonglen practice appears to be a courageous response to the suffering of others, training in compassion actually benefits us and leads us further along the path to liberation.

What are the Main Teachings of the Buddha? An Introduction to Buddhism

In this introductory weekend course Geshe Tashi explores the main teachings of the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism is a religion which shows us a path to liberate ourselves from suffering and achieve our highest potential, as liberated happy human beings. The term buddha derives from the Sanskrit word bodhi, which means awakened - awakened from suffering. At the very core of Buddhism lies the fact that every single sentient being has the potential to awaken from suffering and become a Buddha. Buddhism has been described as a very pragmatic religion. It does not indulge in metaphysical speculation about first causes. There is no theology, no worship of a deity or deification of the Buddha. Buddhism takes a very straightforward look at our human condition. Nothing is based on wishful thinking. Everything the Buddha taught was based on his own observation of the way things are. Everything he taught can be verified by our own observation of the way things are. The techniques that Buddhist practitioners have developed to train their minds in equanimity, compassion and wisdom can be practiced by people of any faith or none.

An Explanation Of The Uttaratantra Text by Maitreya

Easter 2009 Retreat: The Practice of Shine or Calm Abiding

Shine is a practice that aims to develop stable, clear attention. That is, the ability to rest the mind on a particular object of attention without being distracted or becoming dull - effortlessly, and at will, for any length of time. Shine is a path that leads step by step towards focused and balanced attention with profound levels of stability and clarity, and acts as a doorway to unravelling the possibilities and potentials of human consciousness. ?The One Who Knows Reality has said that, prayers, austerities, and such ?even if practiced for a long time ? are pointless if done with a distracted mind.? (Shantideva)

Finding Inner Peace

Anxious? Angry? Dissatisfied? Feeling overwhelmed by life?s pressures? Learn how to turn your life around and be of help to others by following the simple but effective mind training methods of Tibetan Buddhism as explained by Geshe Tashi, a highly trained teacher who has spent many years in the West and who is well known for his warmth and humour. ?As powerful as these negative emotions are, they lack any material substance. Nevertheless, they can drastically affect our lives and the lives of others. When we look into our own minds and hearts and understand these disturbing emotions better, we will recognise the unrealistic projections and thus will not buy into their story so readily. We will gradually be able to distance ourselves from these painful emotions, without suppressing, repressing, or expressing them. We will replace them with more wholesome and beneficial states of mind, and in this way, tolerance, love and compassion will grow within us? explains Thubten Chodron. Learning techniques for doing this is the purpose of these classes.

Emptiness & Meditation Retreat May 2009

Following the successful Insight Meditation retreats in 2008, Geshe Tashi goes deeper into the subject of emptiness. On this retreat we explore the wisdom that realises emptiness, combined with meditation techniques to develop our understanding. This understanding is the key to eliminating the confusion that causes our suffering and the suffering of others.

The Six Perfections - A Guide For Life

The six perfections offer a beacon of light to guide our lives. They show us a path to a healthier happier life not only for ourselves, but also for others, as will be explained by Geshe Tashi, a highly trained teacher who has spent many years in the West and who is well known for his warmth and humour. How do you stay positive when confronted with human injustice or adverse situations? Can an ordinary person with family, work and various responsibilities achieve inner peace and happiness? Where should the spiritual aim of a busy professional stop? Answering these and a host of other questions, Geshe Tashi will guide you through the Buddhist advice for right living, by putting in practice the six perfections. The six perfections are: generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiastic perseverance, concentration and wisdom. These six perfections are already a part of us, they are in our nature. Sometimes we can't see them in ourselves because they have been clouded over by the delusions of everyday life. As we practise, we have the opportunity to awaken to the existence of these qualities quite naturally. It is our task to develop them as strong aspects of our daily life. Given the violence, tension, and stress of our times, it is crucial that we develop these habits and positive qualities of mind, not only for our own sake but also for the benefit of others. During these classes Geshe Tashi will be looking at each of the six perfections, their meaning, how to follow them, and what should be done in the practice of each one. Geshe Tashi will be giving numerous examples of daily life situations in which these teachings may be applied.

Buddhist Logic

To understand emptiness/ selflessness, the understanding that sets us free from unhappiness, we need to be able to distinguish correct from incorrect logic and to know how to think rationally so as to get at the truth of our situation. During these classes Geshe Tashi will introduce students to the underlying components and characteristics of Buddhist logic, such as the 'three modes' and the 'two relationships'. This precious teaching is recommended for students who are interested in developing intellectual tools to be able to take their comprehension of Buddhist teachings to a deeper level, particularly the understanding of the emptiness of inherent existence of all phenomena. Designed for students already familiar to some extent with the basics of Buddhist thought.

2 Truths Hinayana 2010

Geshe Tashi will explore in more depth the ideas of the so called Hinayana schools of North Indian Buddhism on what really and truly exists and what does not. The meditative insights contained in the propositions of the Vaibasika school and the Sautrantika school on our experiences and how real or undeceptive (true) they are form key steps on the path to freedom through insight. These schools propositions on the role of understanding through direct perception and the role of understanding through conception, despite its veiling mediating quality give important insights into the way we construct miserable situations for ourselves and how we can minimize and break out of those patterns.

Geshe Tashi will look at the Mind Only School's critique of the propositions of the two lower schools on reality and at this school's ideas on what really and truly exists. He will also look at how having a Mind Only view of reality can be used to minimize and eradicate problematic mental states and behaviour. He will look at the Madhyamika School's critique of the propositions on the reality of our experience put forward by all the three previous schools. He will also explore the propositions the Madhyamika put forward about the reality of our lives, the way we experience them, the fundamental mistaken assumptions we habitually make in our daily lives, and how we can minimize and correct them.

What the Buddha Said

A structured learning course in five modules looking at five different sutras from the collection of sutras translated into Tibetan called the Kanjur. Entitled What the Buddha Said the course will run until April 2012.

Udānavarga

The Udānavarga is an early Buddhist collection of topically organized chapters (Sanskrit: varga) of aphoristic verses or "utterances" (Sanskrit: udāna) attributed to the Buddha and his disciples (wikipedia)

Dealing with Lust and Greed

Geshi Tashi teaching on Lust and Greed

Inexhaustible Mind - Akshayamati Nirdesa Sutra

Root text

Akshayamati Nirdesa Sutra by Shantideva

Dealing with Difficult People

Note: the first day of teachings is not available.

Easter Retreat Loving Kindness

Retreat with Geshi Tashi at Jamyang Buddhist centre.

Enjoying Meditation

Introduction to Tantra Guru Yoga

Tara Practice Weekend

Join with Geshe Tashi for a very special weekend focusing on the embodiment of the enlightened activity of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions, the fully enlightened goddess Green Tara. Connect with her divine swift acting energy through meditation, prayer and mantra and awaken the divine potential of engaged compassion in your heart.

Buddhist Science

Over the last few years His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been working up an approach to Tibetan Buddhism which separates out the rich variety of methods and approaches to spiritual transformation into three streams: Buddhist Science; Buddhist Philosophy; and Buddhist Religion. Over these evenings Geshe Tashi will explore through meditation, teachings and discussion, what these mean in terms of our approach to Buddhism and our approach to life and share some of the personally transformative methods to greater compassion and understanding that these three strands offer us.

Mind Training

Mind Training is the name of the special instructions for turning every moment of every day into an opportunity to counteract our own self centred and selfish behaviour. Up until the 13th century the instructions were kept secret and passed only between the teacher and or two students. Now these powerful methods for transforming the mind are available for everybody. Geshe Tashi will base these evenings on a very famous set of mind training instructions known as ‘The Wheel of Sharp Weapons’ which is available in a number of English translations.

The Spiritual Life

Over these three evenings Geshe Tashi returns to one of his enduring and favourite topics, how to live a spiritually meaningful life in C21 London and Europe and how to bring meaning and purpose to our busy lives. In Spiritual Materialism he will touch on the pitfalls of mistaking cultural trappings and consumer goods for the essence of spirituality. In Choose Kindness he will look at why loving kindness is the only truly authentic emotional response to the human condition. In What is Ethics he will look at the need for each of us to base our behaviour on a set of principled beneficial responses to the challenges that life throws at us and to engage with others on that basis.

Vajrasattva Practice Weekend

This weekend experience the sense of release and purity that comes from truly purifying the polluting effects of past negative actions from our body, speech and mind. Join with Geshe Tashi in a weekend of practice devoted to meditation on the embodiment of the purifying power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Geshe Tashi will offer the opportunity to take the set of 24 hour precepts known as the Eight Mahayana Precepts on both days. Food cooked according to kriya tantra dietary restrictions will be available from the Courtyard Garden Cafe company.

Shamata

Meditate with Geshe Tashi and hear his explanation of the main points of Shamata meditation, the central pillar of meditation techniques in Buddhist Practice. The Practice of Shamata delivers a flexible, clear mind, able to pay proper attention for sustained periods of time un-distracted by sense impressions and unnecessary conceptuality.

Warrior Dharma

Over these five evenings Geshe Tashi will explore - through a mixture of meditation, teaching and discussion - five qualities traditionally viewed in European history as the qualities to be found in heroic warriors. These are: courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity and loyalty. From the Amazon warriors and classical heroes of ancient Greece right the way through to modern times such qualities have inspired many men and women as principles to live their lives. In June when His Holiness the Dalai Lama came he spoke to the Gurkha regiments, with their strong honour codes, at a meeting in Aldershot. Geshe Tashi will look at whether there are parallels to these qualities in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition and how relevant these traditional martial qualities are for modern times. Do come along and share your experience and ideas with Geshe Tashi and your fellow students.

Buddha Nature

The Mahayana Buddhist tradition is insistent that within each being exists the potential for limitless beneficial development culminating in full enlightenment. This is our ‘Buddha nature’ our inalienable birthright. But what exactly is that potential and how do we get an experiential feel for it in our meditation and our daily life?

True Kinship of Faiths

In a region of the world where religion no longer holds life or death political sway over citizens and which has been experiencing an influx of people of different faiths for a while now, how can we learn to live together in religious harmony and develop the ability to ‘agree to disagree’ in a civilised way. Can Buddhists find common ground with believers in one true God ?Do all Spiritual systems have a common core ? Are they all essentially the same. Should they or will they gradually merge into as new world religion.

Mind Only

Buddha is well known for saying in the Descent to Lanka Sutra that the ‘World is Mind only’ and that became one of the distinguishing marks of the Mind Only (Skt: Cittamatra) Indian Buddhist Philosphical school. Join with Geshe Tashi to explore just what he meant by that phrase, and to explore other key insights of the ‘Mind Only’ school. Geshela will base his teachings on the Cittamatra section of Tsongkhapa’s Dran Ngey which has been translated into English twice, once by Robert Thurman as “The Central Philosphy of Tibet” and once by Jeffery Hopkins.

Self Evident Middle Way

The Middle Way school of classical Indian Buddhist practice has two main streams, those who believe that the reality of our experience is just about the way we label the experiential flow (Skt: Prasangika Mahyamika) and those who believe that there something in the experiential flow that in some sense corresponds to the labels we use (Skt: Svatantrika Madhyamika). Lost already ? Then join Geshe Tashi to tease out the very subtle teachings in the about the way things exist put forward by the “Self Evident Middle Way” Svatantrika Madhyamaika masters. He will base on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Drang Nge which has been translated by Robert Thurman as “The Central Philosphy of Tibet”.
Why on earth does all this matter? Because only wisdom sets us free from the lunacy of unenlightenment. Being nice is not enough. And, if we allow it to, the wisdom we gain from study, contemplatioin and meditation can directly sort out the pickles we get into in our daily lives.

Secular Ethics

Despite the historic power of religion, in modern day Britain many people do not strongly follow any one particular religion, others stay well away from organised religion, and others follow no religion at all.
Is it possible to have secular ethics?
Does Richard Holloway, the author of “Godless Morality: keeping religion out of ethics” have a point ?
Does Owen Flanagan, the author of “The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World” find a strong enough base for ethics without calling on supernatural systems ?
Is it possible for religious and non religious people to live by a common set of shared mutually agreed common human values or must they eternally be condemned to miscommunication and mistrust.
Explore with Geshe Tashi one of his key and abiding interests: how all people can live ethically in the modern world and the rationales to support that.

Consequence Middle Way

The Consequence Middle Way School, proponents of no self essence, are considered by the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism to be the Buddhist tradition with the most subtle and most realistic presentation of the reality of our lives and the things we need to do to grow spiritually
Geshe Tashi will explore some of the key ideas of this very influential Buddhist school and their relevance to our everyday lives basing himself on Lama Tsonkhapa’s Drang Nge text which has been translated by Robert Thurman as “The Central Philosphy of Tibet”.

Easter Retreat 2013 on Compassion

Join Geshe Tashi for his annual retreat on compassion and loving kindness as we move through the Easter holiday season. Take time out to strengthen and develop your kindness and concern for others, while acknowledging and addressing your own emotional needs. Everyone needs more love and compassion in their lives. Treat yourself this Easter to Spa Therapy for the mind and join us either for the whole 2.5 days or just for a day.

Buddhist Practice

As Buddhists we talk about practice, my practice, my practices. But in doing all these things are we making the best of the opportunities offered us or do we slip into Spiritual materialism on occasion, into hedonism on another, into self centred behaviour on another. What on earth is ‘Buddhist practice’ in any case?. It seems so different across cultures and times.
Join Geshe Tashi to explore Buddhist practice and to keep in mind its essentials which can sometimes get lost in the maelstrom of our busy lives

Nagarjuna’s Wisdom

Nagarjuna was the founder of the ‘Middle Way’ school of Buddhist practice. His influential writings were the first to explore what it means to say that everything we experience is empty of unchanging fixed self essences and what that radical dynamism means for the way we live in the world. Geshe Tashi will take three key chapters in Nagarjuna’s famous text ‘Fundamental Wisdom’’ and explore what the radical teaching of emptiness means for the way we understand ourselves and how we work in the world. These three chapters have been commented on a number of times by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Geshe la will also be drawing on those teachings. A rare chance to think about these seminal ideas with a skilful teacher.

Enlightening Ways

The Graded ‘Path to Enlightenment’ teachings address the key emotions and understandings that we need to develop to ensure that we move towards enlightenment. Skillfully taught to the Tibetans by the Bengali Pandit Lama Atisha in the 11th century CE these practices are treasured in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Join Geshe Tashi for an exploration of the ‘heart side’ of practice, the balancing wing of the wisdom teachings on Tuesday. Explore the value of taking refuge, the unique opportunity we have right here and now, what karma is and how we can set ourselves on the right path. Break free from the necromancer’s spell binding us to misery. Learn about universal responsibility and altruism, unbiased unbounded love and compassion and experience their key roles in transforming our everyday lives into something altogether more fulfilling for all.

Calm Abiding

Take two days out to learn about and polish up your Calm Abiding meditation practice. Calm Abiding (Shamata) is the central meditation practice bringing stability, focus and clarity to all our mediations and bringing a spill over of those qualities into our everyday life.
Please note that we are deliberately starting the days later in response to requests from people who say that they are unable to reach the Centre by 8 or 9am. So if you are one of those who has been unable to attend practice weekends before because they start too early please take advantage of this and the Tara practice weekends offered in this Spring Programme.
Please note that Jamyang cannot provide dormitory accommodation over this weekend. We recommend the Safestay hostel on the Walworth Road.

Green Tara Practice Weekend

The practice of the Fully Enlightened Emerald Green Goddess Tara brings freedom from the eight great fears and the sixteen terrors and brings us closer to enlightenment. The practice of the goddess is a particular favorite of Geshe Tashi’s. Do join with him for two days of getting in touch with the subtle energies of the Goddess and dedicating your mediations to the full freedom from suffering of all beings.

Summer Retreat

Over the nine days of the retreat Geshe Tashi will lead students through the meditations of the Gradual Path to Enlightenment cycle of meditations. These meditations are designed to produce a series of emotional responses that stimulate us to seek full enlightenment for the sake of helping all beings be free of suffering and introduce the mediations that bring full enlightenment about.

FBT: Emptiness

The Foundation of Buddhist Thought is a two-year course which most students study by correspondence. Its special quality is that Geshe Tashi draws upon the depth of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to show how Buddhism can make a real difference to the way we live our lives today.

Kindess

Join Geshe Tashi for a Sunday morning focused on the beautiful quality of kindness. Much talked about but far less practiced.
Does kindness mean being nice? Does it mean letting others walk all over you? Does it mean caring deeply? Explore the benevolent emotion of kindness with a fine and skilled master.

Buddha Nature

Geshe Tashi will explore in some depth the influence of the Three Jewels in bringing about transformational change the most subtle level of our being and the innate potential that enables us to become Fully enlightened Buddhas. Using evocative imagery and finely worked examples this text brings us to a firm conviction that each one of us can become fully enlightened and that it is not just a ‘nice thought’ or ‘universal panacea’. The commentarial tradition also clearly shows us how that is possible in a very practical ‘step by step’ way.

Jewel Lineage

This verse text is more well known for its central teaching on the Buddha potential or Buddha nature in all of us, but it begins with a presentation of the goal we are trying to achieve – to become a Buddha with Dharma on our mind stream and communicating it to communities of spiritual seekers. The poetic description of the Three Jewels of Refuge found in the Jewel Lineage Sublime Continuum text is fairly short, highly evocative and ideal for contemplation and meditation.

Refined Gold

The Graded Path (Lam Rim) meditation system is justly famous for its systematic presentation of the mediations and contemplations necessary to produce the kind of motivation and understanding that will set us on the path to Full Complete Enlightenment. The meditations engage both heart and mind - starting from a recognition of our potential and the opportunity we have right now, through to developing the wish to free oneself and all others from negative mental activity and its results, developing universal responsibility, mental strength and resilience and compassion with wisdom.

Shamata Morning

Join Geshe Tashi to learn about, practice and deepen your abilities with this key meditative skill, which can be applied to sutra style Buddhist meditation and to Tantra style meditation to bring greater stability, clarity and brightness to the meditating mind.

Middle Length Lamrim

Geshe Tashi’s major teaching over the next couple of years is an explanatory transmission (shay tri ) of The Middle Length Graded Path Meditation manual by Je Rinpoche Tsongkhapa. This was the text Je Rinpoche authored at the end of his illustrious teaching career and is specifically for meditators. This Spring Programme Geshe Tashi will focus on the Foundational meditations of the initial scope, highlighting how necessary they are for all Buddhists and for all practice if we really want to start putting an end to the nonsense of unenlightened living.

Superior Insight: Emptiness

The Superior Insight section Lama Tsongkhapa’s middle length Graded path to Enlightenment text is rightly considered as the most subtle and refined presentation of his view of emptiness in the Prasangika Madhyamaka system and what that means for practice. Correct experiential understanding of emptiness is what frees us and others from samsara, the repetitive cycle of being unenlightened.

Geshe Tashi will look at one or two aspects of Tsongkhapa’s presentation. This weekend will be most suitable for those who have some previous familiarity with the Buddhist teaching of emptiness and Tsongkhapa’s particular reading of that and/or who have studied Geshe Tashi’s two books onthe Two Truths and Emptiness.

Easter Retreat 2015

Compassion, the heartfelt wish to take way the suffering of others and oneself, is the bedrock of spiritual transformation alongside its sister benevolence/ love/ loving kindness, the heartfelt wish to give happiness and wellbeing to those who are suffering.

The Enlightenment Potential

For students with a broad familiarity with Tibetan Buddhism and who wish to look deeper into the concept of the Buddha potential said to exist in all beings. Join Geshe Tashi for a measured exploration of the concept of the ‘element’ in all of us that enables us to break away from the whirly gig of repetitive unenlightened unhelpful behaviour and wake up from the necromancer’s spell of the bonfire of the vanities that binds us in samsara, the unenlightened vortex of problematic experience we seem so addicted to. Geshe la will base his explanation on a reading of the fourth of the seven impenetrable points in the Indian Buddhist text ‘Jewel Lineage’ by Maitreyanatha and the the Indian Pandit Asanga.

Buddhist Practice Step by Step

For those new to and those who are complete beginners in Buddhism and Buddhist practice. Also useful for those who need to refresh their memory about the key practices in Buddhism and what they are there for.
Join Geshe Tashi for a practical, no nonsense presentation of the essentials of Buddhist practice for beginners.
Geshe Tashi has spent many years presenting Buddhism in London and elsewhere in Europe and the Americas. He has a pretty good idea of what makes students tick and where misunderstandings can come in to the transmission of the Buddha Dharma from Tibetan Buddhism to 21st century multi cultural folk in the metropolis.

Summer Retreat 2015

Join Geshe Tashi on his annual Gradual Path to Enlightenment city retreat. The gradual Path to Enlightenment Cycle of meditations are designed to evoke strong mental responses of wishing ourselves and all other beings to be utterly freed from the problems associated with being unenlightened.  

To do that the meditations are designed to inspire in us a yearning to fully develop and strengthen our innate  mental capacities of love, compassion, sympathetic joy, altruism, emotional and cognitive stability and wisdom to be truly useful when we interact with others.

Compassion and Wisdom Oct 2015

Compassion without wisdom can be misdirected and mawkish - Wisdom without compassion can be dry and sharp. Our mind and heart need to be in balance for us to thrive and help others.
Enjoy a day in the company of Geshe Tashi exploring these two complementary aspects of our basic humanity.  

Altruistic Heart Nov 2015

Altruism, that heart felt concern for others and interest in their welfare, is the unsung unseen oil that lubricates our daily lives.

If that sounds odd just step back and consider what your day would be like if everyone you met was utterly self centred and selfish - most probably it would be a complete nightmare. We all have altruism within us. It not something ‘out there’ that we have to buy or bring in. We just need to see it and nurture it, and watch small altruistic acorns sprout into mighty oaks of altruism. Altruism is highly praised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Essence of Eloquence 2016, 2017

Geshe Tashi will start to unpack the teachings of the founder of the Geluk tradition Je Rinpoche Lama Tsongkhapa on the Middle Way as found in his larger “Essence of Eloquence” text.

The text is available in English, in a translation by Professor Robert Thurman called “Tsongkhapa’s Speech of Gold in the Essence of True Eloquence” or “The Central Philosophy of Tibet”.

Easter Compassion Retreat 2016

Geshe Tashi explains how focus on this most beautiful of the human emotions, that heartfelt wish to take away unhappiness, suffering and pain from oneself and others. Everyone needs compassion. Everyone needs a lot more of it. If everyone acted compassionately most of the problems in the world would cease. Change the world through changing yourself. Soak your mind in the clarifying heart opening energy of compassion.

Buddhist Truths

Join Geshe Tashi as he shares his thoughts on the essentials of what the Buddha taught, the relevance of his teachings 2,400 years ago to our busy 21st century well wired metropolitan lives, and what Buddhism can offer us in terms of mental and spiritual development, stability, happiness and resilience.

Summer Retreat 2016

Join Geshe Tashi for his popular annual summer retreat taking students through the life changing meditations of the Graded Path to Enlightenment.

Love, Kindness, Generosity

Join Geshe Tashi explore these ordinary emotions and attitudes to see how when we get them right, how they help us to develop the big stuff, the broader attitudes, the vast minds.

First Steps in Buddhism

So you have ‘become a Buddhist’ and decided that Buddhism will be your path for this life? How do you ‘practice’ Buddhism - both on the meditation cushion and in your daily life?

Join Geshe Tashi for a Gentle exploration of the fundamental practices of Buddhism, practices to transform your life.

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Geshe Tenzin Namdak

Venerable Geshe Tenzin Namdak first worked as an environmental researcher having graduated in hydrology.
He started studying Buddhism at Maitreya Institute in The Netherlands in 1993 and took ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama before engaging in his formal studies in Buddhist philosophy and psychology at Sera Jey Monastic University, South India, in 1997. 
He completed the entire twenty-year Geshe program at Sera Jey in 2017 and the traditional one-year Vajrayana study program at Gyume Tantric College in January 2019, the first Westerner to do so.

Geshe Namdak was a founding teacher of Sera Jey’s Translators Program and member of Sera Jey’s Education Department for six years, was one of the founding trustees and teachers of CKSL, a (FPMT) centre that teaches the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism, Bangalore, and the first director of Shedrup Sungdrel Ling, a house for western monks studying at Sera Jey, for fifteen years.

He has received a great number of teachings from His Holiness and many other highly respected teachers and lineage masters, has done many retreats and is an experienced teacher in practical and philosophical aspects of Buddhism that he teaches with great clarity and a good sense of humour.
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Teachings by Geshe Tenzin Namdak

Link to audio recordings

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Geshe Thubten Sherab

I was born in 1967 in a very small village of about two hundred people in the province of Manang, which is in the western part of Nepal. Because my parents had five sons, they wanted at least one or two of them to join the monastery; it is an honor and a way of accumulating merit for the family. My parents had a disagreement about who should join the monastery, me or my younger brother, and finally they decided on my younger brother. They brought him to Kopan Monastery, but Lama Yeshe rejected him, saying that he was too young, although Lama had accepted others of the same age. I guess he didn’t have the karma in this life to be a monk. Then my parents brought me to Lama Yeshe and Lama accepted. So I had the karma.

At that time I wasn’t against becoming a monk, but at the same time it wasn’t my own decision. It was more or less like going to school. When I was around 18, as any normal teenager I struggled a lot, not knowing whether it was best for me to continue or to disrobe. But then, just before I went to Sera, I made the strong decision that being a monk continuously was how I was going to spend my life. Maybe that was when I became fully-ordained in my own mind. It was at that time that I was walking with one of my teachers, the late Geshe Jampa, from Kathmandu to Kopan. He mentioned that the Manang people are all extremely devoted, but they seem to lack an understanding of the Dharma. He told me that it would be good if I could help them understand more, so this had the biggest impact on me and made me want to go to Sera and study in depth…

Foundations of all good Qualities

While staying with us Geshe Sherab la will teach on Lama Tsongkhapa's short seminal poem known as 'The Foundation of All Good Qualities'. This text covers all the meditation topics and cognitive and emotional mental states we need to develop to move on the path to full enlightenment, including the very subtle and highly refined meditations of the tantra
path. It is rightly praised as a masterful summary of what we need to do and where we need to get and in what order to taste freedom from the samsaric unenlightened state a for ourselves and to bring others out of samsara too.

Geshe Wangmo

Geshe la is the first European (German) woman to graduate as Geshe going through the curriculum at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. This was quite a significant event – to put it mildly. She is also an excellent teacher in English and is part of the teaching team offering classes at the Buddhist School of Dialectics.

Is the Buddha reliable?

Geshe la gave a teaching entitled 'Is the Buddha Reliable ?' This will be based on the relevant parts of her own translation of the Valid Authority chapter of Dharmakirti's 'Commentary on Pramana (Valid Authority)'.

Glenn Mullin

Glenn H. Mullin is a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator of classical Tibetan literature, and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation. He divides his time between writing, teaching, meditating, and leading tour groups to the power places of Nepal and Tibet. Glenn lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga under thirty-five of the greatest living masters of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

His two principal tantric gurus were the late great masters Kyabje Ling Dorjechang and Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang, who were best known as Yongdzin Che Chung, the two main gurus of the present Dalai Lama. As well as leading tour groups to the Buddhist power places of Nepal and Tibet, Glenn acts as consultant and advisor to independent groups wanting to travel safely and meaningfully through these sacred sites.

Official website

Teachings by Glenn Mullin

The Twelve Deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha

Glenn Mullin discusses the various levels of meaning of the mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha: "Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Ye Soha".
He then proceeds to outline the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Earlier Dalai Lamas

Glenn Mullin breifly outlines the biographies of the early Dalai Lamas.

The Later Dalai Lamas

Glenn Mullin breifly outlines the biographies of the later Dalai Lamas.

 

Glen Svensson

Glen (originally from Queensland, Australia) has been a student and practitioner of Buddhism since 1995 and graduated from the seven-year Masters Program in Advanced Buddhist Studies of Sutra and Tantra at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Italy in 2004.

Since 2005, with a teaching style emphasizing clarity, he has taught extensively in Australia, Europe and also India where he frequently leads both introductory and intermediate level courses in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and meditation at Tushita Meditation Centre in the town of McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala), home-in-exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Teachings on Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra is one of the most famous Mahayana sutras, widely used by practitioners in Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese and Far Eastern Buddhism. It is a summary of the Buddha’s teachings on emptiness, the understanding of which sets us free from the pain and disappointment of unenlightened existence.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been increasingly emphasizing that we need to develop both loving kindness and the wisdom that will set us free.


Teaching on Tenets

Buddhist Tenets texts are introductory texts for the Study of Buddhist teachings on the nature of experience and on the nature of the mind. They act as a useful door into the vast and complex world of Buddhist presentations of the reality of our world of experience, technically how we move from being unenlightened to becoming fully Enlightened, and of the experience of Buddhahood and Complete Freedom.

Their study is not easy but it is very enriching, giving useful insights into our own practice and the problems that can arise when we don’t really understand the process of moving along the Buddhist path and end up putting effort in the wrong places.

His Holiness Rizong Rinpoche

His Holiness Rizong Rinpoche is one of the most highly respected lamas alive today. Born in Ladakh, as an infant he was recognized and enthroned as the reincarnation of the Rizong Tulku and since that time has dedicated his life to the study and practice of Dharma. He joined Drepung Loseling Monastery in the mid-1940s.

He is regarded by many as a modern-day Milarepa, having lived a life of simplicity and meditation since his youth. Recently he completed a strict three year retreat in a remote cave of Ladakh so inaccessible that it was snowed in for six months a year. In the past he has served as abbot of firstly the Gyume Tantric College and then Drepung Loseling Monastery. At present he holds the post of Jangtse Choje Rinpoche, one of the three highest seats in the Gelugpa School.

Teachings by His Holiness Rizong Rinpoche

The Eight Verses of Thought Transformation

Rizong Rinpoche gives a short commentary on Geshe Langri Tangpa's root text "Eight Verses of Mind Training".
"Lojong" or "thought transformation" essentially means a practice of turning one's thinking from one of habitual self-concern to a recognition of the reality of suffering for oneself and others and the resolve to liberate oneself and others from suffering and the causes of suffering.
In part one Rinpoche covers the first verse explaining the importance of cherishing others. The second part summarises the remaining stanzas.

Wheel of Sharp Weapons

In this mind training text by Master Dharmarakshita the inner causes for our problems are clearly identified. It is our self centred attitudes and misperception of things and events that lead us to respond in harmful ways to the problems we face. This teaching helps us transform those attitudes so we can see things more realistically and thereby respond in a more positive manner.

Teachings on Great Compassion and Wisdom

Teachings on great compassion and wisdom

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.

Links:

Official Website of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Visit to Jamyang

A talk given by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama at Jamyang Buddhist Centre in 1999, where he blessed and inaugurated the new shrine.

His Holiness the Sakya Trizin

His Holiness, Sakya Trizin, is the one of the world's preeminent masters of Tibetan Buddhism, and is the supreme head of the Khon Sakya lineage. Born in Tibet in 1945, His Holiness ascended to the throne of Sakya at the young age of seven, when he was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Trained since early age of the various teachings of sutra and tantra, His Holiness is widely regarded as an emanation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom. Presently residing in Mussoorie, Northern India, His Holiness travels frequently around the world and is tireless in bestowing initiations and teachings to a growing group of dedicated disciples.

His Holiness the Sakya Trizin has established important centers of learning and monastic practice in India and Nepal where the highly developed Sakya traditions of scholarship, philosophy, and practice continue in exile. Among these are the Sakya Institute, the Sakya College, and the Dzongsar Institute.

Teachings by His Holiness the Sakya Trizin

Meditation in the City

A teaching by His Holiness Sakya Trizin.

Dr. Jan Willis