BY SAKYA PANDITA
Instructor: Venerable Khenpo Jampa
Sundays, May 1st and July 24th at 1:30
Location: Shrine Room
Cost per class: $25 Public, $20 Members
Venerable Khenpo Jampa will give two talks this summer as part of his ongoing series based on this important text that describes the ten stages of the Bodhisattva path up to perfect enlightenment. This course is meant to be taken after the introductory Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism seminar. The classes in this course are designed to build on each other, so attendance at all classes in the series is recommended.
May 1: Buddhist and Non-Buddhist (Class 5)
According to Buddhism, how do we define being a Buddhist or Non-Buddhist? In Christianity, one becomes a Christian after being baptized. How does a person become a Buddhist? Khenpo Jampa will explain this, and the three different Buddhist Schools.
July 24: Emptiness (Class 6)
Emptiness is a profound teaching based on the Madhyamika School of Thought (The Middle Way). The view of emptiness explains that there is a contradiction between what one perceives and the reality of existence. According to this school, one cannot release one’s self from the bondage of ignorance and other afflictive emotions until one understands and realizes the inherent emptiness of phenomena.
Venerable Khenpo Jampa Tenphel comes to us from Dzongsar Institute in India, where he was the library director as well as a tutor for many years. He received a Degree of Acharya (equivalent to an M.A.) in Buddhist Philosophy in 2002 and was ordained as an Abbott in 2004. He has received many teachings and initiations from all four sects of Tibetan Buddhism (Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma). Many of those teachings and initiations were from H.H. the Dalai Lama and H.H. Sakya Trizin. He has also received the Lamdre teaching from H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche. His root lamas are H.H. Sakya Trizin, H.H. Luding Khen Rinpoche, and H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche. At Sakya Monastery, Khenpo Jampa teaches intermediate and advanced level curriculum on Buddhist philosophy and also serves as the librarian for the growing collection of Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.