Sunday, August 12th
Time: 1:30-3:30pm
Location: Shrine Room
Suggested contribution: $25 Public, $20 Members
The Five Paths of the Mahayana elegantly summarize the entirety of the Mahayana path, from refuge to Buddhahood. The first path, the Path of Accumulation, sambhāramārga, marks the beginning of countless aeons of cultivation. It consists of generating positive merit and aspiring to the realization of ultimate bodhicitta. The second, the Path of Action, prayogamārga, is the link between the aspiration to and the realization of non-conceptual wisdom. It could also be called the “Path of Practice.” The third, the Path of Seeing, darśanamārga, marks the establishment of the correct view. To attain the third path is to see the true nature of the mind; this is the equivalent of attaining the first Bhumi. The fourth path, the Path of Meditation, bhāvanāmārga, consists of meditating on and perfecting the authentic view, along with the rest of the Eightfold Path. This is also the stage of the attainment of the 2nd through 10th Bhumis. The fifth stage, the Path of No-More-Learning, aśaiksamārga, is synonymous with full Buddhahood: this is the stage at which there is nothing left to learn or practice. Ven. Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche will explain each of the Five Paths, and then lead us in meditation on each of them.
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 Abbot 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.