Lecturer: Venerable Khenpo Jampa Tenphel
Translator: Thubten Jampa
Sunday, July 15th
Time: 1:30- 3:30 pm
Location: Shrine Room
Suggested contribution: $25 Public, $20 Members
The term Bardo is a compound word, made up of the two Tibetan words “bar” and “do”. Bar means “in between” and Do means “suspended,” or “thrown.” Together, they have the meaning “transition,” as in a transition between two states. The period between our apparent birth and death is a Bardo, the natural Bardo of this life. The period in between the apparent cessation of our breath in this body and rebirth in new body is also a Bardo, the painful Bardo of dying. There are Six Bardo states in all. The Bardo of our apparent death can be an extremely disorienting and uncomfortable, even painful, experience. The negative feelings that we manifest in this Bardo state, due to lingering attachments, are responsible for all lower rebirths. Ven. Khenpo Jampa Rinpoche will explain to us the Six Bardos, and teach us daily practices connected with each, along with detailed instructions to prepare for the painful Bardo of dying, in order to maximize the chances of a positive rebirth.
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.
Thupten Jampa has been a long time friend and translator at Sakya Monastery. He was a professor of Buddhist philosophy at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India. He is an active member of the Tibetan Association of Washington.