His Holiness the Dalai Lama explaining Manjushri Permission he will give on the final session of his teachings at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 23, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

February 23, 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – This morning, for the final session of this series of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings, the weather cleared up. The sky was blue and the sun shone brightly over the snow-clad mountains as His Holiness walked to the Tsuglagkhang. The mixed crowd in the yard and around the temple welcomed him with warm smiles and folded hands. After taking his seat on the throne, His Holiness explained that he had to spend a little time on preparations for the Manjushri permission he was going to give. Meanwhile, he asked everyone present to recite Manjushri’s mantra—Om arapatsana dhi. When he was ready and began to read the ritual for bestowing the permission, he explained that there is a common option to offer a ritual cake to drive away interfering forces. However, he has decided that seeking to drive such beings away is inconsistent with his avowed wish to help all sentient beings.

“This Manjushri practice belongs to action tantra and the lower tantras are preliminary to the Highest Yoga Tantra that exemplifies what is special and profound about tantra. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama arriving at the Main Tibetan Temple on the final day of his teachings on Bhavaviveka’s “Essence of the Middle Way” in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 22, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

February 22, 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – After rain through the night, the bad weather let up and the sky brightened this morning as His Holiness the Dalai Lama walked to the Tsuglagkhang, returning people’s smiles and greetings as he went. From the throne he recited the final verse from Nagarjuna’s ‘Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way’:

I prostrate to Gautama
Who, through compassion,
Taught the exalted Dharma,
Which leads to the relinquishing of all views.

“We’ve completed Chapter Five and today we’ll finish this reading of ‘Essence of the Middle Way’”, His Holiness announced at the beginning. “Towards the end of his ‘Entering into the Middle Way’ Chandrakirti describes how the Buddha, having studied, reflected and meditated on emptiness, trod the path to enlightenment. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the crowd at the start of his second day of teachings at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 21, 2019. Photo by Pasang Tsering

February 21, 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – The weather was dark, cold and stormy this morning when His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to the Tsuglagkhang. He greeted the Lamas sitting around the throne and took his seat. Introductory prayers were quickly over and His Holiness addressed the crowd. “There is a note in the colophon to this book in which Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk wrote that His Holiness the Dalai Lama had requested the transmission of a text in the Tengyur, Bhavya’s ‘Essence of the Middle Way’. He suggested that with annotations of the text based on the ‘Blaze of Reasoning’ a transmission could be created. His Holiness asked that this be done to help the Dharma—do your best, he said. So it was that at the age of 83, during a visit to Taiwan, Khenpo Kunga Wangchuk worked on these annotations while receiving treatment for a broken leg.

“In his 400 Verses, Aryadeva states that emptiness should be explained on the basis of the Two Truths to those who have doubts about the slightly hidden teachings of the Buddha. This is about the disparity between appearance and reality. Read the rest of this entry »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama legge l'”Essenza della Via di Mezzo” di Bhavaviveka, il primo giorno dei suoi insegnamenti presso il Tempio Tibetano Principale di Dharamsala, India il 20 febbraio 2019. Foto di Tenzin Choejor

20 febbraio 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, India – Nonostante il freddo pungente e il cielo coperto, questa mattina oltre settemila persone si sono riunite nel Tsuglagkhang, il tempio tibetano principale, e nel cortile antistante per il primo giorno di insegnamenti di Sua Santità il Dalai Lama. Più di duemila monaci e monache, molti dei quali provenienti dal sud dell’India, tibetani residenti in questa regione e un migliaio di praticanti provenienti da cinquantaquattro diversi Paesi. Sua Santità il Dalai Lama è arrivato poco prima di quanto annunciato e ha iniziato immediatamente a dare insegnamenti.

“Oggi affronteremo il commentario sulla “Essenza della Via di Mezzo”. Come scrive Je Tsongkhapa all’inizio della sua “Grande Esposizione del Tantra”: dovremmo essere in grado di dimostrare gli insegnamenti del Buddha sulla base della ragione, per non lasciarci sviare dagli avversari. Io stesso ho fatto una considerazione simile alla fine della “Lode ai 17 Maestri del Nalanda”: è estremamente importante che quelli di noi che seguono il Buddha abbiano una fede fondata sulla conoscenza del suo insegnamento. Pertanto, dovremmo esaminarne le argomentazioni con una mente imparziale e curiosa, analizzandole attentamente. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama greeting members of the crowd in the Main Tibetan Temple courtyard on the first day of his teaching on Bhavaviveka’s “Essence of the Middle Way” in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 20, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

February 20, 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – In persistently cold conditions, under overcast skies, this morning approximately 7000 people gathered in and around the Tsuglagkhang, the main Tibetan Temple, and in the yard below. They included more than 2000 monks and nuns, many of them from the Seats of Learning in South India, local Tibetans and about 800 people from 54 other countries. His Holiness the Dalai Lama arrived a little earlier than announced and lost no time in beginning the teaching. “Today, we are going to go through an annotated commentary on the ‘Essence of the Middle Way’. As Je Tsongkhapa writes at the beginning of his ‘Great Exposition of Tantra’, “We should be able to prove the teachings of the Buddha on the basis of reason so as not to be led astray by opponents.” I made a similar point at the end of the ‘Praise to the 17 Masters of Nalanda’: “It is extremely important that those of us who follow the Buddha should have faith based on knowledge of his teaching. Therefore, we should examine the reasons for it with an unbiased and inquisitive mind, analysing it closely.” In India there were many competing schools of thought. Bhavaviveka (500-78 CE) addresses their points of view, which makes this book particularly valuable. Read the rest of this entry »

Members of the crowd sitting in the courtyard of the Main Tibetan Temple watching His Holiness the Dalai Lama on big screens during his teaching in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 19, 2019.

February 19, 2019, Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – The skies were clearing this morning after continuous overnight rain had left the ground wet underfoot and deposited fresh snow on the mountains and hills behind Dharamsala. A sharp fresh breeze blew as His Holiness the Dalai Lama was escorted by yellow hatted monks playing horns, swinging censers and bearing a ceremonial yellow umbrella from his residence to the Tsuglagkhang. The yard and areas around the temple were packed with people and His Holiness returned their greetings as he walked through. Seated inside the temple were monks as well as retired and serving members of the Central Tibetan Administration.

His Holiness took his seat on the throne and the burly chantmaster declaimed the Heart Sutra and the long prayer to the Lam Rim lineage lamas, including the Kadampa masters, in deeply resonant tones. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking to 75 members of the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation at his residence in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 18, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

February 18, 2019, Theckchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – A delegation of 75 young women from the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO), Delhi, called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama this morning. YFLO is a platform for young women from diverse professional and entrepreneurial backgrounds to interact with each other. Its primary objectives are to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women, to act as a catalyst for the social and economic advancement of women and society at large and to make women aware of their strengths.

When His Holiness entered the room he greeted the group with a bright, “Good morning”, before asking them to sit down. A representative offered him a gift and the FLO annual report entitled ‘Women Transforming India’. Read the rest of this entry »

Sua Santità il Dalai Lama posa per una foto di gruppo con le donne della Young FICCI Ladies Organisation presso la sua residenza a Dharamsala, India, il 18 febbraio 2019. Foto di Tenzin Choejor

18 febbraio 2019, Theckchen Chöling, Dharamsala, India – Una delegazione di 75 giovani donne della Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO), di Delhi, questa mattina è stata ricevuta per una udienza da Sua Santità il Dalai Lama. La YFLO è un network di giovani donne, provenienti da diversi background professionali e imprenditoriali, nato con l’obiettivo di promuovere l’imprenditorialità e l’eccellenza professionale al femminile e sostenere il progresso sociale ed economico delle donne e della società in generale. Sua Santità ha sorriso e salutato calorosamente le sue ospiti, invitandole a prendere posto. Una rappresentante del gruppo gli ha offerto un dono e presentato la relazione annuale della FLO intitolata “Women Transforming India”.

Sua Santità ha iniziato la conversazione con alcune osservazioni. “Siamo nel XXI secolo. Se guardiamo al XX, sappiamo che è stato un periodo di violenza e paura. Pertanto, dovremmo fare di questo secolo un’era di non violenza e compassione. Read the rest of this entry »

Alan Wallace con Sua Santità il Dalai Lama

La mia vita col Dalai Lama alla scoperta della mindfulness

Dalla laurea in fisica al monastero buddhista. Lo yogi Alan Wallace spiega i training contemplativi. “Il samadhi porta l’attività mentale al livello della stessa natura della coscienza ed è in questo stato che molti contemplativi e scienziati dall’intuizione profonda hanno scoperto cose che sono poi state riscontrate dalla scienza” – di Raimondo Bultrini. 12 febbraio 2019

Alan Wallace si laureò più di 30 anni fa in fisica prima di specializzarsi negli studi di filosofia e religione, seguiti da 14 anni in un monastero buddhista sotto la guida del Dalai Lama e altri maestri di meditazione. Read the rest of this entry »

His Holiness the Dalai Lama answering a question from the audience during his meeting with Deepak Chopra and a group of his friends in Dharamsala, HP, India on February 11, 2019. Photo by Tenzin Choejor

February 11, 2019. Thekchen Chöling, Dharamsala, HP, India – Indian-born American author and public speaker Deepak Chopra and 45 close friends met His Holiness the Dalai Lama this morning. His Holiness welcomed them saying: “We’ve met a few times before, but now I’m happy to be able to welcome you here, my spiritual brothers and sisters, to what has been my home for the last nearly 60 years.

“In today’s world, despite extensive material development, we face all kinds of problems. Natural disasters are beyond our control, but fighting and killing are things we could put a stop to. However, we pay too much attention to material goals and not enough to human values like love. Many of the problems we face are of our own creation and yet scientists tell us that basic human nature is compassionate. They also tell us that cultivating a compassionate attitude is good for our physical health, while constant anger and fear undermine our immune systems. Read the rest of this entry »