Conversations on Buddha-Nature
14 December 2024
Gregory Forgues
Mipham's Radical Nonduality
11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (note the changed time) (5:00 PM CET, 9:00 PM Bhutan, 8:45 PM Kathmandu)
Lopen Karma Phuntsho will interview Tsadra Foundation's director of research, Gregory Forgues and discuss his recent book "Radical Nonduality: Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatso's Discourse on Reality (Vienna WSTB 106).
Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatsho (1846–1912) stands as one of the most influential scholars within the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This book, which will be of interest to both academic researchers and Buddhist practitioners, presents a comprehensive analysis of Mipham's nonconceptual nondualism through the traditional Buddhist framework of ground (gzhi), path (lam), and result ('bras bu).
The study begins by examining how Mipham's view represents a form of ontological nondualism, exploring his innovative use of ascending perspectives to explain the two truths. This approach offers readers new insights into Mipham's sophisticated philosophical system while illuminating the philosophical foundations of the path.
The middle section investigates how knowledge and liberation interweave in Mipham's soteriological project through his teachings on practice and conduct. Here, readers will discover how cognitive nondualism serves as a bridge to realizing ontological nondualism, while scholars will appreciate the theoretical framework underlying these practices.
The final section examines Mipham's soteriological nondualism, in which ground and result are understood to be beyond any distinction or separation. This fresh analysis of Mipham's thought offers valuable insights into one of Tibet's most sophisticated philosophical systems and its practical application on the Buddhist path.
Dr. Gregory Forgues is the Director of Research at Tsadra Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Gregory was part of the Open Philology research project with Professor Jonathan Silk at the University of Leiden. He also worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Heidelberg and a Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Bochum. Gregory has published on a wide variety of topics including Mahāyāna sūtra translations, Tibetan tantric rituals, Dzogchen teachings, and digital humanities methods. His PhD dissertation on Jamgon Mipham’s interpretation of the two truths under Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes' supervision was reviewed by Professor Birgit Kellner and Professor Matthew Kapstein, receiving a distinction from the University of Vienna.Please join us on Zoom or Facebook live on Saturday, December 14th at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (note the changed time) (5:00 PM CET, 9:00 PM Bhutan, 8:45 PM Kathmandu)
Lopen Karma Phuntsho will interview Tsadra Foundation's director of research, Gregory Forgues and discuss his recent book "Radical Nonduality: Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatso's Discourse on Reality (Vienna WSTB 106).
Ju Mipham Namgyal Gyatsho (1846–1912) stands as one of the most influential scholars within the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This book, which will be of interest to both academic researchers and Buddhist practitioners, presents a comprehensive analysis of Mipham's nonconceptual nondualism through the traditional Buddhist framework of ground (gzhi), path (lam), and result ('bras bu).
The study begins by examining how Mipham's view represents a form of ontological nondualism, exploring his innovative use of ascending perspectives to explain the two truths. This approach offers readers new insights into Mipham's sophisticated philosophical system while illuminating the philosophical foundations of the path.
The middle section investigates how knowledge and liberation interweave in Mipham's soteriological project through his teachings on practice and conduct. Here, readers will discover how cognitive nondualism serves as a bridge to realizing ontological nondualism, while scholars will appreciate the theoretical framework underlying these practices.
The final section examines Mipham's soteriological nondualism, in which ground and result are understood to be beyond any distinction or separation. This fresh analysis of Mipham's thought offers valuable insights into one of Tibet's most sophisticated philosophical systems and its practical application on the Buddhist path.
Dr. Gregory Forgues is the Director of Research at Tsadra Foundation. Before joining the foundation, Gregory was part of the Open Philology research project with Professor Jonathan Silk at the University of Leiden. He also worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Heidelberg and a Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Bochum. Gregory has published on a wide variety of topics including Mahāyāna sūtra translations, Tibetan tantric rituals, Dzogchen teachings, and digital humanities methods. His PhD dissertation on Jamgon Mipham’s interpretation of the two truths under Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes' supervision was reviewed by Professor Birgit Kellner and Professor Matthew Kapstein, receiving a distinction from the University of Vienna.
26 October 2024
Stephen Gethin
The Natural Openness and Freedom of the Mind Book Launch
In September, Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche offered the oral transmission, or lung, for this incredibly clear text of Dzogchen that, in the eighth century, Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal sealed in the mind of Yudra Nyingpo, one of Guru Rinpoche’s twenty-five disciples. The text was rediscovered as a mind treasure by an emanation of Yudra Nyingpo, Deshek Lingpa (1956-2020), also known as Tulku Lhatsam or Tertön Padma Jigme Dorje, who was the abbot of both two monasteries in Golok.
Shambhala Publications just released a translation of this text, which includes an extensive commentary by Khangsar Tenpa'i Wangchuk, one of the most revered Nyingmapa lamas of the twentieth century whose entire collected works the Padmakara Translation Group is translating. Find the book here on Shambhala's website.
Stephen Gethin studied veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, where he was also awarded a choral exhibition. After a number of years in professional practice, he spent much of the 1980s undertaking two three-year retreats in France, where he now lives and, as a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, continues to translate. He was a Tsadra Foundation Translation Fellow from 2005 to 2024. His published translations include:
- Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend: With Commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche]. Shambhala 2005.
- Zurchungpa's Testament, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Shambhala, 2006.
- A Garland of Views: A Guide to View, Meditation, and Result in the Nine Vehicles. Jamgön Mipham's commentary on Padmasambhava's Garland of Views, Shambhala, 2015.
- Dudjom Rinpoche's A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices. Shambhala, 2016.
- A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras; The Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with Commentary by Mipham, Shambhala, 2018.
- A Chariot to Freedom: Guidance From the Great Masters on the Vajrayāna Preliminary Practices. A detailed preliminary practice commentary by Shechen Gyaltsap. Shambhala, 2021.
- Mahasiddha Practice: From Mitrayogin and Other Masters. Volume 16 of Jamgön Kongtrul's Treasury of Precious Instructions (gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod). Shambhala, 2021.
- Awakening Wisdom: Heart Advice on the Fundamental Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism by Pema Wangyal. Shambhala, 2023.
- The Natural Openness and Freedom of the Mind. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Shambhala, 2024.
- The Cloudless Sky. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Forthcoming.
- The Aspiration to the Excellent Way. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Forthcoming.
He also collaborated on a number of translations, including
- A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night by the Dalai Lama. Shambhala, 1993.
- Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries by Khenchen Kunzang Pelden and Minyak Kunzang Sönam. Editions Padmakara, 1993.
- The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche. HarperCollins, 1994.
- A Guide to The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang. Shambhala, 2004.
Lopen Karma Phuntsho interviews translator Stephen Gethin and discusses the new book from Padmakara Translation Group, The Natural Openness and Freedom of the Mind: A Treasure Tantra of the Great Perfection by Deshek Lingpa with commentary by Khangsar Tenpa'i Wangchuk.
In September, Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche offered the oral transmission, or lung, for this incredibly clear text of Dzogchen that, in the eighth century, Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal sealed in the mind of Yudra Nyingpo, one of Guru Rinpoche’s twenty-five disciples. The text was rediscovered as a mind treasure by an emanation of Yudra Nyingpo, Deshek Lingpa (1956-2020), also known as Tulku Lhatsam or Tertön Padma Jigme Dorje, who was the abbot of both two monasteries in Golok.
Shambhala Publications just released a translation of this text, which includes an extensive commentary by Khangsar Tenpa'i Wangchuk, one of the most revered Nyingmapa lamas of the twentieth century whose entire collected works the Padmakara Translation Group is translating. Find the book here on Shambhala's website.
Stephen Gethin studied veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, where he was also awarded a choral exhibition. After a number of years in professional practice, he spent much of the 1980s undertaking two three-year retreats in France, where he now lives and, as a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, continues to translate. He was a Tsadra Foundation Translation Fellow from 2005 to 2024. His published translations include:
- Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend: With Commentary by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche]. Shambhala 2005.
- Zurchungpa's Testament, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Shambhala, 2006.
- A Garland of Views: A Guide to View, Meditation, and Result in the Nine Vehicles. Jamgön Mipham's commentary on Padmasambhava's Garland of Views, Shambhala, 2015.
- Dudjom Rinpoche's A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices. Shambhala, 2016.
- A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras; The Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with Commentary by Mipham, Shambhala, 2018.
- A Chariot to Freedom: Guidance From the Great Masters on the Vajrayāna Preliminary Practices. A detailed preliminary practice commentary by Shechen Gyaltsap. Shambhala, 2021.
- Mahasiddha Practice: From Mitrayogin and Other Masters. Volume 16 of Jamgön Kongtrul's Treasury of Precious Instructions (gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod). Shambhala, 2021.
- Awakening Wisdom: Heart Advice on the Fundamental Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism by Pema Wangyal. Shambhala, 2023.
- The Natural Openness and Freedom of the Mind. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Shambhala, 2024.
- The Cloudless Sky. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Forthcoming.
- The Aspiration to the Excellent Way. Khangsar Tenpai'i Wangchuk's Collected Works. Forthcoming.
He also collaborated on a number of translations, including
- A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night by the Dalai Lama. Shambhala, 1993.
- Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries by Khenchen Kunzang Pelden and Minyak Kunzang Sönam. Editions Padmakara, 1993.
- The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche. HarperCollins, 1994.
- A Guide to The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang. Shambhala, 2004.
31 August 2024
Peter Alan Roberts
Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
An early foundational text for buddha-nature theory, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is an influential teaching in many Buddhist traditions in China and Tibet. There is some controversy surrounding its teaching, and this discussion will illuminate some of the more interesting aspects of the sutra. Set around the time of Buddha's passing, or Mahāparinirvāṇa, the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature equating it with the dharmakāya—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the buddhadhātu, or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the dharmakāya is endowed with the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self.
Peter Alan Roberts was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He earned a BA in Sanskrit and Pali and a DPhil in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University (Harris-Manchester College). For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of The Biographies of Rechungpa and Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions, along with many other translations, especially for the 84000 Project. See The Stem Array, a translation of the Gaṇḍavyuha from the Tibetan, Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light - a translation of the Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, and others online at 84000.co.
27 July 2024
Casey Forgues
The Basis for Buddhahood: The Naturally Luminous Mind and Buddha Nature in the Early Mahāmudrā Tradition
In the recent publication Buddha Nature Across Asia, edited by Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Casey Forgues (Kemp), Casey contributes a chapter focused on an important concept related to buddha-nature and our innate propensity for buddhahood—natural luminosity (prakṛtiprabhāsvaratā), the theory that the inherent condition of mind is luminous and pure, and afflictions (kleśa) are merely adventitious. While this idea is found in the Pāli canon, it came to be particularly thematized as the basis for buddhahood among the various Mahāyāna traditions. The natural luminosity of mind is a central topic in the Ratnagotravibhāga and came to be understood by some commentators to be synonymous with buddha-nature, especially within the Tibetan Kagyü Mahāmudrā tradition. Casey provides a semantic gloss of the term among key Indian canonical texts, including sūtra, tantra, and dohā sources, that directly influenced the doctrine of natural luminosity among the early Mahāmudrā teachings. She looks into how Maitrīpa (986–1063), Nāropa (1016–1041), and Marpa (1012–1097) in particular understood the luminous mind to be inseparable from the dharmakāya, which led to later traditional Mahāmudrā understandings of buddha-nature. While buddha-nature sources are not extensively referenced in the earliest available Mahāmudrā teachings, Casey demonstrates how the doctrine of natural luminosity directly influenced teachings on buddha-nature, and vice versa, in the tradition.
You can download the PDF of the book for free online here: https://wstb.univie.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/WSTB_103.pdf
Casey Forgues (Kemp) is a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna and editorial director of Khyentse Vision Project. Casey received her MPhil in Tibetan Studies at the University of Oxford and has translated sūtras for 84000. Her research focuses on tantric philosophical views of the luminous nature of mind in the early Mahāmudrā tradition (eleventh-thirteenth centuries). She is the co-editor of Buddha Nature Across Asia and has published on topics including death and dying in tantric Buddhism, buddha-nature, the six yogas of Nāropa, and the Kalācakra tradition.Why are we able to attain enlightenment? Is buddha-nature merely a metaphor for emptiness or something more? Is buddhahood something that is produced or uncovered? In this conversation, Casey Forgues explores these questions and more with Lopen Karma Phuntsho by referencing some of the earliest Mahāmudrā masters, including Nāropa, Marpa, and Gampopa. This discussion focuses on how the luminous mind (also sometimes known as clear light) was emphasized in terms of the basis, path, and fruition in this tradition, and how the three can be merged through meditative practices on luminosity.
In the recent publication Buddha Nature Across Asia, edited by Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Casey Forgues (Kemp), Casey contributes a chapter focused on an important concept related to buddha-nature and our innate propensity for buddhahood—natural luminosity (prakṛtiprabhāsvaratā), the theory that the inherent condition of mind is luminous and pure, and afflictions (kleśa) are merely adventitious. While this idea is found in the Pāli canon, it came to be particularly thematized as the basis for buddhahood among the various Mahāyāna traditions. The natural luminosity of mind is a central topic in the Ratnagotravibhāga and came to be understood by some commentators to be synonymous with buddha-nature, especially within the Tibetan Kagyü Mahāmudrā tradition. Casey provides a semantic gloss of the term among key Indian canonical texts, including sūtra, tantra, and dohā sources, that directly influenced the doctrine of natural luminosity among the early Mahāmudrā teachings. She looks into how Maitrīpa (986–1063), Nāropa (1016–1041), and Marpa (1012–1097) in particular understood the luminous mind to be inseparable from the dharmakāya, which led to later traditional Mahāmudrā understandings of buddha-nature. While buddha-nature sources are not extensively referenced in the earliest available Mahāmudrā teachings, Casey demonstrates how the doctrine of natural luminosity directly influenced teachings on buddha-nature, and vice versa, in the tradition.
You can download the PDF of the book for free online here: https://wstb.univie.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/WSTB_103.pdf
Casey Forgues (Kemp) is a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna and editorial director of Khyentse Vision Project. Casey received her MPhil in Tibetan Studies at the University of Oxford and has translated sūtras for 84000. Her research focuses on tantric philosophical views of the luminous nature of mind in the early Mahāmudrā tradition (eleventh-thirteenth centuries). She is the co-editor of Buddha Nature Across Asia and has published on topics including death and dying in tantric Buddhism, buddha-nature, the six yogas of Nāropa, and the Kalācakra tradition.
29 June 2024
Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro
Book Launch: Longchenpa's Jewel Treasure of the Dharmadhatu
Join us in celebration of a long-awaited translation of Longchenpa's masterpiece, the Choying Dzöd (ཆོས་དབྱིངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད།). Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro will speak with Karma Phuntsho about their new publication, a translation of an extremely important Dzogchen text by the great Longchen Rabjam called the Choying Dzöd, or Jewel Treasure of the Dharmadhatu. This special translation was refined by the translators after years of oral teachings given by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche on this important text. Longchen Rabjam composed the Seven Treasures as his crowning achievement, and the Jewel Treasure of the Dharmadhatu is the pinnacle of them all. This astonishing masterpiece sets forth the structure and practice of the Great Perfection path known as trekcho, cutting through to original purity. This publication also includes the Omniscient Longchenpa's autocommentary called A Treasury of Citations, which is an indispensable guide to the root verses that are woven throughout this shastra, to illuminate how they refer to the context of the ground, path, and fruition, as well as the view, meditation and conduct of this exceptional Great Perfection path. True to the title, this commentary disseminates the most crucial information by citing the original speech of Buddha Vajradhara found in the seventeen Great Perfection upadesha tantras, as well as including many quotations from the sutras, tantras, and shastras in general.
15 June 2024
Karma Phuntsho
The Life and Works of Kyotön Monlam Tsultrim
Join us as we restart our "Conversations on Buddha-Nature" series! We will be discussing a special publication about a group of rare manuscripts from a fascinating and influential, yet mostly unknown master of the Kadam Lineage. Gregory Forgues will interview Karma Phuntsho and other scholars will also join in with responses and questions. This special publication was a collaboration between The Loden Foundation of Bhutan and the Tsadra Foundation. The Life and Works of Kyotön Monlam Tsultrim publishes the collected works of the early Kadam master Kyoton in clear uchen type based on the rare manuscripts in the bka gdams gsung 'bum, which are very difficult to decipher in the old Ume scripts. The book contains many short works on buddha-nature, Shantideva's texts, and several other important subjects. It also includes a detailed introduction in English from Karma Phuntsho about the life and works of Kyotön. We will discuss the creation of the book as well as its content. The book is available for free download as a PDF here.
29 October 2022
Peter Skilling
'Luminous Is This Mind, O Monks': An Intertextual Excursion
Dr. Peter Skilling and Lopen Karma Phuntsho will discuss a key early quote attributed to the Buddha that serves as a source for buddha-nature teachings, among other things textual, historical, and beyond.
Peter Skilling is the founder of the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation (Bangkok). He received a PhD with honors and a Habilitation in Paris (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes). Peter’s publications include numerous articles and several books, including Questioning the Buddha (Wisdom, 2021), How Theravada is Theravada? (University of Washington Press, 2012), and Mahāsūtras: Great Discourses of the Buddha (2 vols., Oxford, The Pali Text Society, 1994 and 1997). His interests include the art and archaeology of South and Southeast Asia, as seen for example in the edited volume Wat Si Chum, Sukhothai: Art, Architecture and Inscriptions (River Books, Bangkok, 2008).
27 August 2022
David Germano
Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection in the 11-14th Centuries
Karma Phuntsho and David Germano discuss buddha-nature in Dzogchen, early Nyingma tantras, termas, Nyingtik Teachings, and touch on the commentarial writings of Longchenpa and others.
David Germano is the Executive Director of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. He has taught and researched Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia since 1992. He is currently focused on the exploration of contemplative ideas, values, and practices involving humanistic and scientific methodologies, as well as new applications in diverse fields; he also holds a faculty appointment in the School of Nursing. He has been a leader in the field of Tibetan Buddhist studies for many years and has long immersed himself in Dzogchen teachings and texts.
30 July 2022
Lama Shenpen Hookham
Practical Implications of Shentong Interpretations of Tathagatagarbha
Lama Shenpen has trained for over 50 years in the Mahamudra & Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lama Shenpen wrote a seminal work in the western study of Buddha-Nature, her doctoral thesis at Oxford, The Buddha Within, which was then the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. She is also the author of There’s More to Dying than Death, Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting and Other Stories, and The Guru Principle.
She has spent over 12 years in retreat and has been a student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the foremost living masters of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, since the late 70s.Lama Shenpen Hookham is the founding Lama of the Awakened Heart Sangha and principle teacher of the Living the Awakened Heart training. Lama Shenpen has trained for over 50 years in the Mahamudra & Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lama Shenpen wrote a seminal work in the western study of Buddha-Nature, her doctoral thesis at Oxford, The Buddha Within, which was then the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. She is also the author of There’s More to Dying than Death, Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting and Other Stories, and The Guru Principle.
She has spent over 12 years in retreat and has been a student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the foremost living masters of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, since the late 70s.
25 June 2022
John Canti
A Dilettante’s Ramblings on the Uttaratantra, Asaṅga, Mipham, and Buddha-Nature
- The traditional accounts of Asaṅga receiving the byams chos sde lnga (Five Treatises) from Maitreya
- The rgyud bla ma as sūtra commentary, and its relationship to the other four texts
- The mystery of its apparent disappearance in India between the fifth and tenth centuries
- Mipham’s commentary and its sources
- The “other” less discussed aspects of the rgyud bla ma — its explanations of the Three Jewels, of the qualities and activity
- The impact of Buddha-nature teachings as a Western practitioner
John Canti studied medicine and anthropology at Cambridge University (UK) and qualified as a doctor in 1975. While still a medical student he met and began to study with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the older generation, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After some years of medical work in northeastern Nepal in the late 1970s he went to the Dordogne, France, to complete two three-year retreats at Chanteloube, and has remained primarily based there ever since.
John is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, was a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2014, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, when 84000 first started, he was appointed Editorial Chair of 84000, and in 2020 has become Editorial Co-Director.John Canti, longtime practitioner and translator, founder of Padmakara Translation Group, and Editorial Director at the 84000 Project, will speak with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho about a wide range of topics related to buddha-nature teachings:
- The traditional accounts of Asaṅga receiving the byams chos sde lnga (Five Treatises) from Maitreya
- The rgyud bla ma as sūtra commentary, and its relationship to the other four texts
- The mystery of its apparent disappearance in India between the fifth and tenth centuries
- Mipham’s commentary and its sources
- The “other” less discussed aspects of the rgyud bla ma — its explanations of the Three Jewels, of the qualities and activity
- The impact of Buddha-nature teachings as a Western practitioner
John Canti studied medicine and anthropology at Cambridge University (UK) and qualified as a doctor in 1975. While still a medical student he met and began to study with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the older generation, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After some years of medical work in northeastern Nepal in the late 1970s he went to the Dordogne, France, to complete two three-year retreats at Chanteloube, and has remained primarily based there ever since.
John is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, was a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2014, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, when 84000 first started, he was appointed Editorial Chair of 84000, and in 2020 has become Editorial Co-Director.
30 April 2022
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche
Study and Practice of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Nyingma Tradition
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche will talk with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho about the study and practice of Buddha-Nature Teachings in the Nyingma Tradition.
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche was born in Bhutan in 1965. He became a senior colleague at Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, the prestigious Buddhist studies and research center, at Namdroling Monastery in Mysore. At the Institute he studied under Khenchen Pema Sherab, Khenpo Namdrol Tsering, Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso, and other visiting professors, including Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok and Khenpo Pema Tsewang from Tibet. He completed the Shedra program in 1995 and joined the Institute staff, teaching there for three years. He was formally enthroned as Khenpo by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche in 1998 and was assigned by His Holiness to teach at the Buddhist college at Palyul monastery in Tibet. He is now the main resident master at Palyul Dharma Center in the New York City metropolitan area.
28 March 2022
Potprecha Cholvijarn
Sammā Arahaṃ Meditation, Self, and Nibbāna: Equivalents of Buddha-Nature Discourse in Thai Buddhist Traditions
Potprecha Cholvijarn is the author of Nibbāna as True Reality beyond the Debate, a book about the recent debate in Thailand over the nature of nibbāna (nirvāṇa), the unconditioned, whether it is attā (self) or anattā (not-self). Western Buddhist studies, especially of recent years, have assumed that Theravāda Buddhism straightforwardly teaches the doctrine of anattā: that Theravāda Buddhism rejects attā in all respects, including in the ultimate sense. However, as the well-known debate in Thailand, which reached its zenith in 1999, has shown, there appears to be a significant minority of Theravāda monks, respected by significant numbers of Theravāda laity, arguing that nibbāna is attā.
In the book, Dr. Cholvijarn compares the Thai debate to the Tibetan Rang Stong and Gzan Stong dispute and concludes that "they reveal two similar trends found in the history of Buddhist thought, one positing a substantial absolute beyond all conceptualization, and the other rejecting all kinds of substantial absolute. Both trends are found at various points in the history of Buddhism in different traditions."
Potprecha Cholvijarn holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Bristol, in the UK. He is currently a special lecturer at the Thai Studies Centre, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.Dr. Cholvijarn and Dr. Karma Phuntsho will discuss similarities and disimilarities in debates about interpretations of the ultimate in Thai and Tibetan Buddhisms.
Potprecha Cholvijarn is the author of Nibbāna as True Reality beyond the Debate, a book about the recent debate in Thailand over the nature of nibbāna (nirvāṇa), the unconditioned, whether it is attā (self) or anattā (not-self). Western Buddhist studies, especially of recent years, have assumed that Theravāda Buddhism straightforwardly teaches the doctrine of anattā: that Theravāda Buddhism rejects attā in all respects, including in the ultimate sense. However, as the well-known debate in Thailand, which reached its zenith in 1999, has shown, there appears to be a significant minority of Theravāda monks, respected by significant numbers of Theravāda laity, arguing that nibbāna is attā.
In the book, Dr. Cholvijarn compares the Thai debate to the Tibetan Rang Stong and Gzan Stong dispute and concludes that "they reveal two similar trends found in the history of Buddhist thought, one positing a substantial absolute beyond all conceptualization, and the other rejecting all kinds of substantial absolute. Both trends are found at various points in the history of Buddhism in different traditions."
Potprecha Cholvijarn holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Bristol, in the UK. He is currently a special lecturer at the Thai Studies Centre, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.
26 February 2022
Karl Brunnhölzl
What is my mind without me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School
Karl Brunnhölzl is one of the most prolific translators of Tibetan texts into English and has worked on all of the Five Treatises of Maitreya. He was originally trained as a physician and then studied at Kamalashila Institute, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso's Marpa Institute, and Hamburg University. Since 1989, Karl has served as a translator, interpreter, and Buddhist teacher mainly in Europe, India, and Nepal. Since 1999, he has acted as one of the main translators and teachers at Nitartha Institute (director: Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche) in the USA, Canada, and Germany. He has translated and written about buddha-nature extensively and he is the author of several books on Buddhism, such as The Center of the Sunlit Sky, Luminous Melodies, Milarepa's Kungfu, and The Heart Attack Sutra. He has also completed several ground-breaking translations in the Tsadra Foundation series, including a three-volume work on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. He has also completed the work Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong in the Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde series. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra, formed the basis for the Buddha-Nature website project. In 2019 his translation of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha with Indian and Tibetan commentaries was published and won the Khyentse Foundation Prize For Outstanding Buddhist Translation.
29 January 2022
Thupten Jinpa
Emptiness and Buddha-Nature: A Creative Tension Between Two Fundamental Concepts of Mahayana Thought
Please join us online for a special event at the start of 2022 with the world-renowned speaker, author, and translator, Thupten Jinpa.
Thupten Jinpa is a former Tibetan monk and a Geshe Lharampa with B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies, both from Cambridge University. Since 1985, he has been the principal English translator to H.H. the Dalai Lama and has translated and edited numerous books by the Dalai Lama, including the New York Times Bestsellers Ethics for the New Millennium and The Art of Happiness. Jinpa’s own publications include works in Tibetan, English translations as well as books, the latest being Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows and Illuminating the Intent, a translation of Je Tsongkhapa's commentary on Entering the Middle Way. Jinpa is the general series editor of the 32-volume Bod kyi tsug lag gces btus series, whose translations are published in English as The Library of Tibetan Classics. His current projects include the editing of classical Indian Buddhist texts from Tengyur for a special anthology known as Rgya gzhung gnad che bdam bsgrigs (Selected Indian Buddhist treaties). He is the main author of CCT (Compassion Cultivation Training), an eight-week formal program developed at Stanford University, and co-founder and president of the Compassion Institute. He is the Chair of Mind and Life Institute, founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, and an adjunct professor at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. Jinpa lives in Montreal and is married with two daughters.
18 December 2021
Anne Burchardi
The Purpose of the Buddha-Nature Teachings
Join Anne Burchardi and Lopen Karma Phuntsho as they discuss the purpose of the Buddha-Nature teachings in the context of Kagyu and Nyingma traditions and beyond. Handout Available: See an artist's modern rendition of the traditional examples of buddha-nature from the sutras.
27 November 2021
Lama Palden Drolma
Experiences of Buddha-Nature
Lama Palden was one of the first Western women to be authorized as a lama in 1986, by her primary teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, following her completion of the traditional Tibetan three year, three month retreat. She has been a student and practitioner of Buddhism and of Comparative Mysticism for over 40 years. She is the founding teacher of Sukhasiddhi Foundation http://www.sukhasiddhi.org in the SF Bay Area, a Tibetan Buddhist center in the Shangpa and Kagyu lineages. Lama Palden has a deep interest in helping to make the teachings and practices of Vajrayana Buddhism accessible and practical for Westerners in order to help students actualize our innate wisdom, love and joy. As a teacher, she is committed to each student's unique unfolding and blossoming.
In 1993 Lama Palden completed a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. After licensing as a psychotherapist, she engaged in facilitating clients psycho-spiritual integration and development, through bringing together understandings and methods from Buddhism and Psychology, as well as from the Diamond Heart work, that she engaged with and trained in for many years.Join Lama Palden Drolma and Lopen Karma Phuntsho as they discuss experiences of Buddha-Nature.
Lama Palden was one of the first Western women to be authorized as a lama in 1986, by her primary teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, following her completion of the traditional Tibetan three year, three month retreat. She has been a student and practitioner of Buddhism and of Comparative Mysticism for over 40 years. She is the founding teacher of Sukhasiddhi Foundation http://www.sukhasiddhi.org in the SF Bay Area, a Tibetan Buddhist center in the Shangpa and Kagyu lineages. Lama Palden has a deep interest in helping to make the teachings and practices of Vajrayana Buddhism accessible and practical for Westerners in order to help students actualize our innate wisdom, love and joy. As a teacher, she is committed to each student's unique unfolding and blossoming. In 1993 Lama Palden completed a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. After licensing as a psychotherapist, she engaged in facilitating clients psycho-spiritual integration and development, through bringing together understandings and methods from Buddhism and Psychology, as well as from the Diamond Heart work, that she engaged with and trained in for many years.
30 October 2021
Yaroslav Komarovski
Śākya Chokden's Unique Views on Buddha-Nature
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho will have another "Conversation on Buddha-Nature" with one of the world's most knowledgeable scholars of Śākya Chokden (1428–1507), Yaroslav Komarovski.
Śākya Chokden (1428–1507) was one of the most important thinkers of the Sakya tradition and had many complex views on Buddhist philosophy and practice, especially Madhyamaka and theories related to buddha-nature teachings, some of which are quite unique in the history of Buddhism.
Yaroslav Komarovski is a full professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His recent books include Radiant Emptiness: Three Seminal Works by the Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden (Oxford 2020), Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience (Oxford 2015), and Visions of Unity: The Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden’s New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka (SUNY 2011). If you would like to read some of his papers on Shakya Chokden, you can find them freely available online here: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Komarovski%22%20AND%20author_fname%3A%22Yaroslav%22&start=0&context=52045&sort=date_desc&facet=HANDOUT FOR EVENT: Media:Yaroslav Komarovski-2021-10-30-Tsadra Buddha Nature.pdf
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho will have another "Conversation on Buddha-Nature" with one of the world's most knowledgeable scholars of Śākya Chokden (1428–1507), Yaroslav Komarovski.
Śākya Chokden (1428–1507) was one of the most important thinkers of the Sakya tradition and had many complex views on Buddhist philosophy and practice, especially Madhyamaka and theories related to buddha-nature teachings, some of which are quite unique in the history of Buddhism.
Yaroslav Komarovski is a full professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His recent books include Radiant Emptiness: Three Seminal Works by the Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden (Oxford 2020), Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience (Oxford 2015), and Visions of Unity: The Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden’s New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka (SUNY 2011). If you would like to read some of his papers on Shakya Chokden, you can find them freely available online here: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Komarovski%22%20AND%20author_fname%3A%22Yaroslav%22&start=0&context=52045&sort=date_desc&facet=
31 July 2021
Dorji Wangchuk
Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition
The Nyingma tradition is an eclectic and complex Tibetan tradition with a rich history of teachings that relate to the idea of Buddha-Nature in different ways. In this video Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho and his compatriot Professor Dorji Wangchuk discuss interpretations of Buddha-Nature theory in the Nyingma tradition, of which they are both trained specialists.
26 June 2021
Kokyo Henkel
Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen
We were on Facebook live on Saturday, June 26th at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, 5:00 PM CET, 9:00 PM Bhutan Time. The discussion is available online and sections will also be made available as answers to specific questions on this website.
Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho had a wonderful, animated, and detailed discussion with Rev. Kokyo Henkel about Buddha-Nature in Early Chan and Japanese Zen and comparisons with Tibetan Dzogchen. They also discussed some Koans, Dogen, and many textual sources from Indian sutras in Tibetan and Chinese translation to sources for key schools of Buddhism in China and Japan up to more modern texts.
29 May 2021
Klaus-Dieter Mathes
Buddha-Nature Theories from Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Tibet
Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes, one of the world’s most learned and published specialists on the topic of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism, spoke with Lopen Karma Phuntsho about the various interpretations of tathāgatagarbha teachings in Tibet, including those of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, Longchenpa, Gö Lotsawa, Dölpopa, Butön, and Tsongkhapa.
Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Mathes is the Head of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. Dr. Mathes has published widely on Mahāmudrā, Tibetan Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and the interpretations of Buddha-nature in Tibet. Many of his books can be found on this website, including the recent The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet and A Direct Path to the Buddha Within. Klaus-Dieter also hosted the Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia Symposium in 2019. From 1980-1984 he lived in the Himalayas and studied Buddhism, later obtaining a master's degree in Tibetology from the University of Bonn and then a Doctorate from Marburg in 1994 with a study of the Yogācāra text Dharmadharmatāvibhāga (published in 1996 in the series Indica et Tibetica). He served as the director of the Nepal Research Centre and the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project in Kathmandu from 1993 to 2001.
24 April 2021
Judith L. Lief
Tenderness and the Awakening of Buddha-Nature
"Before any kind of perception occurs, wakefulness is already there—beyond concept, beyond limitation, beyond anything measurable. We can all awaken—that is the hope and the potential."—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Judith L. Lief is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and editor. She was a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who empowered her as a teacher, and she has edited many of his books including The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma volumes and Milarepa. She has been a teacher and practitioner for over 35 years and continues to teach and lead retreats throughout the world. Lief is also active in the field of death and dying and is the author of Making Friends with Death.We were live on Facebook and Zoom on Saturday, April 24th at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time.
"Before any kind of perception occurs, wakefulness is already there—beyond concept, beyond limitation, beyond anything measurable. We can all awaken—that is the hope and the potential."—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Judith L. Lief is a Buddhist teacher, writer, and editor. She was a close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who empowered her as a teacher, and she has edited many of his books including The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma volumes and Milarepa. She has been a teacher and practitioner for over 35 years and continues to teach and lead retreats throughout the world. Lief is also active in the field of death and dying and is the author of Making Friends with Death.
27 March 2021
Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Buddha Nature and Social Justice
We were live with Karma Lekshe Tsomo on Saturday, February 27th at 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (6:30 PM Pacific Standard Time)
Venerable Tsomo is an inspiration to all Buddhists interested in living a socially conscious life and is known around the world for her warmth, knowledge, and clear approach to teaching and speaking about life, Buddhism, and social activism. She co-founded Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, which hosts the Sakyadhita Conference, the largest and most important meeting of Buddhist women in the world.
27 February 2021
Venerable Geshe Lhakdor
The Human Capacity to Flourish
What is our capacity for compassion? Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho will discuss themes of buddha-nature and human flourishing with renowned Buddhist monk and Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, Venerable Geshe Lhakdor.
28 November 2020
Robert Thurman
Buddha-Nature as the Foundation of Freedom
In this online interview, the second in a series titled "Conversations on Buddha-Nature," Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discusses themes of freedom, spirituality, and buddha-nature with world-renowned Buddhist scholar, translator, writer, and activist Robert Thurman.
24 October 2020
Matthieu Ricard
Buddha-Nature, Happiness and Altruism
In this online interview, the first of a series titled "Conversations on Buddha-Nature," Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho and Matthieu Ricard discuss the meaning of buddha-nature, Matthieu's first encounter with buddha-nature teachings, whether buddha-nature is a seed to be cultivated or something that must be revealed, and whether it is possible to enhance the qualities of buddha-nature without meditation and practice. In addition to these topics, Matthieu also answers questions from the attendees.
