2023 Buddha-Nature Conference Kathmandu

བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་ཆོས་འཁོར།
Buddha-Nature Conference

ཞེ་ཆེན་བསྟན་གཉིས་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་། ཀཐ་མན་ཌུ། སྤྱི་ཚེས་ ༢༠༢༣་༦་༡-༣།

Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3, 2023

Discussing Buddha-Nature Theory and Practice in Tibetan Buddhist Traditions

Organized by Karma Phuntsho
and Tsadra Foundation

2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Kathmandu

༈ ཙཱ་འདྲ་ཚོགས་པའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་ཆོས་མཛོད་ཆེན་མོའི་ལས་འགུལ་དང་འབྲེལ་ཏེ། གཞི་ཁམས་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་སྐོར་ཉིན་གསུམ་གྱི་རིང་། གསུང་བཤད་པ་བོད་བརྒྱུད་ནང་བསྟན་ཆོས་ལུགས་རིས་མེད་ཀྱི་མཁན་སློབ་དགེ་བའི་བཤེས་གཉེན། མཁས་པའི་ཡང་རྩེ་བཅུ་ཕྲག་གཉིས་ཙམ་གདན་འདྲེན་ཞུས་ཤིང་། བལ་ཡུལ་རྒྱལ་སར་ཡོད་པའི་ཆོས་སྡེ་བཤད་གྲྭ་མཚན་བཟང་གི་གྲངས་ལྡན་ལས་མཁན་སློབ་ཆོས་སྨྲ་བ་གཉིས་བརྒྱ་ཙམ་འཛོམས་ཏེ། ཆོས་བརྒྱུད་སོ་སོའི་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་དགོངས་བཞེད་ཕྱག་བཞེས་གཞུང་ལུགས་སོགས་ཀྱི་སྐོར་ཆོས་གླེང་ཉིན་གསུམ་གྱི་རིང་འཚོགས་ཏེ་ལྟ་གྲུབ་ཉམས་ལེན་ཆོས་དཔེ་སོགས་ཀྱི་སྐོར་རིག་པ་བརྗེ་སོར་དང་ཤེས་ཡོན་རྒྱ་བསྐྱེད་གནང་ཡོད་ཅིང་། རྒྱ་ཆེའི་གཟིགས་པ་པོ་ཡོངས་ལ་དྲྭ་ལམ་ཐོག་ཐད་གཏོང་དང་ཆོས་གླེང་རིམ་པ་རྣམས་གློག་བརྙན་ཐོག་བཟུང་ཡོད་པ་དང་། ཆོས་འཁོར་དེ་ཡང་གཏམ་བཤད་དང་པོ་ནས་བརྩམས་ཏེ་རིག་པའི་རྩལ་དང་སྤྲོ་ཉམས་ལྡན་ཞིང་། སེམས་ཅན་གྱི་རང་གཤིས་ཐབས་ཤེས་ཟུང་འབྲེལ་གྱི་ཆོས་ཉིད་འོད་གསལ་བ་དེ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་སྐོར། རིག་པའི་དབང་ཕྱུག་རྣམས་ནས་གཏམ་བཤད་དང་གྲོས་བསྡུར་ཟབ་ཅིང་གནད་ལ་ཁེལ་བ། གནམ་གྲུ་དང་གྱིག་དམ་དང་མེ་ཏོག་སོགས་དེང་དུས་དང་མཐུན་པའི་དཔེ་ཡིས་ཉེ་བར་སྤྲས་ཏེ་དགག་བཞག་སྤོང་གསུམ་མཐིལ་ཕྱིན་མཛད་པ་དང་། རིག་པའི་རྣོ་ངར་གྱིས་དཀའ་གནད་ཕིགས་ཤིང་། བགད་ཉམས་ཀྱི་གད་རྒྱངས་མང་དུ་བསྒྲོགས་ལ། ཕན་ཚུན་དད་གུས་ཀྱི་བཟང་སྤྱོད་ངོམས་ནས་སྙིང་པོའི་བསྟན་པ་ལ་མཆོག་ཏུ་སྨན་པའི་འདུ་བྱེད་ལ་འཇུག་ཡོད་པའོ།།

In connection with the Buddha-Nature resource project, Tsadra Foundation hosted a three-day conference from June 1–3, 2023 by inviting some 20 speakers of outstanding erudition representing the different Tibetan Buddhist traditions to discuss buddha-nature, related texts, theories, and practices. The conference was attended by over two hundred scholars from 32 monastic learning centers in and around Kathmandu, broadcast live and the proceedings were recorded. The conference proved to be a lively and stimulating debate from the very first presentation! Great minds lectured and debated on our true nature of compassion and wisdom, using airplanes, pet bottles, and bouquets as examples to argue or counterargue that all beings or all things have the luminous buddha-nature. The conversations were marked by penetrating intellectual acuity, a robust sense of humor sending forth frequent bursts of laughter, and a deep sense of mutual respect and humility, thus making a significant contribution to the understanding of buddha-nature.

The Conference Sessions

Karma Phuntsho

Welcome

Karma Phuntsho

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Karma Phuntsho Introduction to the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Phuntsho, Karma. "Karma Phuntsho Introduction to the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 13:17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omyw-1iKEZQ.;

Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe

Presentation

Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe

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Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Ngawang Lodoe, Khenpo. "Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 1. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 56:49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmC6RjmKr8.; Key Terms/Nyingma, People/Mi pham rgya mtsho, Key Terms/dharmakāya, People/Klong chen pa

Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong

Presentation

Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong

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Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Kalsang Tenkyong, Geshe. "Geshe Kalsang Tenkyong at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 2. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:02:15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSLj6w_QfHM.; Key Terms/Kadam, People/Rngog blo ldan shes rab, People/Phywa pa chos kyi seng+ge

Lopen Damcho Dorji

Presentation

Lopen Damcho Dorji

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Lopen Damcho Dorji at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Damcho Dorji, Lopen. "Lopen Damcho Dorji at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 3. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:02:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYCweSM0sX8.; Key Terms/gotra, Key Terms/Madhyamaka, People/Drukchen, 4th, Topics/Drukpa Kagyu

Khenpo Dakpa Senge

Presentation

Khenpo Dakpa Senge

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Khenpo Dakpa Senge at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Dakpa Senge, Khenpo. "Khenpo Dakpa Senge at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 4. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z18KEtcFI_o.; People/Rong ston shes bya kun rig

Geshe Drime Ozer

Presentation

Geshe Drime Ozer

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Geshe Drime Ozer at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Drime Ozer, Geshe. "Geshe Drime Ozer at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 5. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSnACTyB9M.; Key Terms/Jonang

Geshe Ngawang Tsesang

Presentation

Geshe Ngawang Tsesang

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Geshe Ngawang Tsesang at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Ngawang Tsesang, Geshe. "Geshe Ngawang Tsesang at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 6. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:09:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59TlNurZH74.; Key Terms/Geluk, People/Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen

Karma Phuntsho

Conference - Special Events

Karma Phuntsho

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Lopon Karma Phuntso's Introduction of Kyoton's Life and Works

Karma Phuntsho. "Lopon Karma Phuntso's Introduction of Kyoton's Life and Works." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video,; People/Skyo ston smon lam tshul khrims

Khenpo Tenpa Tshering

Presentation

Khenpo Tenpa Tshering

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Khenpo Tenpa Tshering at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Tenpa Tshering, Khenpo. "Khenpo Tenpa Tshering at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 1. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 55:10. https://youtu.be/ucNg5N6E5JQ.; Key Terms/Nyingma

Khenpo Dawa Tsering

Presentation

Khenpo Dawa Tsering

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Khenpo Dawa Tsering at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Dawa Tsering, Khenpo. "Khenpo Dawa Tsering at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 2. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 59:21. https://youtu.be/_TvzvS2GUt4.; Texts/Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa

Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey

Presentation

Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey

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Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Ngawang Thokmey, Khenpo. "Khenpo Ngawang Thokmey at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 3. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:07. https://youtu.be/gGPwGKD0VFY.; People/ShAkya mchog ldan

Lopen Dawa Zangpo

Presentation

Lopen Dawa Zangpo

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Lopen Dawa Zangpo at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Dawa Zangpo, Lopen. "Lopen Dawa Zangpo at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 4. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:55. https://youtu.be/MEDBfnEFK0g.; Key Terms/Jonang

Geshe Ngawang Topden

Presentation

Geshe Ngawang Topden

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Geshe Ngawang Topden at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Ngawang Topden, Geshe. "Geshe Ngawang Topden at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 5. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:41. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCT6hayx46c.; Key Terms/Geluk, People/Dalai Lama, 14th, Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu

Presentation

Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu

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Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Tsultrim Norbu, Khenpo. "Khenpo Tsultrim Norbu at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 2, Talk 6. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 58:51. https://youtu.be/7_Exz6x36lw.; People/Mi pham rgya mtsho

Khenpo Tshewang Sonam

Presentation

Khenpo Tshewang Sonam

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Khenpo Tshewang Sonam at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Tshewang Sonam, Khenpo. "Khenpo Tshewang Sonam at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 3, Talk 1. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:04:45. https://youtu.be/FVvbqVoj7Mc.; Key Terms/Nyingma, Topics/Dzogchen

Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi

Presentation

Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi

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Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Lhakpa Yeshi, Khenpo. "Khenpo Lhakpa Yeshi at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 3, Talk 2. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:00:10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T68IhXlXet8.; People/Karmapa, 8th

Ngawang Jorden

Presentation

Khenpo Ngawang Jorden

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Khenpo Ngawang Jorden at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Ngawang Jorden, Khenpo. "Khenpo Ngawang Jorden at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 3, Talk 3. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu, June 1–3. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 59:30. https://youtu.be/hpvslhxx1R0.; Key Terms/Sakya, People/Go rams pa bsod nams seng ge

Geshe Lobsang Gyatso

Presentation

Geshe Lobsang Gyatso

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Geshe Lobsang Gyatso at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Lobsang Gyatso, Geshe. "Geshe Lobsang Gyatso at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 3, Talk 4. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 57:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K81prXiAH_A.; Key Terms/Geluk

Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho

Presentation

Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho

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Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Sherab Phuntsho, Khenpo. "Khenpo Sherab Phuntsho at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video,; Key Terms/Kagyu, People/Karmapa, 3rd

Geshe Jigme Gyatso

Presentation

Geshe Jigme Gyatso

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Geshe Jigme Gyatso at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference

Jigme Gyatso, Geshe. "Geshe Jigme Gyatso at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 3, Talk 6. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 1:00:37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkXoUdYva1o.; Key Terms/gotra, Key Terms/Geluk

Geydrak Rinpoche

Closing Speech

Geydrak Rinpoche

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Closing Remarks from Geydrak Rinpoche

Geydrak Rinpoche. "Closing Remarks from Geydrak Rinpoche." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 7:53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTLq72nR9iU.;

Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim

Closing Speech

Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim

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Closing Remarks from Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim

Gyurme Tsultrim, Khenpo. "Closing Remarks from Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim." 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 16:18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiRHboR24MU.;

Photo Gallery

June 1st 2023 - Day One

June 2nd 2023 - Day Two

June 3rd 2023 - Day Three

prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

Go to the page with the definition of 'luminous'

Nyingma - The Nyingma, which is often described as the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, traces its origin to Padmasambhava, who is said to have visited Tibet in the eighth century. Tib. རྙིང་མ་

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dharmakāya - "Truth body" or "true being" — One of the three bodies of a buddha. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it often refers to a kind of fundamental principle or the true nature of reality itself. Skt. धर्मकाय Tib. ཆོས་སྐུ་ Ch. 法身

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Kadam - The Kadam tradition, which traces its origin to the teachings of Atiśa, was the first of the so-called New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, traditions which arose during or after the Second Propagation of Buddhism (phyi dar) in the tenth century. Tib. བཀའ་གདམས་

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gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

Go to the page with the definition of 'gotra'

Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt. मध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ Ch. 中觀見

Go to the page with the definition of 'Madhyamaka'

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

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Jonang - The Jonang tradition was established by Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a thirteenth-century Sakya monk famous for his Zhentong teachings. The Jonang teachings and monasteries were suppressed in Tibet in the seventeenth century but survived in Amdo. Tib. ཇོ་ནང་

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Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib. དགེ་ལུགས་

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These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Go to the page with the definition of 'Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'

Dzogchen - Dzogchen is an advanced system of meditation techniques to reveal the innate state of perfection primarily, but not exclusively, espoused by the Nyingma Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan Bön tradition. Skt. महासन्धि Tib. རྫོགས་ཆེན།

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Sakya - The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre. Tib. ས་སྐྱ་

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