RYI STUDENT BLOG

Dear Friends, The practice of releasing life is said to dispel obstacles that shorten our life, purify negative karma accumulated by taking life, as well as lengthening our life so that we have more time to accomplish the Dharma. During one of Phakchok Rinpoche's teachings to students of the Rangjung Yeshe Shedra, Rinpoche encouraged everyone to make a donation towards his yearly fish release, which many did.  The fish release took place on the 2nd of March a few days after the Tsekar Drupchen. For the event Phakchok Rinpoche invited all the young monks from his two monasteries Riwoche and Vajravarahi Gompa. We left around seven in the morning in a bus and drove approximately four hours to a small village were two rivers merge. Since it was also a holiday trip for the monks, we arrived about two hours before the Rinpoches came. This gave the monks enough time to play, stroll around and to have a pick-nick next to the river bed.  Chokling Rinpoche and Phakc...

Many of us these days study the Uttaratantra with Khenpo Urgyen Tenpel. As everyone probably knows, this text explains Buddha-nature. It seems very important to study this topic in order to understand what pure perception means – the concept crucial for the Vajrayana Buddhism.  We often hear that Vajrayana view is seeing everyone and everything as pure and perfect – ourselves, other beings, our environment. It might be very challenging however to try to apply it. For example, imagine we are in a position of a boss and our employees have not done their work properly. Should we say: “Thank you guys, well done?” Similar things happen in personal relationships as well. For instance, our partner, relative or friend tends to behave in a way that drives us crazy.  Incorrect understanding of pure perception may easily drive us into very immature way of behavior: instead of telling another person that we feel uncomfortable with certain things, we just throw him or her to garbage....

I have known the story of Namo Buddha (in Tibetan stag mo lus byin) since I was a child. When we had finished our nomadic livestock work at the end of the day, all of my family gathered in our tent around the mud-stove in the butter lamplight. While we ate our dinner sometimes our father told us some interesting stories including folk stories and some very basic Buddha dharma. He chanted the prayers he had memorized from when he was a monk before the cultural revolution. Among them stag mo lus byin’s story moved me greatly  even I was a thoughtless child. Since I heard that the Buddha had fed a tigress with his living body because of his unbearable compassion for the little tiger cubs’ lives I generated more Bodhicitta than I had before. However I was never expected that I could get to see the real holy place where the Buddha offered his body for benefit of sentient beings’ lives. Nevertheless I got the great fortune to study in the white monastery (shad dra) in Nepal f...

Last Fall in September 2011, I joined Rangjung Yeshe Institute for BA degree. In Spring, I went up to Pullahari Rigpe Dorje Institute to continue my third year. So, I could not study at RYI last Spring from January to March 2012. But this year from June to August 2012, I attended the summer course in Buddhist Studies.  Presently, I am in the second year of the BA and taking five courses this semester. Every morning from Monday to Friday 8:00am-9:00am I attend philosophy class of Thirty Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva Commentary by Chos Kyi Dragpa. Then alternately 9:15am-10:45am I attend History of Buddhism and Specialized Studies classes. Next 11:00 am -12:30 pm I attend Uttaratantra Sastra class Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso. Then I have lunch break and self study time for the rest of the day. On Monday and Thursday 4:00pm-5:30pm I attend Translation Project class in translating Uttaratantra Sastra Commentary by Gyu Mipham Rinpoche. As I have to write many academ...