RYI STUDENT BLOG

Buddha Lotus Painting Contrary to common outsider conceptions of monastic life, the place held by meditative practices (here defined as practices involving states of absorbed concentration) within the everyday practices of the average Tibetan Buddhist monk is quite minimal. Indeed, the majority of monks within the Tibetan tradition we are primarily exposed to at the shedra do not or rarely practise meditation of this kind, instead spending the bulk of their monastic time studying different Buddhist texts and engaging in different ritualistic practices. Certainly this revelation serves as a source of surprise for many of us that held rather romanticised ideas of monks and monastic life prior to being exposed to the reality of the tradition. One then has to question the importance of the study of texts and rituals as compared to practising meditation (if a distinction is to be drawn between these kinds of practices). Buddha and afflictions      ...

Since I started studying buddhist texts in a more thorough and general way I’ve been curious about the traditional methods of learning and pedagogics used by monastics, and the efficacy of them. Certain practices from a modern outsider’s perspective may seem overly traditional, dated and possibly useless, or at least not the most sensible way of doing things. But I have a strong suspicion that the methods used has stood the test of time because of their efficacy, not in spite of a lack of it, so I’m happy to try them out and investigate how they work for me. I asked one of the khenpos of Ka-Nying monastery how the monks go about memorizing texts. I got the advice below, and I’ve tried to apply to the best of my ability. And I find that it’s fun and works well. If you ask around, you may find that different people have different techniques. Some preparation To be better able to remember a stanza, and the connection between lines and stanzas, first make sure you und...

It’s been 8 months …..8 months… The first day of orientation in the big classroom was when I saw so many faces. They were going to be a part of my stay here in Kathmandu. And before I realized, we were a big family. It felt like we have been together since forever. The atmosphere and the energy at the shedra and in Boudha was so accommodating.  As days, weeks and months passed, everyone so close to eachother , fighting like kids and taking care of eachother in times of need. Rushing to class and getting other school work completed had to be balanced with this big family. Friends from Kathmandu went out of their way to make students from outside Nepal to feel so welcomed and comfortable.  Welcoming us into their homes with arms wide open, made us feel like we were still at home. They took the effort to be the guide while taking us to see beautiful outskirts of Katmandu. Laughter was and is always a daily dose in our lives. Who said people who study do not have a se...

Last semester I took four courses namely: Uttaratantra 202, Buddhist Scripture 204, Buddhist Epistemology 303 and Philosophy 306. I like all the courses which I am attending at the current. Being able to study at RYI let me achieve the fusion of cognition and knowledge. It brings flexibility to deal with people of various countries, family backgrounds, cultures and traditions of different background. The discourses which I achieved in Shedra encourage me to strive hard for the ultimate happiness. Studying in this program has convinced me that it is the best and the most meaningful work for this life time and the all life times. Being a Tibetan woman I feel that it is very fortunate to be able to study here. Normally Tibetan women put sincere effort in earning samsaric livelihood rather then engaging in shedra study. It is very rare opportunity. I am grateful for this fortunate merit. Apparently these days many people are dying with various conditions. Sometimes they die in an...

My new path started at the end of he monsoon season of 2012, when I first entered the class in the monastery, grabbed myself a cushion, and tried to understand how I am supposed to cross my legs, and to make them stay crossed, for the next hour and a half. When the Lopon (a term which I had no idea at that time what it meant) entered the class, I stood up like everyone - but unlike everyone else, I stayed frozen in my place, amazed by what's going on around me. Amazed by this new world into which I stepped. When I first landed here my Tibetan vocabulary (or what I thought was Tibetan) was limited to two words: "dalai" and "lama", and honestly, even the meaning of those two I didn't quite understand (it turns out they are Mongolian loan-words), and the only connection I had to the dharma was a picture of me next to a stupa from a trip I once made to India. But still there was something that drew me to come here, to Nepal, to study Tibetan and to try ...

Congratulations to  Cyntia Font Zorrilla,  who successfully  defended her MA thesis.  The dissertation is entitled:  A Treasure Revealer’s Inner Life A Study and Translation of Lochen Dharmaśrī’s “Inner” Biography of Chögyal Rigdzin Terdak Lingpa The thesis supervisor was Dr. Philippe Turenne and the External Reader was Dr. Abraham Zablocki, Agnes Scott College, USA.  Before coming to study in RYI's Translator Training Program, Cynthia completed a  B.A in Archaeology and a M.A. in Archaeology and Art History Specialized in Art History from the  Université Paris IV Sorbonne, where she wrote her master’s thesis on the iconography of the Dakinis. Cynthia who has her roots in Mexico, lived in many different countries and speaks more than six languages fluently. Now she has added another one: Tibetan.  Finishing the Translator Training Program, Cynthia started teaching colloqui...

At the middle of the semester, it is always good to take a little bit of rest from all the study, which  is why we have reading week. But for some reason, this week is not called “relaxing week”.  For  sure, we all like to relax a little bit, but if they call it “relaxing week”, we may just relax too much!  So I’m in favor of the present name, “reading week”. Moreover, at least for me, this time is how it  looks like. Some like to use this week to travel and visit some places in Nepal or even India, others to practice,  others to advance in writing essays or doing homework, and maybe in many cases to do a little bit  of everything. This time for me, as part of my subjects’ work this semester, I’m doing quite a bit of reading,  particularly on the Lotus Sutra and related articles, as well as memorizing verses for the philosophy  class. As part of the Translation Project class, I’m also translating a couple of public teachings from...

In 2008 I arrived in Boudhanath to take a break from my job and to study a little bit of Buddhist philosophy. Now, I am still here and am privileged to study - kindly supported by the Tsadra foundation – in the monks’ shedra.  At the moment we are studying Chandrakirti’s   Madhyamakavatara bhashya.        From all the good things I have experienced at RYI in Boudhanath the monk shedra is certainly the climax. Khenpo Urgyen Tenphel unpacks Chandrakirti’s complicated text in a highly lucid way with clear Tibetan sentences … well, it’s still sometimes too fast for my limited capacity but there is also a review class and I also meet regularly with Paul, my intelligent Western colleague in this class, to go again through difficult passages.              But best of all is certainly the presence of the monks with whom we study. They are the most friendly, relaxed, h...

During a short holiday from our studies in Ranjung Yeshe Insitute, I decided  to go to a sacred place of Guru Padmasambhava here in Nepal. I have heard  about this place from different masters, but never had the opportunity to go. Tibetans call this sacred spot Chumig Jangchub, ‘The spring of Bodhichitta. In the  “Prayer which removes all obstacles from the path”, a terma revealed by Orgyen  Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, this place is described in the following way: “When binding under oath the protector who abides by his vows, In that immaculate, ravishing, supreme place of power, On the very border of India and Tibet, You bestowed your blessing as soon as you came. On that mountain, fragrant with sweet scented air, Even in winter lotus flowers blossom, And a spring with the nectar of Bodhichitta flows…” Bringing this prayer with me, I went to this place together with a spiritual  brother. Arriving there, I heard that there was a yogi that lived in t...

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...

Lopön Urgyen Tenpel studied for 10 years in the Sangye Yeshe Shedra at Ka Nying Shedrup Ling and is now one of the philosophy teachers at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute. This year he is teaching the Uttaratantra Shastra (Eng. Sublime Continuum) according to the commentary of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye. The following is a short interview with him: Lopön Urgyen Tenpel  Tell me something about yourself? According to the Tibetan Calender I'm 30 years old, yet according to the western calender I'm not quite sure. I was born in Mugum, in north-west Nepal, which was part of Tibet before. Yet nowadays it's counted as part of Nepal. I have two brothers, one older and one younger as well as two younger sisters. My younger brother became a monk two years ago, also here at Ka Nying Shedrup Ling. When I was 13 years old my parents encouraged me to become a monk and I happily agreed. They then brought me here, where I was ordained at the end of 1995. My parents are students of...

In our “shedra”, these days are the busiest. We are about to finish the semester (only 2 more weeks to go!) and just today we finished the Annual Fall Seminar, where we received teachings from Ven. Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and K. Phakchok Rinpoche.  Annual Fall Seminar During the seminar we spend all day –from 7:50 in the morning to around 5 pm– in the gompa. After that, we still had to engage in the usual homework and study workload. Even though it has been really challenging, it was such a wonderful opportunity!  Most of the people who joined the seminar these days had to travel from different parts of the world in order to receive these precious teachings from such realized masters. I just had to cross the street from home or walk downstairs from my classroom! This is my third semester studying Tibetan Language, both Colloquial and Classical, and I feel there’s still a long way to go to accomplish my goal, which is to be able to translate Dharma texts and oral ...

My favorite class at the  Rangjung Yeshe Institute was the philosophy class, which was very interesting. I experienced as I was in nirvana at that moment while listening to the Lopon. I compared every teaching with my own life, certain facts just matched with my own life. I was very lucky that I got an opportunity to study in the Rangjung Yeshe Institute. In the philosophy class I learned basic things of Mahayana Buddhism, such as the proper method of giving rise to Bodhicitta, practicing the six paramitas and so forth. Teaching of this kind will help me in my entire life to practice Buddhism. Lopon also mentioned in the philosophy class the right way to listen, meditate and reflect on those teachings. In the last chapter 'dedication' we learnt that in the Mahayana tradition, at first we must give rise to Bodhicitta, then follows the action and dedicate the virtue of this action for the benefit of all sentient beings. Whenever a practice contains these three...