RYI STUDENT BLOG

                                                                            I.                                                                                                                  What is the deep listening?                                          Sema is a greeting from the secret ones                            ...

I came to wherever I am for the purpose of solving a problem. This might be same for all of you with many different colors, languages, status, and beliefs. Such a problem surely exists not only in human beings like me but also in all conscious, wishful, and desirous beings. To put it very simply this business of solving a problem is to increase the happiness by reducing the unhappiness I experience throughout a day, month, and year. If there is one entity about, which I can claim a true existence about it, it will be the wish that I have for the increment of happiness. Even sublime beings as Bodhisattvas do not want other beings suffer, which actually indicates they wish for the increment of happiness of all beings. So I truly believe such a wish is truly there both in my microcosm and macrocosm. Unfortunately, in the process of seeking the happiness I wish for, I conversely experience so much unhappiness endlessly without control and will. Having been a...

To reiterate what some others have said in their blog posts, Rangjung Yeshe is a special Institution that combines a monastic style approach with “western” academic classes. Through this blog I have read many inspiring testimonials about Rangjung Yeshe and really do think that the Institute deserves the praise it has gotten and more. Yet somehow I have found it difficult to come up with anything new to say about the Institute. Perhaps it is not enough to just commend the Institute itself. It is definitely wonderful and all that but I believe that Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and gang make this a truly special place to be. Beyond the academic platform it is Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche who seems to make the teachings we receive in the classroom come alive. Being the jaded and small-minded person that I am, I often fall into states of lethargy and procrastination. At times I even find myself labeling the materials I study as dry, intellectual philosophy because they seem far removed from...

Nepal is certainly not a rich country regarding the material properties of the people who live here. Sometimes it is simply heartbreaking to see how many hardships people have to undergo in their daily lives while we students from the West are so fortunate to be able to choose how and where we want to live. Nevertheless, Nepal is certainly very rich regarding spirituality and it is sometimes amazing to see how strong people can be in their minds. I would like to tell you about one person who I admire for her mental strength. She is one of these persons who have nothing, not even a family to rely on, which is so important for all Nepali people. I do not even know her name because she is not able to speak properly. Walking is also difficult for her, probably due to a Polio disease in her childhood. These are really bad conditions for a person living on the street, not only in Asia. She might be about my age, maybe younger, who can estimate the age of people who live on the stre...