DHARAMSHALA, September 6: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama today concluded his three-day teachings on Shantideva’s ‘A Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life’ (chodjug) in his exile residence of Dharamshala.
The teachings were requested by a group of Southeast Asians.
Thousands of peoples from more than 50 countries attended the teachings over the three days from September 4-6 at the Tsug-la Khang, the main temple.
Speaking to Phayul, Jinpa, a member of the teaching’s organising committee said that this was the seventh time the group had received direct teachings from the Dalai Lama since 2007.
At the request of the same group, His Holiness had last year taught from the Chodjug text. This year, the teachings were continued from chapter 5 (Guarding Introspection).
Shantideva’s ‘A Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life’ consists of ten chapters which deals with Benefits of Awaking Mind; The Confession of Negative Deeds; The Full Acceptance of Awakened Mind; Conscientiousness; Guarding Alertness; The Perfection of Patience; The Perfection of Enthusiasm; The Perfection of Meditation; The Perfection of Wisdom; and Dedication.
On the last day of the teachings, the Dalai Lama bestowed the Bodhisattva vows.
In the afternoon, after the conclusion of the teachings, the Dalai Lama also took part in special question and answer session with his disciples from Southeast Asia.
With the teachings, the organisers hope to enable people of all faiths, especially in South East Asia, to attend His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings and also to promote Tibetan culture and teachings.
Members of the organising committee hail from different countries in the region, including from Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Following the teachings, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to travel to New Delhi and then to his first exile residence of Mussoorie before returning back to Dharamshala to give teachings on ‘Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (jangchup lamdron)’ at the request of a group of Taiwanese disciples from October 1-2.
