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Buddhist Summer School 2002
A rich tapestry of traditions and practices has been woven by various Asian cultures around the essence of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived 2,500 years ago. The enduring nature of Buddhism is symptomatic of its purity and integrity as a spiritual discipline and remains contemporary in its methods of self development. Over the past several decades, Westerners have begun to learn from and participate in this diversity and essence. As part of its commitment to disseminate the Buddhist teachings, Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute conducts the annual Buddhist Summer School as a vehicle of inquiry and learning. The popularity of the Buddhist Summer School is a mark of the developing range and depth of interest in Buddhism among Australians. This is reflected in enrollments of over 20,000 since the inception of the event in 1984. In acknowledgment of this, we continue to host distinguished Buddhist scholars and teachers from around Australia and overseas. This nineteenth Buddhist Summer School offers a stimulating variety of courses in both theoretical and experiential Buddhism, as well as meditation instruction based on a number of traditions. Course 1
The wish to free oneself from samsara (conditioned existence) is shared by all beings. However, with our defilements of the mind we continue to wander in samsara. Without a proper understanding of the nature of all phenomena there is no way we can overcome our defilements. This course examines the key means of successfully overcoming conditioned existence, namely, listening to teachers, contemplating the teachings and meditating on the nature of mind. Lama Rigzin, as a Tibetan, was ordained as a novice monk at the age of eight by His Eminence Luding Khen Rinpoche in India. Lama undertook the traditional monastic education at Sakya Centre and having successfully completed the traditional extensive training in rituals then moved to the Sakya Monastery of His Holiness Sakya Trinzin for five years to further his studies of Buddhist philosophy. Lama Ridzin was appointed by His Holiness Sakya Trinzin as the resident lama at Sakya Losal Choe Dzong in Canberra. Course 2 The Goddess Tara is the embodiment of the enlightened activities of all the Buddhas. The Green Tara Puja is popularly practised in almost every Tibetan monastary and all dharma centres daily. Praises to Tara are sung by many Tibetans; even small children know it by heart.
Lama Rigzin will provide a commentary on this popular practice. Course 3 The recent terrorist attacks of September 11 undermined the sense of security of Western democracies. The divisiveness of domestic Australian politics involving race and territorial boundaries has made us question our identity as a humanitarian nation and our sense of control to keep the outside world out. In times of insecurity people divide into fixed positions of good and evil and are easily exploited by political leaders. But are we ever secure? Do we even know who we are? Will clinging to good and evil or right and wrong save us from our fundamental insecurity? Will it open the heart of compassion? Against the background of these turbulent modern times, this workshop will outline the practice of Zen Buddhism -- a practice which has passed through the crucible of centuries of conflict and upheaval. In particular it will focus on the issue of resistance in our lives and the practice of cultivating the wisdom of insecurity. It will include practical demonstration and experience of Zen meditation as well as other skillful mans that teach us how to embody this natural wisdom. The first day will involve lectures, discussion and practical demonstration. The second day will be a day of silent meditation practice that will include private interviews with the teacher. Geoff Dawson is a Zen teacher with the Ordinary Mind Zen School founded by Charlotte Beck of the Zen Center of San Diego. He has practiced Zen for 25 years and has conducted meditation intensives for many years in Australia. Geoff works as a psychologist in private practice at the Metta Clinic in Sydney and has a particular interest in Buddhism and Psychotherapy. Course 4 Zhang Zhung, the ancient kingdom which preceded the Tibetan Empire, was founded possibly in the 2nd century B.C.E. It is said to have extended from modern Tajikistan to China, and thesis days the Dzogchen system of meditation is said to have originated there. This course will look at the myth, history and artistic remnants of Zhang Zhung and try to give it a documented and historical basis. David Templeman is a well respected historian who has translated many spiritual biographies. He has presented papers at a number of international Tibetan studies conferences and has published a number of works. David's current interest is in focussing on early relationships between Tibet and its neighbors and early Feng-shui concepts in Tibet. He is also translating a work on an Indian siddha (yogi) of the 16-17th century in Tibet. Course 5 This course will present the birth of Buddhism and its subsequent development into different traditions and onto other countries. The teachings of Buddhism, which looks directly at the human condition, is viewed as being relevant in its application to daily life. The teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the characteristics of existence - impermanence, the unsatisfactory nature of existence and the notion of non-self - and the law of karma with dependent origination, are considered to be the heart of Buddhism. The practical application of different meditation techniques will form an integral part of the course. Venerable Vijitha is a Sri Lankan born monk who has been in Australia since 1994. He studied at a monastic centre of learning in Colombo for 8 years and has also graduated with a University degree in Buddhist studies and Language. Prior to arriving in Australia, Bhante was based in Sweden and traveled to other Scandinavian countries teaching Buddhism. Venerable Vijitha is currently the principle monk of Melbourne Dhamma-sarana Temple in Keysborough, Victoria. Course 6 This course will explore the basic issues in psychology from a Buddhist perspective: the body-mind tangle; interaction between cognition, motivation and affect (emotion); meeting the challenges in developing a psychology from the perspectives of anatta (non-self); issues in therapy. The course will have as its focus the predicament of human suffering (dukkha) and the Buddhist thesis that theory and practice go together. Padmasiri de Silva was Professor and
Head of the Philosophy and Psychology Department, University of Peradeniya,
Sri Lanka (1980-89). He has held visiting positions at the University
of Pittsburgh and ISLE program in U.S.A, and is the author of a number
of books and contributions to journals and anthologies. He is presently
a Research Fellow at Monash University. Course 7 In Buddhism there is a special way of looking at spirituality from the viewpoint of women. The feminine ideal is believed to connect the inner and outer worlds, that is, the practitioner's state of mind and the perceptual level of the phenomenal world. Mara's three daughters were sent to tempt Buddha on the eve of his enlightenment. They were not women as such but were symbolic of the three poisons - passion, aggression and indifference. Early Buddhist literature focussed on overcoming desire through meditations on such things as corpses, the filth of the human body, and beautiful women turning into dribbling hags. Yet tantric literature abounds with stories of women who, in the form of prostitutes, barmaids, boddhisatvas, intimate spiritual companions, and dharma lineage holders, have thrown lively chaos into the lives of great meditators. This course briefly explores how the feminine ideal, or wisdom, can be discovered in practice, and how it can infuse our ordinary daily experiences with an intimacy and honesty described by some as being the 'warm breath of the dakinis'. Christine Biddle has been a student of Buddhism for more than twenty years, during which time she has studied and practiced in India and Canada. She currently studies under the direction of the Venerable Traleg Rinpoche and has completed a traditional three year retreat under the late Kalu Rinpoche. Christine is a meditation instructor at Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute. Course 8A and 8B The Buddha is reported to have said that the dharma, the spiritual path, has but one taste, the taste of freedom. However, a person may know a great deal superficially about a city he or she has never visited, so too, until we engage in the practice of the dharma we can never really know it. Meditation is one of the central practices of Buddhism and the chief means by which each individual can experience for themselves the benefits of the dharma. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about what meditation is and this course will introduce participants to the basics of shamatha or Tranquillity meditation. The course will also address issues such as the place of emotions in meditation, how to recognise and work with various obstacles that can arise in meditation and hints on establishing a regular meditation routine. Garrie O'Toole
has been involved in Buddhist practice and study since 1978. He has been
a student of the Ven. Traleg Rinpoche for almost two decades and is a
meditation instructor at E-Vam Institute. He has also completed a Master
of Arts Degree in Buddhist Studies. In late imperial China, many Confucian scholars and radicals sounded like Buddhists, despite being called Neo-Confucians. We are fairly familiar with the Taoist emphasis on "the natural" and its influence in Zen, but there are also many interesting stories and lessons to be found in Buddhism's confrontation with Confucianism. In many ways what happened in the latter "mix" better reflects the cultural challenges Buddhism (of various kinds) faces in our own situation in the West; and so there is an enormous value in being introduced to the stories of serious minded scholar-gentlemen like Zhu Xi and Wang Yang Ming (who can sometimes borrow from Zen, but had real problems with Buddhism), later wild-cards like Wang Gen and Wang Ji, or even out-and-out libertines like the notorious "Three Yang Brothers." At the heart of it all, of course, is the Chinese discussion about what it is to be properly human. But there are also discussions of "ordinary mind", "original dwelling place" and other surprising resonance with Dzogchen thought and practice. And so the Chinese experience at this time, even when it comes in Confucian disguise, provides a wonderful opportunity to understand familiar terms better by observing how they grew on other soil, and in some cases, how they were distorted. It will therefore help us to be more aware of our own tendencies and toward either fulfillment or distortion of precious traditions arriving from far places. And if we can do that, we have a better chance at taking part in the human conversation we call "spirituality". Dr Mark Stevenson has been a student of Venerable Traleg Rinpoche for 20 years. He is Lecturer in Asian Studies at Victoria University, Melbourne, where he teaches anthropology, comparative religion, literature and Tibetan history. He is currently working on a translation of the Amdo 'smad chos y'bung' (a nineteenth century history of the Amdo region of Tibet), as well as a translation of the Ming dynasty novel, 'Tale of an Infuriated Woman.' FORUMS A forum, as a situation where a variety of views can be presented, offers an opportunity for participants to teach and to learn from each other. Because of the success of previous years, we are again conducting forums at the beginning and at the close of the Buddhist Summer School 2002. Teachers involved in the Summer School will take part in the discussions and will encourage audience participation. These events are free of charge and are not restricted to those who have enrolled in the School, but are open to all. |
| ------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright and disclaimer Created: September 18, 2005 Last Updated: June 29, 2005 Authorised by: Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche |