His Holiness the Dalai Lama often tells us that if we want to understand emptiness, the atom bomb that brings all our problems to an end, according to Lama Tsong Khapa, there are five texts to learn from. This is one of them. “Essence of Eloquence” (Tib. Leg-she Nying-po), where Lama Tsong Khapa examines the meaning of emptiness according to all three Mahayana philosophical systems: Cittamatra, Svatantrika, and Prasangika.
When Tsongkhapa wrote his Great Exposition of Special Insight (Tib. Lhag-tong Chen-mo), he saw in the sky the twenty emptinesses from the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in silver letters. Later, when he wrote the “Essence of Eloquence” at Sera Chö Ding, a small retreat house above Sera Monastery, the vision returned to him the whole time he was working on the text. All those twenty emptinesses came back in giant letters, but this time they were all golden. So in the Middle Way emptiness teachings of Lama Tsong Khapa, the “Great Exposition of Special Insight” is called “The Silver Book”, and the “Essence of Eloquence” is called “The Golden Book”. It is considered a most wonderful thing to study and learn.
It is clearly a favorite of His Holiness the Dalai Lama — Jeffrey Hopkins tells us it is the one book on wisdom that His Holiness takes everywhere with him. His Holiness talks fondly of how the margins of his copy are so filled with notes he has had to resort to post-its for further notes. It is a phenomenal teaching, and it is very exciting and fortunate that we have a master the caliber of Geshe Sangye to teach it here. It won’t be easy, but the great masters are able to make something difficult seem easy, so come along and try.
The Gift of Dharma Surpasses All Gifts – Be a Sponsor
Sponsoring Dharma teachings is a common practice by our lamas. Lama Zopa Rinpoche often sponsors teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and in the past Rinpoche has sponsored Choden Rinpoche’s teachings at LMB. Dagri Rinpoche and Geshe Ngawang Sangye sponsored Jangtse Choje Rinpoche’s teachings in South India.
The cost to host these teachings include a round-trip airline ticket from India, food, and offerings. We estimate the direct cost for Geshela’s five-week visit to be approximately $4,000. Just a few major sponsors could make it possible to cover the entire cost, allowing Land of Medicine Buddha to offer all the classes for free! Any amount, small or big, is welcome and greatly appreciated.
Sign up online to be a sponsor or click here to contact the Director to discuss options. We thank you in advance for your kind generosity. May all blessings ripen upon you and bring you great happiness and joy!
Special Visiting Teacher
Geshe Ngawang Sangye is a Lharampa geshe (equivalent to a Ph.D. degree in western education) and is one of the leading teachers at Sera Je Monastery. He is a classmate of Dagri Rinpoche and is from the same khangtsen as Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchog. Geshela is the teacher of Venerable Steve Carlier and Venerable Samten. Recently, he has become the main teacher of Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche, the reincarnation of Geshe Lama Konchong.
Ven Steve said of Geshela:
While he was Disciplinarian at Sera Je, His Holiness during a public teaching pointed the Head of the Gelugpa and him as two Ladakhi monks who had studied well. That’s pretty amazing. Personally I find him exciting to listen to. His way of teaching is always very animated. He sparkles. He’s scintillating. He’s very good. He’s very learned in all Sutra topics, and especially in Legshe Nyingpo, which was what I first received instruction on from him, and I was enthralled from beginning to end. He’s the main teacher of the Kopan monks at Sera now. His Holiness is very fond of him.
| Date(s): | |
| Times: | 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm |
| Instructor/Leader: | Geshe Ngawang Sangye |
| Type of event: | special event |
| Number of sessions: | 5 |
| Level: | Advance-intermediate |
| Participation: | All are welcome! |
| Location: | Main Gompa |
| iCal Link: | iCal |
| Add to Google Calendar: |  |
Registration and Donations for The Golden Book: Essence of Eloquence
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