What: Series of Buddhist Teachings on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara
When: 12-16 May (part 1) & 15-17 June (part 2)
Where: Deer Park Institute
Who: Khenpo Choying Dorjee
Introduction to the Middle Way
The Madhyamakavatara, considered to be a masterpiece on the Madhyamika “Middle Way” philosophy, is a treatise on the two types of selflessness composed by one of the most well-known Indian Buddhist panditas, Chandrakirti.
Chandrakirti’s work is a commentary on the Mula-Madhyamaka treatise of Nagarjuna. The Mula-Madhyamaka treatise is itself a systemization of the Prajnaparamita or “Perfection of Wisdom” literature – the sutras on the crucial but elusive concept of emptiness. The Madhyamakavatara of Chandkirti expresses both the profound aspect of Nagarjuna’s Mula-Madhyamaka, namely emptiness, as well as the vast aspect – the paths and bhumis of the bodhisattva. The Madhyamakavatara has eleven chapters, each addressing one of the ten ‘perfections’ (Sanskrit: paramita) fulfilled by the Bodhisattvas as they traverse the ten ‘stages’ (Sanskrit: bhumi) to Buddhahood, the subject of the 11th chapter.
Khenpo Choying Dorje’s classes on the Madhamakavatara will be divided into 5 series. For the 1st series, Khenpo will cover the first five chapters.
Khenpo Choying Dorjee
Khenpo Choying Dorjee is one of the senior Khenpos and assistant principal at the renowned Buddhist college Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro Institute. He received his Khenpo degree from Dzongsar Institute in 2002 after completing twelve years of study. He also received a special Khenpo degree from His Holiness Dalai Lama in 2004.
Khenpo Choying Dorjer has been teaching at Dzongsar Institute since 1998 and he was the Sakya scholar representative at a number of international conferences and workshops. From 2007, he started giving teachings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and USA. In response to an adornment project of Khyentse Foundation, Khenpo recently went to University of California in Berkeley for a 5-month stay as visiting scholar in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies. Khenpo’s teaching at Deer Park will be in English.
For more information: http://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/introduction-to-the-middle-way-2/