Venerable Khenpo Dr. Ngawang Jorden

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Please enjoy this rare opportunity to receive this two-week course of teachings by the Venerable Khenpo Dr. Ngawang Jorden on ‘Cultivating Method and Realizing Wisdom.’ Just as a bird depends on two wings to fly, the path to awakening comprises two essential components: method and wisdom. In the first week of this course, devoted to method, Khenpo Jorden will give teachings on mindfulness and introspection. Without these two qualities, it is impossible to make significant progress on the path. It is therefore important to learn how to cultivate these skilfully, not only in meditation, but also in daily life, in order to establish continuity in one’s practice. The teaching will be based on two chapters of Shantideva’s ‘The Way of the Bodhisattva’ (Bodhicaryavatara) and will include essential meditation instructions. 

In the second week, Khenpo Jorden will explore two core areas for the development of wisdom: dependent arising and emptiness. The Buddha’s teachings on dependent arising are the foundation for attaining liberating insight into the nature of ultimate reality. These teachings explain how things come to appear in the world and, most significantly, how we are caught in a net of suffering and dissatisfaction and how we might liberate ourselves from this net of suffering and dissatisfaction. The correct understanding of dependent arising builds the foundation for the profound teachings on emptiness. To explore this subject, Khenpo Jorden will base his explanation on Rongton Sheja Kunrig’s commentary on the ‘Heart Sutra,’ one of the most widely recited Mahayana scriptures. In just a few paragraphs, this text conveys the essence of the highest Buddhist wisdom, which is insight into the nature of ultimate reality.