Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, Impermanence in Plain English, 33–42, New York: Wisdom Publications, 2023. 

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Noble Truths, Noble Path: The Heart Essence of the Buddha’s Teachings, 13–32, Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2023.

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, Start Here, Start Now, 49–61, Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications/Bhavana Society, 2019.

In this lesson, Thupten Jinpa introduces Abhidharma Psychology from a broader perspective, looking at the fundamental ideas that can be found in Buddhist psychology all the way back to the Buddha himself. He also focuses on the emergence of Abhidharma and explains its key aspects. Jinpa then highlights how understanding the primacy of the mind helps us understand the state of happiness and suffering. Additionally, he shares how the framework of the five aggregates is foundational to Abhidharma analysis. Jinpa discusses the evolution of Abhidharma and explains how Abhidharma systematically attempts to organize the Buddha’s teachings.

Dzogchen teaching discourse typically comprises presentations of the essence, nature, and compassion of the basis. Among these three concepts, the essence—original purity (tib. ka dag)—is the focus of the course’s second lesson. Malcolm characterizes this original purity on the basis of a detailed section (never before presented in English) on the ten pristine consciousnesses found in the Realms and Transformations of Sound Tantra (tib. sgra thal ’gyur gyi rgyud). Cataloging the varied interpretations of the term often translated as “clear light” (skt. prabhāsvara; tib. ‘od gsal), Malcolm establishes the concept of primordial buddhahood and discusses original purity as a mere negation—“that in which no ignorance has ever existed.” He explains how understanding this original purity necessitates a comprehensive explanation of ignorance and how it arises that is not present in any other category of Buddhist teachings.

Ācārya Malcolm Smith has been a student of the Great Perfection teachings since 1992. His main Dzogchen teachers are Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, the late Kunzang Dechen Lingpa, and the late H.H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche. He is a veteran of a traditional three-year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a published translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts, and was awarded the Āchārya degree by the Sakya Institute in 2004. He graduated in 2009 from Shang Shung Institute’s School of Tibetan Medicine. He has worked on translations for renowned lamas since 1992, including His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Kunzang Dechen Lingpa,  Khenpo Migmar Tseten, Tulku Dakpa Rinpoche, and many others. His works include Buddhahood in This Life and The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra (vol 1) and The Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra (vol 2).