Chapter 12: Quiz review part 2
Venerable Thubten Semkye 
Aryadeva's 400 Stanzas 
Apr 23, 2015 The second part of the review of the quiz questions for Chapter 12: Refuting wrong views. Part of a series of talks on Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way.
Review of questions 9 through 16
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Why are proponents of the lower tenet systems afraid of the emptiness of inherent existence? Why do they reject it?
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What are disadvantages of falling to each of the two extremes? Why is lapsing from ethics preferable to lapsing from the view? Why is falling to the extreme of absolutism not as bad as falling to the extreme of annihilation?
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What are the disadvantages of teaching people new to the Dharma about emptiness? Does that mean we should not mention emptiness at all when talking to them about the Dharma? What background should they have first before we explain emptiness to them?
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Why is realizing emptiness the only door to peace?
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What is the difference between a conceptual and nonconceptual realization of emptiness?
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Is suffering virtuous? Is birth as a human being virtuous? What is the difference between being virtuous and being the result of virtue?
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Explain verse 298 “In brief Tathagatas explain virtue as non-violence and emptiness as nirvana—here there are only these two.” How does that relate to the explanation of Buddhist view and conduct?
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Why is it important to be open-minded? Why is it important to think deeply about the teachings? How can you cultivate these in yourself?
102 Aryadeva’s 400 Stanzas: Chapter 12 quiz part 2 (download)
Venerable Thubten Semkye
Ven. Semkye was the Abbey's first lay resident, coming to help Venerable Chodron with the gardens and land management in the spring of 2004. She became the Abbey's third nun in 2007 and received bhikshuni ordination in Taiwan in 2010. She met Venerable Chodron at the Dharma Friendship Foundation in Seattle in 1996. She took refuge in 1999. When the land was acquired for the Abbey in 2003, Ven. Semye coordinated volunteers for the initial move-in and early remodeling. A founder of Friends of Sravasti Abbey, she accepted the position of chairperson to provide the Four Requisites for the monastic community. Realizing that was a difficult task to do from 350 miles away, she moved to the Abbey in spring of 2004. Although she didn't originally see ordination in her future, after the 2006 Chenrezig retreat when she spent half of her meditation time reflecting on death and impermanence, Ven. Semkye realized that ordaining would be the wisest, most compassionate use of her life. View pictures of her ordination. Ven. Semkye draws on her extensive experience in landscaping and horticulture to manage the Abbey's forests and gardens. She oversees "Offering Volunteer Service Weekends" during which volunteers help with construction, gardening, and forest stewardship.
