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Through what is emptiness known?

Seven Point Mind Training by Ven Sangye Khadro – Part 12

Part of a series of 12 teachings by Venerable Sangye Khadro given online at Amitabha Buddhist Centre from July to September 2020.

  • Guided meditation on the emptiness of self
  • Additional thoughts on the questions and answers from the previous session
  • Ultimate bodhicitta (continued)
    • The seemingly real, independently existent “I” as object of negation
    • To realize emptiness, it’s not enough to sit down, say “there’s no I” and meditate on that
    • Our deep, innate conception of the self can only be uprooted by reasoning
    • The best reasoning to use in our investigations concerning emptiness is dependent arising
    • Impermanent things dependent on causes and conditions
    • All things (permanent/impermanent) depend on parts
    • All things (permanent/impermanent) dependent on our mind conceptualizing and labeling them with words
    • Mind itself is eternal, yet always changing and dependent
    • Emptiness itself is empty, that is, dependent
    • Emptiness depends on the object that has emptiness as its ultimate nature
  • Questions & answers

Venerable Sangye Khadro

California-born, Venerable Sangye Khadro ordained as a Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1974, and is a longtime friend and colleague of Abbey founder Ven. Thubten Chodron. Ven. Sangye Khadro took the full (bhikshuni) ordination in 1988. While studying at Nalanda Monastery in France in the 1980s, she helped to start the Dorje Pamo Nunnery, along with Venerable Chodron. Venerable Sangye Khadro has studied Buddhism with many great masters including Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Yeshe, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, and Khensur Jampa Tegchok. She began teaching in 1979 and was a resident teacher at Amitabha Buddhist Centre in Singapore for 11 years. She has been resident teacher at the FPMT centre in Denmark since 2016, and from 2008-2015, she followed the Masters Program at the Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy. Venerable Sangye Khadro has authored several books, including the best-selling How to Meditate, now in its 17th printing, which has been translated into eight languages. She has taught at Sravasti Abbey since 2017 and is now a full-time resident.