More Dharma questions with Dr. Alex Berzin
07 In Praise of Dependent Arising (2025)
Alex Berzin 
Wisdom 
Aug 31, 2025 A series of teachings on Lama Tsongkhapa's text In Praise of Dependent Arising given during a special Labor Day weekend retreat at Sravasti Abbey in 2025
- Clarifying aspects of the previous day’s teaching
- Subtle and gross levels of dependent arising
- Questions and answers
- Are defining characteristics from the side of an object?
- Is there an intelligence that recognizes wisdom from the side of the perceiver?
- The three types of compassion in relation to impermanence and voidness
- Explicit versus implicit dependent arising
- Explaining the quote, “The nature of fire is not heat”
- Different views of emptiness in Buddhist sytems
- Why are ethics and purification considered preliminary practices?
Alex Berzin
Born in New Jersey in 1944, Alexander Berzin received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1972, specializing in Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese philosophy. Coming to India as a Fulbright scholar in 1969, he studied with masters from all four Tibetan traditions, specializing in Gelug. He is a member of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, has published many translations (An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice), has interpreted for several Tibetan masters, principally Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, and has authored several books, including Taking the Kalachakra Initiation. Alex has lectured extensively on Buddhism in over fifty countries, including universities and centers in Africa, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.
