Existence of person and obscurations

Teachings on Chapter 1 of Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life based on Gyaltsab Je's commentary given by Khensur Wangdak Rinpoche at Sravasti Abbey from November 20-26, 2007.

  • Differentiating the Buddhist three higher trainings
  • Issue of the selflessness of persons—three ways in which it is understood across various philosophical schools
  • Explaining that the higher training in wisdom alone is not enough for removing the afflictive obscurations
  • Gyaltsab Je’s commentary on Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life consists of four topics:
    • Explaining the meaning of the title
    • The homage of the translator
    • The meaning of the main subject matter
    • The meaning of the conclusion
  • Questions and answers

Khensur Wangdak on Shantideva 02 (download)

Khensur Wangdak Rinpoche

Khensur Rinpoche was born in 1934 in Kham, eastern Tibet. He pursued the traditional studies of a monk and joined the great Drepung University near Lhasa until the 1959 exodus from Tibet. As a refugee in India, he continued to study intensively, preserving the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism at re-established universities, finally earning the highest academic honors. He was then invited to Namgyal Monastic University, the seat of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, where he served as abbott. In 1995, the Dalai Lama then appointed Rinpoche as abbott and senior teacher at Namgyal monastery in Ithaca, New York. Most recently, he taught at Chenresig Tibetan Buddhist Center in Connecticut. Khensur Rinpoche has made several visits to Sravasti Abbey and the community is honored to have received an online teaching from him shortly before he passed in March 2022.