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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 2021 12 September 2021 The Karmapa began by reminding everyone how the people of ancient India had taken little interest in recording dates. Hence, the Buddha’s dates had not been recorded clearly, and it was problematic to establish the dates of his birth and death. When did a system of dating first develop in India? Researchers hold different positions on this issue, but many scholars support the idea that a tradition of dating, based on the reigns of the emperors, first developed when Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha assumed power in Northern India [c.322 BCE]. This...
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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 2021 11 September 2021 Then the Buddha continued, “You must be your own light to dispel the darkness. You must be your own protector. To do so, grasp at the dharma like a lamp. Hold the dharma as a protector and guardian. The dharma is the beacon that shows you the way". The Karmapa continued the life story of the Buddha. Prince Siddhartha had spent six years practicing austerities but no matter how many ascetic practices he underwent, he had not achieved a state that transcended the world. He had endured inconceivable hardships. The turning...
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Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 9 September 2021 Having explored the history of India and Brahmanical religions, Karmapa began teaching on the Buddha’s life and the rise of Buddhism. The date of Buddha’s birth is not known for certain, but it was probably the end of the 6th century BCE. Karmapa began by reminding us how the Brahmanical religions had helped India develop a rich philosophical tradition and a great deal of freedom, even for women, who debated philosophy alongside men. By the time of Buddha’s birth, however, the Brahmanical religions were in decline. A few scholars and teachers still investigated...
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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 2021 7 September 2021 The Karmapa continued his discourse on the burgeoning of Indian thought during the Age of Philosophy. Previously he had described the views of the six Darshana, the orthodox Hindu philosophical schools. He now moved on to consider the sixty-two philosophical views which are known from Buddhist texts. He explained that religious practitioners at that time could be characterised as Brahmans who followed traditional Vedic views and practices, or spiritual practitioners known as śramaṇas who were non-orthodox renunciates, ascetics, and yogis. In Tibetan, the name means "someone who is making an effort,...
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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 6 September 2021 The Six Darshanas His Holiness began by recapping: during the Age of Philosophy, the sutras developed out of the Brāhmanas, followed by the Six Darshanas (orthodox Hindu schools), which developed out of the Upanishads. In general, many different philosophies developed in that era, he explained, mainly because the views presented in the Upanishads were not presented logically but were primarily records of the ideas that occurred to people, presented in a fragmentary way. Only once the Sāṃkhya school appeared did a careful and rigorous logical system develop in India. In a...
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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 2021 3 September 2021 The Karmapa continued his discourse on the early history of India as a background to understanding the life and thought of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Age of Philosophy is the third part of the Later Vedic Period. The Indo-Aryans had continued to expand from the Punjab to the Ganges River Valley and beyond. Some consider the traces left by the politics and literature of that time to be the greatest in the history of Indian civilisation. Using a map, the Karmapa indicated the six great kingdoms that arose during the Later Vedic...
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The Mar Ngok Summer Teachings 2021 2 September 2021 The Gyalwang Karmapa opened by revising a comment he had made on Day Six that the Upanishads present views on the ultimate nature of the world and karmic cause and effect. Upon further reflection, His Holiness said, it was more accurate to say the Upanishads address the ultimate aim of practice. Karmapa then addressed how samsara and karma are presented in the Upanishads, explaining that while the words are the same ones that we use in Buddhism, the concepts are not. In the Upanishads, samsara and karma are presented in a...
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