Third Friday of the Month: July 2022 – March 2023
Please e-mail Daniel Dranetz (ddranetz@hotmail.com) to sign up.
This 9-month study group will meet monthly to cover one chapter of Shantideva’s classic work. We will cover Chapters 1-8 in The Way of the Bodhisattva, allowing two months to cover Chapter 8. We hope this study group will be an excellent review ahead of Khenpo David Karma Choephel’s teachings on Chapter 9 in spring 2023.
Prior to each monthly meeting, participants will read a chapter from main text; the corresponding chapter from the wonderful, classic commentary, Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech; and listen to the respective recordings of teachings on that chapter offered to VVP by Khenpo David Karma Choephel. Click here for the course syllabus.
Please note that while this is a lot of material, and therefore a bit more intensive than other study groups at VVP, participants are encouraged to do the best we can and still attend the monthly meeting, even if we haven’t completed all of the homework.
The monthly discussion groups will be facilitated by Jerry Conway and Daniel Dranetz and are scheduled for 90 minutes, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm on the third Friday of each month, beginning July 15.
Anticipated Questions
*Who can attend the group? The study group is open to anyone who has an established Buddhist practice, whether or not they are a member of Vajra Vidya Portland.
*What is the charge for the group? There is no charge, though participants are very welcome to make a donation to support Vajra Vidya Portland. Click here to donate.
*Will group meetings be offered in-person or via Zoom? Both! Join us in person at our Shrine Room at the State Street Church or join online via Zoom.
*Why does the syllabus not show recordings from Khenpo David’s teachings on Chapters 4 and 5? Unfortunately, those recordings have been lost.
*If I sign-up, do I have to attend all the monthly meetings? Participants are encouraged to support others by committing to as many group discussions as possible, but it’s also okay to be absent if necessary.
*What is Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech? “Patrul Rinpoche, the celebrated nineteenth-century master and author of The Words of My Perfect Teacher, devoted his whole life to the practice and teachings of The Way of the Bodhisattva, popularizing the text in Tibet. Although he never composed an extensive commentary on this great work, it is said that, when traveling all over the east of Tibet, he expounded it more than one hundred times, sometimes in detailed courses lasting many months. Kunzang Pelden spent most of his early life with Patrul Rinpoche and was one of his close disciples. This commentary is a compilation of the extensive notes he took during a six-month teaching given by Patrul Rinpoche at Dzogchen Monastery. It is thanks to Kunzang Pelden’s labors that Patrul Rinpoche’s teachings on the The Way of the Bodhisattva have been preserved. It could perhaps be said that The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech is the commentary that Patrul Rinpoche so often presented to students, but never actually wrote.” The text is available from the Namse Bangdzo bookstore: https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Nectar-of-Manjushri-s-Speech-p/16602.htm
*Which Version of The Way of the Bodhisattva do I need? Any translation will work, though to correspond to the language in Khenpo David’s teachings, we recommend his translation: https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Entering-the-Way-of-the-Bodhisattva-p/9781611808629.htm