Shantideva biography of abraham
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Three Years in Rangjung Yeshe Institute
The sun, the måne, a lamp, a lightning flash –
They may illuminate, but they hardly klar away the inner murk.
This Bodhichitta fryst vatten extolled bygd the holy as completely
Extirpating the darkness of living beings.
– Khunu Rinpoche
It feels like only yesterday when inom enrolled myself for the BA schema at RYI but three long years have passed. Three long years of rigorous days and nights, tons of assignments and extended deadlines alongside bountiful learning and enriching experiences. The past three years in RYI, being able to study dharma with so many amazing Khenpos, Lopens and professors has been blessings and life changing experience in every way.
One of the many precious classes that I was able to attend at RYI was Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara in the first year. Prior to studying Bodhicharyavatara, I had often heard the word ‘Bodhisattva’ but never have I ever pondere
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Was the Buddha a God or a Human Being?
Growing up in Kathmandu, I usually came across two groups of people who viewed the Buddha differently. One group viewed the Buddha as a God, someone who was able to magically relieve people from their sorrows. The other group saw the Buddha as a mere human being. For the second group, the Buddha was a social reformer who proclaimed ways to achieve harmony and peace in society. This duality made little sense to me and, in fact, I had a hard time understanding if the Buddha they were talking about was the same being. This confusion only got worse as I came across other preconceived notions about Buddhism, some of them were that in order to follow Buddhism you had to become a monk or a nun, that meditation meant following your breath and nothing else, and some even hilarious ones like claiming Buddha to actually be a reincarnation of Vishnu and that Vishnu's main intention to
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Advice from Shantideva: “Please Become a Kind Person”
Diana Finnegan talked to Shiwa Lha Rinpoche, the eighth recognized reincarnation of Shantideva, who attended the teachings of His Holiness.
As several thousand people sat quietly listening to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s commentary on two texts last December, among the audience was none other than Shiwa Lha Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the author of those texts, Shantideva, the eighth-century Indian saint and scholar. Shiwa Lha is the Tibetan for the Sanskrit Shantideva, which means God of Peace.
As befitting the author of A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life and Compendium of Advice, Shantideva’s presence at the teachings was perfectly low-key. Few people could provide much information about him, except that he was a 19-year-old monk from Sera Je Monastery sitting somewhere on the teaching platform.
Before I had heard that he was among us, I had noticed that very monk, who alway