Category Archives: Insight notes
How the notion of a soul or atman arose
At Geshe Sonam's Tuesday evening "Insight Teaching", he explained, among other things, how the notion of a soul (Christian traditions) or atman (Hindu traditions) probably arose. Then he compared that notion with the Buddhist view that an independent, permanent, unitary … Continue reading
Does the Soul Really Exist?
On 27 May 2014, Geshe Sonam continued his teachings on ‘Insight’ or ‘The Realization of Emptiness’. To reach the lesser nirvana of liberation or the greater nirvana of enlightenment, an understanding of – and in fact a direct realization of … Continue reading
Shaking Your Belief in Solid, Truly Existing Objects
Geshe Sonam: "Unanalyzed, people do come and go. But on analysis, the object totally disappears!" At his 'Insight' teaching on Tuesday 22 April, Geshe Sonam shook our belief in solid, truly existing objects.
Advanced Methods of Reasoning Explained
On Tuesday 8 April 2014, Geshe Sonam continued his commentary on the insight chapters of Lama Tsongkhapa's middle-length lam-rim. The ' wisdom of hearing' has to be backed up by the 'wisdom of reflection and analysis'. But we need to … Continue reading
Geshe-la’s Insight Teachings: 1 Apr 2014
On Tuesday evenings, Geshe-la gives an in-depth commentary on Tsongkhapa's middle-length lam-rim. He started this in 2012! Last week, he spoke about diffferent aspects of dependent arising, especially 'subtle dependent arising' or the insight that all phenomena are 'merely labelled … Continue reading
Comment on The Three Gates
Over the past few months, at the Tuesday evening Insight teachings, Geshe-la has been starting the evening by giving a commentary on many different aspects of Atisha's Refguge and Bodhicitta Prayer, the one we normally use. One night, he also … Continue reading