I’m back, again!
I’m back in Pharping, Nepal, for the third year in a row! This year is a bit different because I’m not translating, I am teaching.
Tag: Buddhism
Back at the Mother Monastery!
Looks like coming back to Namdroling after a 10 month absence is what it takes to get me writing again! Being here, now, feels very special. It is clear to me that this is a blessed place, where practice and Dharma life arise naturally. I feel lucky to be here, and determined to spend my… Continue reading Back at the Mother Monastery!
Life after graduation
I wrote my last shedra exam on December 26th. My original plan was to travel to Bodhgaya with my classmates, celebrate our graduation and make prayers for world peace at the Nyingma Monlam Chenmo. That’s the thing about plans, I guess, sometimes karma takes us in another direction. On December 28th, I was asked to… Continue reading Life after graduation
Just in case the world does end…
I don’t think the world will end on December 21st, 2012. That being said, I haven’t posted on this blog of mine for… oh dear, eight months! So, taking the possible end of the world as a lame excuse, here we are: This has been a weird year. I found out early on that I… Continue reading Just in case the world does end…
Why do people quit?
Someday soon, a friend of mine will become a nun. Meanwhile, in the last year, one monk friend disrobed, another nun friend also disrobed, and a certain nun who I never met not only disrobed but composed and publicized a scathing letter about what she thinks is wrong with the whole system of monasticism and… Continue reading Why do people quit?
Study, practice, and my eighth year.
While posting photos is something I intend to continue with, I thought I had better write a little something. Back in December I managed to get through yet another year’s final exams. It was, as always, a huge challenge and probably my most productive time of year. My subjects this year were: Key to the… Continue reading Study, practice, and my eighth year.
A nun studying for exams
Westerners in shedra – where are you guys?
Here is something that I’ve been thinking about lately: There are no other international students studying in our shedra program. (shedra, for those of you just tuning in, is what we call our college of Buddhist philosophy) Usually, every year or so, I get a query about studying here at Namdroling. Not this year. Nonetheless,… Continue reading Westerners in shedra – where are you guys?
On blogs and books
I’ve been neglecting to blog to a few months. I imagine thirty or forty people actually read this thing on a regular basis, so if any of you have been hoping for a fresh post, here it is. I wish I had more comments on my blog. I do. But when I read other blogs… Continue reading On blogs and books
Ten years in robes
It was ten years ago today that I took robes and shaved my head. My relationship with ordination has changed and developed over the years. Back then, I was 21 and just wanted to be ordained and learn Tibetan. I thought I would stay at Namdroling for 2 or 3 years, then head back to… Continue reading Ten years in robes
The Relevance of Buddhist Monasticism
My fellow Western monastics sometimes mention criticism from their lay fellows, much of which is to the point of, “Monastics are unnecessary in the West.” Or, “Western Buddhism is lay Buddhism.” Now I could write about how the Sangha is four-fold, including monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, but you’ve probably already heard about that. In… Continue reading The Relevance of Buddhist Monasticism
Balcony
It gives me hope…
In case you were wondering, my exams went alright. I won’t get my results until April – but I feel confident that I passed everything. My last exam was on January 17th. After that I had barely two days before catching a flight to San Francisco. I’ve been staying with my very good friends in… Continue reading It gives me hope…
Morning
Original background image by WanLi. This image is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
Offerings
The human lama
In the Tibetan Buddhist community, both East and West, we love the idea that our lamas are perfect. We are eager to place our trust in masters who exist only to help us progress spiritually. The texts themselves insist that we must regard the spiritual master as a buddha. I agree that this view, combined… Continue reading The human lama
The oral examinaton
Students in their seventh year of shedra have a special task during the ‘rainy season retreat’. They must explain a passage of Mipham’s spyi don ‘od gsal snying po (available in English as Luminous Essence) and then answer questions. The student does not get to pick what she will explain. The student’s name is drawn.… Continue reading The oral examinaton
Tantric kindergarten
Since my last post, back in April, I’ve been attending class and going to debate– just like every other year. Now that we are studying tantra, though, it is like being in first year again. There is a lot of new terminology to learn, not to mention an extremely profound view of the universe. Unlike… Continue reading Tantric kindergarten
Seventh year begins
School has been in session for just more than a week now. My first subject this year is Luminous Presence (spyi don ‘od gsal snyingpo) – Mipham’s overview of the Guhyagarbha Tantra based on Longchenpa’s Dispelling Darkness in the Ten Directions (phyogs bcu mun sel). Before I started shedra – I looked at the curriculum… Continue reading Seventh year begins
Talks
I am happy to say I survived this last week. It was really something – four speaking engagements and two parties. It started at the Unitarian Universalist Center with a talk on Buddhist Mind Training last Sunday. Then I gave an introduction to Buddhism at the Avenue Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity. (I basically… Continue reading Talks
damchoe's nun sense 