On Saturday 12th March, Lama Jampa Thaye continued teaching Rain of Clarity, his text on the Buddhist path, in the pristine setting of the Wetlands Centre in London. Lama Jampa completed the first chapter of the text with the explanation of the Pratimoksha vow and provided invaluable insight into how Buddhist view and morality relate to the modern age and the issues of the 21st century. Lama Jampa then went on to teach the second part of the text, which focuses on the development of bodhichitta and entering into the Great Vehicle, the Mahayana.
Following the methodical and gradual pattern of the text, Lama Jampa expounded on how one develops the wish to become a Buddha for the benefit of all beings and how this wish is formalised through taking the bodhisattva's vow. Rain of Clarity provides an extraordinarily sophisticated, yet accessible explanation on the meaning and the strength of the vow and how practitioners can train in the aspiration and application of bodhichitta. This particularly useful part of the text provided guidance on how students can deal with the obstacles that are commonly encountered on the path of bodhisattvas.
Over the two sessions in London, Lama Jampa presented this chapter in a gentle and relatable manner while explaining sophisticated concepts such as the significance of Buddha nature and the two types of bodhichitta, alluding to the following chapters on the Six Perfections and the Madhyamaka view.
The next part of Rain of Clarity will be taught in June in Bristol. In the meantime regular classes on the text are running both in London and Bristol.
In the afternoon, Lama Jampa bestowed the Vajrayana initiation of Red Tara from the Sakya lineage, a deity related to the achievement of magnetising siddhi.