Lama Jampa visited Dechen LA from March 30th to April 8th to give an extended week of teachings, initiations and appointments to students. The teachings were the continuation of the text ‘Rain of Clarity – The Stages of the Path in the Sakya Tradition’, which was recently digitally published on Amazon as an e-book.
Teachings on Madhyamaka
Lama Jampa began the teachings on Saturday April 1st continuing the detailed presentation of Madhyamaka philosophy, the means to clear away the mistaken ideas and views that we have accumulated about the world and that we project onto reality. The text covered the history of the Madhyamaka in India and Tibet and how the view was transmitted and upheld as the ‘middle way free from extremes’ within the Sakya tradition.
The following Saturday, Lama Jampa began the explanation of the teachings themselves, covering conventional and ultimate truth and ‘personal selflessness’, the process of examination to overcome the clinging to the existence of a permanent, singular self.
A study group will start in mid-April to go over this section of the text before Lama Jampa returns on July 6th to continue the teachings.
Initiations
On Saturday 1st April Lama Jampa gave the Initiation of White Mahakala or Gonkar, originally from the Shangpa Kagyu lineage and now preserved in the Sakya tradition. The following Saturday he gave the initiation of Namgyalma, the goddess of wisdom and longevity, from the lineage of Bari Lotsawa.