Lama Jampa returned to Dhakpo Kundreul Ling, the foremost monastic center of the Karma Kagyu in the West, to continue the teaching on the Tantra Sets that he had begun last year, and indeed that he had previously taught at Dhakpo Kagyu Ling, the other main seat of His Holiness Karmapa in France.
Sonam Tsemo’s text , written in the 12th century, authoritatively sets out the four different classes of Tantra, examining different theories as to their meaning and purpose. In particular he delves deeper into the supreme Tantra, anuttara, with reference to Hevajra Tantra, which is of central importance for both the Karma Kagyu and Sakya traditions. There follows a profound explanation of the origins of the vajrayana, which explains how the buddhas actually transmit the dharma from their pure realms and how it then enters our human world, with reference to the Avatamsaka sutra. By understanding the activity of Sakyamuni Buddha in this deeper way, we come to see how the wheel of the dharma transcends any particular time or place.
The setting for the teachings was the magnificent main temple building and it was filled with monastic and lay students in roughly equal numbers. Lama Jampa paused at various sections to give opportunity for questions, and he skillfully addressed the variety of points raised by the learned audience, with his characteristic humor and erudition. Also Lama Jampa had been asked to give an account of the life of the previous Chogyeh Trichen who exactly 25 years ago came to Kundreul Ling to bestow an important initiation collection upon His Holiness Karmapa, thus strengthening the future of the Kagyu lineage. So he paused the teaching for a session to recount the illustrious biography of this great Sakya master, and even included his personal recollections of a private meeting with Chogyeh Trichen in Nepal in the early nineties.
At the end of the teaching, he thanked Audrey, who had meticulously translated his explanations into French throughout the week, and he also offered words of encouragement to the Sangha in Kundreul Ling, praising them for their central role in maintaining the Kagyu tradition in the West. Finally, students offered white scarfs in appreciation, before Lama Jampa and Dechen Dolma set off to return to the Dordogne, and from there to England. Lama Jampa promised to return next year to complete the text.