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A Course in Tibetan Buddhism:
DEATH AND REINCARNATION IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM
with Dr Georges Dreyfus
Saturday 29th July
Overview:
For the last few weeks we ran a Course in Tibetan Buddhism – this week is the final class, and discusses that most enigmatic of topics – death and reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism.
Don’t worry if you did not attend the previous classes – each week is a stand-alone topic. Feel free to join !
- Saturday early afternoon July 29th
- free, but can donate to Dr Georges coffee fund!
- no need to book in advance
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Reincarnation is always an interesting topic. Tibetan Buddhism developed a unique relationship to the dying process, emodied in that most mysterious of books – the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which deals with ‘Bardo States’ – inbetween states of being before one is reborn. The right intervention at this point can gain one enlightenment! Supposedly.
Come join in for the full story.
Class 5 Death and Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism
Kapstein, Tibetan Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, 99-105 (file); Schaeffer & al., “The Dissolution of the Human Body and Mind” (file) & “A Prayer for Protection from Fear in the Bardo” in Sources of Tibetan Tradition, 446-452 (file); Kapstein, The Tibetans, 101-155 (file); van der Kujip, “The Dalai-Lamas and the Origins of the Reincarnate Lamas,” (file) Wylie, “Reincarnation: a Political Innovation” (file).
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About the Speaker
Dr Georges B. J. Dreyfus studied for fifteen years as an ordained Tibetan monk in Tibetan monastic universities in India and was the first ever Westerner to receive the title of Geshe – the highest distinction of scholarly learning in the Tibetan system. This necessitated becoming fluent in Tibetan, leading to roles as a translator for several of the very great Tibetan masters of the era.
After leaving the monkhood, he completed a Ph.D in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia before joining Williams College where he is presently the Jackson Professor of religion. His first book, Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti’s Philosophy and its Tibetan Interpretations, (Suny: 1997), explores the Tibetan reception of Buddhist epistemology. He has also written on Madhyamaka philosophy, co-editing a volume with Sara McClintock, The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference does a Difference make? (Wisdom, 2003). His last work, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: the Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk (University of California, 2003), reflects in a partly autobiographical mode on the education of Tibetan monks and the intellectual practices that foster this education.
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Location
‘APARTMENTS’ Meditation Centre
The center is a 4 minute walk from Ekkamai BTS Station.
We are 9/37 Thana Aket, Ekkamai Sukhumvit 63.
Enter Ekkamai (Sukhumvit Soi 63). Turn left into the second soi (lane). Bourbon street restaurant is on the corner. We’re the third building on the right, in the ‘APARTMENTS‘ building. Go up to the top floor. See the excellent map – it is very precise!