Gosok Rinpoche Oral Transmission of Refuge and Bodhicitta and Lamrim
Introduction of Seramey Geshe Larmapa Tenzin Chophel
果碩仁波切 皈依發心與道次第口傳
介紹色拉寺拉讓巴格西丹增卻佩

Taking Refuge, Bodhicitta Prayer, and Oral Transmission of Lamrim

Following our guru, we recite the refuge and bodhicitta prayer. At this time, we should contemplate: we seek bodhi (enlightenment) for the purpose of enabling all sentient beings, including ourselves, to attain the perfect state of bodhi.

The Lamrim (The Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) is the essence of all Buddhist teachings. It is the path transmitted by the great masters Nagarjuna and Asanga. For ordinary beings who wish to attain Buddhahood, this text contains the essential core of all spiritual practices. It also synthesizes the core teachings of all Buddhas of the three times and is a compendium of all scriptures. This treatise is like a magnificent, bright lamp, illuminating the darkness of this degenerate age of five corruptions.

Praise for the Body, Speech, and Mind of our Root Teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha

Our guru then gives the oral transmission of the Lamrim, first praising Maitreya Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva. Next, he praises all the lineage gurus, before offering a verse of praise to our root teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha:

“His body is born of countless perfect joys and merits,
His speech fulfills the wishes of infinite sentient beings,
His mind sees all knowable things as they truly are,
Before the chief of the Shakya clan, I prostrate.”

In this verse, “His body is born of countless perfect joys and merits” is a praise for the Buddha, who in past lives, generated bodhicitta and engaged in the six perfections (paramitas) of a bodhisattva. He perfectly accumulated all merit and wisdom, uniting wisdom and skillful means. This led him to attain the state of perfect bodhi and accumulate the complete and excellent wisdom and merit that manifested in a body with the 32 major marks and 80 minor marks of a Buddha. This is a praise for the virtues of the Buddha’s body.

“His speech fulfills the wishes of infinite sentient beings” is a praise for the Buddha’s teachings and Dharma speech. His teachings can fulfill all the wishes of sentient beings, whether temporary or ultimate. As the scriptures say, although the Buddha teaches in one language, various sentient beings can understand the meaning of the Dharma in their own languages. This is a praise for the virtues of the Buddha’s speech.

“His mind sees all knowable things as they truly are” is a praise for the virtues of the Buddha’s mind. This is a tribute to the Buddha’s attainment of perfect wisdom, his knowing of all phenomena in terms of their ultimate nature (yodpai) and their conventional nature (jingyod), and his understanding of the true nature of all things. This is the virtue of his perfect mind.

We praise Shakyamuni Buddha, our root teacher, who possesses such virtues of body, speech, and mind. This is the beginning of the prayer.

The Lineage of Lamrim

Next, we praise the lineage masters of the Lamrim one by one. The praise begins with Manjushri Bodhisattva and Maitreya Bodhisattva, who manifest as bodhisattvas to carry out the activities of all Buddhas for the benefit of sentient beings. Following them, we praise the masters of the profound view lineage, which was transmitted by Manjushri Bodhisattva to Nagarjuna and his successors. Next are the masters of the extensive conduct lineage, who received the hidden meaning of prajnaparamita and were transmitted by Asanga. Subsequently, we praise the Venerable Atisha, who integrated these two great traditions—the profound view and the extensive conduct. Finally, we praise all the lineage masters who have synthesized the essence of the sutra and tantra teachings, propagated the Lamrim, and benefited all sentient beings. This is the main content of the oral transmission.

Rinpoche Introduces Geshe Tenzin Chopel

Today, Rinpoche has specially invited Geshe Lharampa Tenzin Chopel to give lecture on the Lamrim. This is a very rare opportunity.

Geshe Chopel was born in a village in Kham Yakchu. Rinpoche has a deep connection to his monastery. Geshe Chopel entered the monastery at a young age and, while helping with household chores, also studied the Dharma. He has a very strong yearning for the Dharma. Everyone praises him for his excellent conduct and his intense desire for the Dharma, which indicates he accumulated very good habits in his past lives. While in Tibet, he studied under the Venerable Pandrog Wang.

Later, Geshe Chopel went to India for his studies. Upon arriving in South India, he entered the Gosok Ladang at Sera Monastery and began his studies. He has a profound karmic connection with the Dharma; he was fortunate enough to hear teachings from His Holiness shortly after arriving in India, which was a very auspicious connection. During his time at Sera, he primarily studied under the famous former Khenpo (abbot) of Sera Mey Monastery, Sonam Dragpa. He also studied under many other masters, learning various teachings and the five major treatises. In addition to hearing numerous teachings from His Holiness, he also received many profound instructions and oral transmissions from several well-known scholars. This is a brief summary of his academic journey.

Academic and Spiritual Journey

During his studies at Sera, Geshe Chopel consistently ranked first or second in his classes. When he reached the middle-level class, he suddenly developed a strong renunciation for worldly life, believing everything in this world was meaningless. He decided to travel alone to Bodhigaya to perform prostrations. When Rinpoche heard about this, he immediately called to inquire. Rinpoche performed a divination to see if it was the right time for him to go into retreat, and the result indicated that the time was not ripe. He should continue his study of the scriptures. Khenpo Sonam Dragpa agreed, saying it was not advisable to go into retreat so early and that he should continue his studies. Geshe Chopel followed the advice of his teachers and, after completing 108,000 prostrations in Bodhgaya, returned to Sera Monastery to continue his studies.

Upon his return to Sera, he participated in the annual winter debate assembly of the three great monasteries, which included thousands of monks. His Holiness also attended to observe the debates. In the debate, Geshe Chopel was the defender of the second chapter of the Pramana text (Pramana-varttika). Among thousands of debaters, he fully demonstrated his unimpeded debating skills. His Holiness was very pleased with his performance, and he received much praise. Khenpo Sonam Dragpa was particularly impressed and delighted, saying, “You are so lucky! If you had run off to retreat, you would not have had this opportunity to perform so brilliantly in front of His Holiness.”

During his studies at the three great monasteries, Geshe Chopel earned the “Small Logic” degree and served as a debater. He also participated in the Gelug six-year-long examination, which is divided into three two-year stages, the final two years for the Geshe Lharampa degree. Throughout these six years, he consistently maintained a ranking among the top one or two students. After earning his Geshe Lharampa degree, he entered Gyudmed Tantric College the following year to begin studying tantric scriptures. Among the approximately 160 Geshe Lharampas at Gyudmed, he again achieved the top rank in the tantric examinations. This shows that the Geshe teaching you today is not only extremely outstanding within Sera Monastery, but also all three great monasteries. Moreover, he is not just an excellent scholar with superior academic results, but, most importantly, he places great emphasis on taming his own mind. He is a practitioner whose outer and inner continuums are both very complete and who prioritizes his practice. This is a brief introduction to Geshe Chopel, who will be teaching the Lamrim.

Teaching Lineage and Academic Exchange

At that time in the Sera Mey monastic community, there were many other excellent geshes, such as Yangtse Rinpoche. We will continue to look for opportunities to invite them to teach in the future. We will start with Geshe Chopel this time. After earning his Geshe Lharampa degree, Geshe Chopel’s main work was educating the many students at Sera Mey’s Gosok Ladang, teaching two classes a day and ten classes per week. Therefore, to be honest, after he got his Geshe Lharampa degree, he has fewer opportunities to give public lectures, because in addition to teaching students, he is also responsible for administrative duties. For example, if students have an exam next week, he needs to prepare for it, so he might not be able to teach us next week and may have to reschedule for the week after.

Rinpoche reminds everyone that, in general, when you listen to the Geshe’s lecture, you should regard it as if the guru is teaching you in person. Do not make any distinctions and listen with this mindset. Rinpoche also mentioned that at 74 or 75 years old, he needs to slowly pass the responsibility of teaching on to his students. Therefore, in the future, he may gradually arrange for his students to teach us. If they can take on these teaching and lecturing responsibilities, Rinpoche will feel more at ease.

Overall, these geshes have extensive experience teaching the five major treatises within the three great monasteries, but they may have less experience lecturing to foreign students. However, they will gradually gain this experience. In fact, they are also continuously accumulating opportunities and experience in discussions with other scholars. For example, they often participate in seminars attended by scholars and intellectuals from six or eight different colleges, including the colleges of the three great monasteries and Gyudmed Tantric College. They have also participated in the Gelug academic seminars held at Ganden Monastery to discuss the view, conduct, and practice of the Dharma.

In addition, during His Holiness’s 80th birthday, a Gelug academic seminar was held to honor his kindness. It brought together scholars from the five major traditions—Gelug, Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma, and Jonang—and even Bon scholars to discuss the Middle Way and Pramana. Geshe Chopel also participated in this. He has also participated in many other seminars held by the three great Gelug monasteries, such as the Gelug seminar on tantra, which he represented. Two years ago, to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the passing of Dromtonpa, Ganden Monastery held a memorial ceremony and a seminar with scientists, non-Buddhists, and various Buddhist schools to discuss the view, conduct, and practice of the Dharma, and Geshe Chopel also took part. He also represented Gyudmed Tantric College in a seminar on the meaning of tantra, as well as a seminar on the meaning of the middle way in both sutra and tantra as presented in Tsongkhapa’s text, “Distinguishing the Definitive from the Interpretive.” In short, Geshe Chopel has participated in many such academic conferences.

Although Geshe Chopel obtained his Geshe Lharampa degree more than a decade ago, most of his time has been spent on educating students, so he has had fewer opportunities to learn foreign languages. Rinpoche has encouraged him to learn more foreign languages while he is still young, as he is not yet 50 and can still learn a lot. This concludes the introduction to Geshe Chopel.

Mindset for Study and Practice

It is crucial to remind everyone that during the Lamrim teachings, you must not treat it as merely a way to gain knowledge. Instead, you must combine the Dharma teachings you hear with the practice of your mind. For example, when hearing about the rarity of a precious human life, you must contemplate the eight freedoms and ten endowments, and contemplate them from your own experience to truly feel them. For instance, realize how incredibly fortunate you are that you have not been born in a hell realm in this life. Otherwise, if you do not make good use of this life and render it meaningless, you are no different from beings in the animal realm.

Moreover, you must contemplate that just as you feel this way, you wish all sentient beings can be free from suffering and attain happiness. If you have this precious opportunity now and don’t seize it to benefit all sentient beings, when will you do it? You must use your own experience to inspire your own mind to generate genuine feeling and realization.

In summary, the teachings transmitted by Atisha and compiled by Tsongkhapa are the essence of all 84,000 Dharma doors. Tsongkhapa also wrote the Lamrim Chenmo (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) at the urging of his disciples who wished for a text that could be used for practical spiritual practice. Therefore, in short, it is important to seize this opportunity to listen to the Lamrim and combine it with your actual practice.