Ven. Geshe Jampa Gelek will guide us to a deeper understanding of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche, a Lam Rim text (literally: Stages of the Path) which integrates all the teachings of Buddha Sakyamuni in a gradual path towards enlightenment, a way to easily understand, contamplate and convey such teachings.
Ven. Geshe Gelek will not follow the structure of the text thoroughly, he will extract the main points, organising them in 8 subjects to be addressed in 8 meetings. Each subject will be dedicated one weekend, making it possible for those who cannot participate at the whole teaching cycle to attend one or more courses.
These teachings offer a great opportunity for everybody, as they are meant to outline a map of the main points that articulate the introspection and the Buddhist mindset, and they will try to give answers to the most frequent questions which arise when approching Buddhism:
- which indications to follow in order to give meaning to our existence?
- why Buddhism talks so much about happiness?
- how does Buddhism understand death and what comes next after it?
- what does karma mean?
- how does one become a Buddhist?
- what methods does Buddhism offer in order to generate a compassionate mind?
- what does mind of enlightenment mean?
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT LIBERATION IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
Pabongka Rinpoche, Jampa Tenzin Trinlay Gyatso (1878–1941), was one of the great lamas of the twentieth century. He attained his geshe degree at Sera Monastic University, Lhasa, and became a highly influential teacher in Tibet. He was the root guru of Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, the two tutors of the present Dalai Lama, and the teacher of many other Gelug lamas who brought the Dharma to the West after fleeing Tibet in 1959.
Pabongka Rinpoche’s book Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is one of the primary lam-rim texts in the Gelugpa tradition, and is often recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born.