Institute for Buddhist Dialectical Studies: English classes in Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy: October 2016

Class Materials

Following His Holiness the Dalai Lama's advice, Geshe Wangmo is translating the Second Chapter of Dharmakirti's Pramāņavarttika. In accord with the methodology for teaching this ancient text at IBD and the great Tibetan monastic universities, Dharmatkirti's terse verses are embedded into Geshe Wangmo's translation of Gyaltsab (Darma Rinchen) Je's commentary. Additionally, Geshe Wangmo, having received oral teachings on this text by several contemporary masters, has translated selected portions of those and inserted these explanations into the course text.

The first half of the complete text for this Fall term is posted below. The remainder of the text needs further editorial review, etc., and will be posted here when finalized.

DOWNLOAD PDF COURSE MATERIALS

PART 1 - FALL 2016 TEXT

Class PRAYERS (for before and after teaching) in Tibetan & English.

[NOTE: If you view this PDF in your WEB BROWSER, the Tibetan Fonts may not display properly. However, those fonts do display properly in the Downloaded PDF.]

Geshe Wangmo spoke about the class prayers at the beginning of the Spring 2015 Term. The links to the excerpted recordings of her explanation are here:

Explanation of Prayers before Teaching
Recitation (in Tibetan) of Prayers before Teaching
Dedication Prayers (Explanation & Recitation

If you are new to the Pramanavarttika, the resources on this blog can provide background for the studies in this Fifth Term. The first section of the text provides a general introduction. The Diagrams & Charts provided in the Fall 2014 Term, as well as other class recordings, transcripts or class descriptions provided on the posts listed below hopefully may be of use.

DOWNLOAD CHARTS & MP3 Recordings of Classes of the Fall 2014 Term here.

See blog posts for Class 1 & Class 2 for an Introduction to the Pramanavarttika

DOWNLOAD MP3 Recordings of Classes for the Spring 2015 Term here.

DOWNLOAD MP3 Recordings of the first 15 Classes of the Spring 2016 Term here.

DOWNLOAD MP3 Recordings of FALL 2016 CLASSES

CLASS ONE - Monday, 19 SEPT 2016:

1 Track.

CLASS TWO - Wednesday, SEPT. 21, 2016:

1 Track.

CLASS THREE - Friday, SEPT. 22, 2016

Track 1 - [Text, p. 157]

Demonstrating that [Ishvara] Being the Creator of Everything is Negated by Pramana. Presentation & discussion of commentary by contemporary master.
It is not Correct that Permanent [Ishvara] is a Cause. Presentation & discussion of commentary by Gyaltsab Je.

Topics presented and discussed include:

Continua; How do phenomena exist?
How can phenomena made of infinitely divisible parts that are changing in infinitely incremental time be posited?

Track 2 - Cause & Effect.

Presentation & discussion of Dharmakirti’s verse:

Just as the entity [of Ishvara] is a cause

At that time he is a non-cause, [It is not feasible

that] at the very [time] he is, owing to whatever [reason], accepted
To be a cause, [he] not [be] accepted to be a non-cause.

Q&A

CLASS FOUR - Monday, SEPT. 26, 2016 - NOTE: Tracks posted 3/22/2017

Rough DRAFT TRANSCRIPT of Class Four DOWNLOAD.

Track 1 - Review: Impermanence inseparable from Cause & Effect; Q&A
Track 2 - Buddhist scriptural presentation Refuting Permanent-Omnipotent Creator: Ishvara cannot be both the Cause & Non-Cause of Rice in a Paddy.

CLASS FIVE - Tuesday, SEPT. 28, 2016 - NOTE: Track #1 posted 3/22/2017

Track 1 - Innate Grasping at Permanence Leads to Our Problems:
- Understanding Reasonings Why a Permanent Creator Cannot Exist Undermines our Misperceptions of Permanence In transient phenomena
- Can a Permanent Ishvara Be the Cause & Non-Cause of Rice?
- A Cause of a Thing Must Hold the Potential to Produce that Thing
- Many Syllogisms & Absurd Consequences of Faulty Thinking are required in order to Change Innate Misperceptions
- Being Of One Nature But Different Isolates
- All Our Experience/Perceptions Depend on Two Types of Minds
- The Imputed Is Different from & of One Nature with its Basis of Designation — e.g., Self Is of One Nature with Body-Mind & Self Is Not the Body &/or Mind

Track 2 - Text: pp.140-142:

We Create Our Own Reality with our Conceptual Minds
Pervasion & No Pervasion - Correct & Faulty Logical Reasoning
Syllogism Structure & Function:

A is B because it is C

Positive & Negative Concomitance
Causes as ‘Assistants’
Backwards Causes & Effects

Repetition in Dharma Practice

CLASS SIX - Friday, SEPT. 30, 2016

Track 1.

No Classes were held during H.H. Dalai Lama Teachings, October 3-5.

CLASS SEVEN - Friday, OCT 7, 2016 - Review and Q&A of H.H. Dalai Lama Teachings. [Recording will be Uploaded when it is available]

CLASS EIGHT - Monday, OCT. 10, 2016 - NOTE: Tracks posted 3/24/2017

Rough DRAFT TRANSCRIPT of CLASS EIGHT DOWNLOAD.

Track 1 - Review.
Track 2 - Continue text, p. 143: How a Consciousness is Generated. Direct & Indirect Causes of Results.
Track 3 - Assertion re Three Conditions (རྐྱེན་གསུམ་ - rkyen gsum) Necessary for any Sense Consciousness to Arise:

observed object condition (དམིགས་རྐྱེན་ - dmigs rkyen)
empowering condition (བདག་རྐྱེན་ - bdag rkyen)
immediately preceding condition (དེ་མ་ཐག་རྐྱེན་ - de ma thag rkyen)

CLASS NINE - Wednesday, OCT. 12, 2016 - NOTE: Tracks posted 3/30/2017

Rough DRAFT TRANSCRIPT of CLASS NINE DOWNLOAD.

Track 1 - Review: How does Consciousness Arise? What cause must always be present? Dependence & Causation & Imputation.
Track 2 - Q&A. Disposing [of the Idea that our Objections Apply] Equally to Us - Section of text completed - pp. 145-6.

CLASS TEN - Friday, OCT. 14, 2016.

1 Track - Review: p. 147 - Questions for Study. cont. text:
- "Establishing that the One Who Directly Cognizes the Mode of Existence, the Way They Abide, of All [Objects of Knowledge} Is an Omniscient One".

CLASS ELEVEN - Monday, OCT. 17, 2016.

Track 1 - Responses to Questions regarding relationships between the Three Conditions required for direct perception {Observed object condition, empowering [sense power] condition & immediately Three Conditions/Factors of causation.
Track 2 - Q&A
Track 3 - Responding to Challenge that if a creator god is untenable, so is an Omniscient Buddha.

Why Buddhists contest the reasoning, “because it says so in scripture” & rely on logical proofs for assertions.
Why “because it says so in scripture” cannot be a valid reason for asserting Buddha is Omniscient.

CLASS TWELVE - Wednesday, OCT. 19, 2016.

1 Track.

CLASS THIRTEEN - Friday, OCT. 21, 2016.

1 Track. Meaning of “Omniscience”.

Opponent: If Buddhahood were possible, you couldn’t realize that Omniscient mind exists unless you are already a Buddha.
Buddhist response to Debate re Omniscience.

CLASS FOURTEEN - Monday, OCT. 19, 2016.