At the Tashi Choeling Tibetan Buddhist Centre

The Buddha Sakya Muni turned the three wheels of the Dharma. They are known as the Turning of the 1st wheel of Dharma where he primarily explained about the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truth to the Shravakas. During the Second Turning of the wheel, he explained about the nature of shunyata or emptiness to the Middle Path School.The Third turning of the wheel consists of the clarification of the Three aspects of dependent objects, nature of phenomena and the conceptually designated objects to the Cittamantra or Mind Only School. We are dealing with the Third Turning of the Wheel which explains about the nature of emptiness according to the understanding of the Madhyamika School. This topic is so contentious that four Schools came into being in India. It was solely on the basis of the different interpretations of the nature of emptiness that four prominent Schools came into existence speaks volumes of the complexity of this topic. Even in Tibet the interpretation of the nature of emptiness has been equally contentious and the chasm of division remains to this day. However, it is important to remember that all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism accept Nagarjuna and his main disciple Arya Deva as the undisputed authority on the interpretation of emptiness propounded by the Buddha Sakya Muni more than 2600 years ago. Nagarjuna wrote the famous “Root Wisdom” as the ultimate exposition on the Buddha’s teaching on emptiness. Chandrakirti one of the greatest proponent of Nagarjuna’s exposition wrote his own commentary to further elaborate the nature emptiness which is known as “Entering the Middle Path”. One may wonder why Tibetan Buddhists make so much fuss about different interpretations and why it becomes very important to know the real truth about the nature of emptiness from among the myriad of contentions. This is because unless we truly understand the nature of emptiness as taught by the Buddha, we will not be able to rid of our defilements which are responsible for our rebirth and the attendant sufferings that comes with it. Simply put, it is like if you don’t have the right medicine for the illness, the person cannot be cured from that sickness. That is why, it is extremely important that we learn the true nature of emptiness which is the real cure for all our mental defilements without which we will never be able to get rid of them which will result in endless suffering for endless lifetimes. Geshe Jampel Senge will explain the nature of emptiness according to the interpretation of The great Indian Master Chandrakirti who was an ardent follower of Nagarjuna. Those who are genuinely interested in the understanding of emptiness and wanting to achieve freedom from suffering, it is one opportunity not to be missed. Teachings 2016