The Four Seals & Buddhist Debate

Geshe Graham Woodhouse: The Four Seals 18.-19.4. & 2.-3.5. and Introduction to the Tibetan Art of Buddhist Debate 20.4., 27.4. & 4.5.2015

Four Ways of Being Wise – The Four Seals
Saturday 18.4. (10–17), Sunday 19.4. (10–16) &
Saturday 2.5. (10–17), Sunday 3.5. (10–16)

Holders to the Buddha’s way subscribe to four principles, called the four seals:
1. All compounded things are impermanent.
2. All contaminated phenomena are suffering.
3. All phenomena are empty and selfless.
4. Nirvana is peace.

Just like a king’s seal on a document, the presence of these four seals guarantees a teaching’s authenticity as an expression of Buddhist views. A Buddhist is someone who has faith in the Buddha’s Way and goes for refuge to the Three Jewels. A holder of Buddhist tenets on the other hand is someone who has cultivated a sound understanding, arrived at through reasoning, of what Buddha actually taught, and is at least knowledgeable about the four seals. Geshe Graham Woodhouse will lead discussion and meditation on these four principles of Buddhist philosophy based on his own translation of a text by Gen Lamrimpa Ngawang Puntsok, Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance, concentrating especially on the Buddhist reasoning to establish impermanence and emptiness.

Introduction to the Tibetan Art of Buddhist Debate
Monday 20.4. (18–20), Monday 27.4. (18 – 20), Monday 4.5. (18–20)

On two Monday evenings Geshe Woodhouse will show us the first steps in learning how to debate in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Debate is the traditional method used in monasteries to help students understand the meaning of the texts they study. Debate is Tibetan Buddhism’s primary mode of philosophical enquiry and is the liveliest and most amusing way of approaching Buddhism’s timeless wisdom.

Geshe Graham Woodhouse
Englantilainen Geshe Graham Woodhouse on yksi harvoista länsimaalaisista tiibetinbuddhalaisen geshe-tutkinnon suorittaneista. Hän muutti Dharamsalaan, Intiaan vuonna 1990 ja vastaanotti munkin valat seuraavana vuonna Hänen Pyhyydeltään Dalai-lamalta. Geshe opettaa aktiivisesti FPMT-keskuksissa Intiassa sekä Englannissa.