Perfect wisdom with Lama Jampa Thaye
On Saturday 8 June, Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol hosted a day of Buddhist teachings with Lama Jampa Thaye. The venue was the 6th floor of the Future Inn, with its lofty, bird’s eye view over the city. Over 100 people gathered for this joyous event, from across the UK and beyond.
During this visit, Lama Jampa continued with part 9 of Sakya Pandita’s ‘Discriminating the Three Vows’. Over the course of the morning, we made further progress in the chapter on the vajrayana vows. In this section, Sakya Pandita covered topics such as the real meaning and practice of mahamudra meditation, as outlined in the source texts, the tantras, and communicated through the teachings and songs of great masters. He also emphasised the necessity of receiving vajrayana initiation, as through this, the appropriate connection is made with the relevant meditation deity and one has a basis for cultivating this through subsequent practice.
Another vital point was on the nature of realisation and the qualities associated with this. In Tibet at that time, some said that whilst one may have true realisation, the qualities, such as being able to travel to many buddha realms, will not be displayed until after death. This would be similar to saying that whilst the sun is in the sky, the rays will show tomorrow!
Such clarity on these points means that we don’t mistake temporary experiences for true realisation, we understand what’s needed for practice to work, and we will not be tricked by those who assert that they are enlightened when this is not the case. In short, we can travel the path to buddhahood with greater knowledge and confidence.
In the afternoon, Lama Jampa bestowed the initiation of Green Tara. Green Tara is known as the mother of all buddhas, as she is the embodiment of the wisdom of all the buddhas. As the princess Jnanachandra, she made a vow to remain in female form, to demonstrate the possibility of achieving enlightenment as a woman. This initiation was bestowed directly by Tara to the Kashmiri master, Shakya Shribhadra, and has been transmitted in an unbroken line through the Sakya tradition.
As well as the monthly practice, Sakya Buddhist Centre will be hosting a meditation day on Green Tara, which will be particularly helpful to anyone new to this practice. More info can be found here. A re-teach of Part 9 of Sakya Pandita’s text for anyone who came to this teaching will start on 19 June and take place weekly for 4 weeks. For more details, click here.
We look forward to welcoming Lama Jampa back to Bristol in the autumn.