Kopan Course No. 33 Index Page

The Index Page provides an outline of the topics discussed in each of the lectures.

Lecture One

• Introduction
• How amazing Westerners have an interest in Buddhism
• The purpose of meditation
• The meaning of life
• Emptiness: How the I exists
• Ignorance and the six realms
• The different views of emptiness
• The benefits of listening to Dharma
• Dedications

Lecture Two

• The body and mind are in the nature of suffering
• The enlightened mind
• Emptiness: The ignorance of what the I is
• Emptiness: Base and label, child and name
• Emptiness: Labeling the table
• Emptiness: The object of refutation
• Emptiness: Imputing true existence on the base
• Emptiness: Imputing beautiful
• The body and mind are in the nature of suffering
• The purpose of life is to liberate others
• Oral transmission of the Diamond Cutter Sutra
• The emptiness of the A
• Meditating on how all objects are labeled by the mind
• Everything comes from the mind
• Guru devotion is the root of the path

Lecture Three

• Emptiness: How the mind labels
• Emptiness: Good and bad depend on the label
• The kindness of the enemy
• Rinpoche’s two alphabet teachers and his early life
• Geshe Rabten
• Good and bad are labeled by the mind
• Problems come from our own karma, not other people
• Seeing problems as opportunities

Lecture Four

• Compassion is the essence of religion
• Subduing the mind is right view
• Meditation on emptiness 
• Shakyamuni visualization meditation
• Bodhicitta makes it easy to realize emptiness
• Practicing patience
• The enemy is the kindest person
• The benefits of practicing patience
• Thought transformation is the best psychology
• The four noble truths: the origin of suffering
• The twelve links: karma and consciousness
• The twelve links: name and form 
• The twelve links: consciousness, karma and ignorance
• Everything comes from the mind 
• [Dedications] 

Lecture Five

• The four noble truths: The four aspects of the truth of suffering, impermanence
• Problems come from not understanding impermanence and selflessness
• Meditating on impermanence and death
• The twelve links: Seeing how problems come from our own karma
• Being aware in the break time of how we label everything
• A pure mind sees things purely (the preta, the deva and the human)
• Meditating on how everything comes from the mind
• The ten nonvirtues: Killing
• The ten nonvirtues: Sexual misconduct
• The karmic results of keeping vows
• Introducing Geshe Sopa
• Oral transmission of the Thirty-five Buddhas, introduction

Lecture Six

• Emptiness: How things appear to exist from their own side
• Emptiness: The “A” seems to appear from its own side
• Emptiness: The I is neither one with nor separate from the aggregates
• Emptiness: The I is not one with the aggregates
• Emptiness: Nor is the I separate from the aggregates
• Emptiness: Year is merely imputed
• Emptiness: Seeing life as like an illusion
• Emptiness: A year is merely imputed
• Emptiness: the aggregates are merely imputed
• Everything is merely labeled

Lecture Seven

• Emptiness: The rope and the snake are merely labeled by the mind
• Bodhicitta: the seven points cause and effect
• Bodhicitta: the kindness of the mother
• Bodhicitta: Repaying the kindness
• Bodhicitta: generating loving kindness
• Adding Dharma to Roger’s car
• Bodhicitta: Generating loving kindness
• Bodhicitta: Special attitude
• Only enlightened beings can help all sentient beings
• Dedications

Lecture Eight

• A Mahayana motivation
• The shortcomings of self-cherishing
• Self-cherishing stops you following the guru
• Self-cherishing brings all unhappiness
• Bodhicitta is the source of all happiness
• All happiness comes from others
• The ten nonvirtues: Stealing
• The ten nonvirtues: Lying
• The ten nonvirtues: Slander
• The ten nonvirtues: Gossiping
• The ten nonvirtues: Harsh speech
• The ten nonvirtues: Covetousness
• The ten nonvirtues: Ill will
• The ten nonvirtues: Heresy
• Karma: The four outlines
• Six ways of purifying
• How to live with bodhicitta
• Dedications

Lecture Nine

• When is a person dead?
• Seeing the suffering nature of samsara brings realizations
• The early days at Kopan
• Lama Yeshe gets sick
• Meditation on death
• Death meditation: The clear light
• The death process
• The importance of understanding reincarnation and death
• The Dalai Lama can remember past lives
• Ordinary people can remember past lives
• Fear at the time of death
• Geshe Jampa Wangdu
• The uncertainty of when a person is dead
• Refuge in the Triple Gem
• Remembering the Triple Gem helps at death
• Refuge in the Triple Gem frees from samsara
• The importance of taking vows
• The refuge ceremony
• How to practice refuge in the Buddha
• How to practice refuge in the Dharma
• How to practice refuge in the Sangha
• How to practice refuge in general
• The oral transmission of the Medicine Buddha mantra
• The Vajrasattva mantra
• Dedications

Lecture Ten

• The benefits of writing and listening to Dharma
• The Prajnaparamita teachings are the heart of the Dharma
• The purpose of filling statues
• The benefits of printing the Diamond Cutter Sutra
• The oral transmission of the Diamond Cutter Sutra
• The importance of putting effort into Dharma practice
• Advice for daily practice