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Kopan Course No. 27 (1994)

Kopan Monastery, Nepal, 1994
996

These teachings were given by Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at the 27th Kopan Meditation Course, held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in Nov-Dec 1994. The transcripts are lightly edited by Gordon McDougall.

You may also download the entire contents of these teachings in a pdf file.

Kopan Course No. 27 Index Page

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

Lecture One: November 30, 1994

  • Refuge
  • Generating bodhicitta
  • The kindness of mother sentient beings
  • The rarity of this precious human rebirth
  • The importance of morality
  • What is nonvirtuous?
  • Fearlessness at the time of death
  • The time of death is uncertain
  • We can’t prove there are no past or future lives
  • We can have faith in the Buddha’s words
  • Only two ways to go after death—practice morality
  • Labeling phenomena
  • Mind training: Our enemy is our best friend
  • The merely-labeled I

Lecture Two: December 2, 1994

  • The emptiness of time
  • The power and benefits of bodhicitta
  • Develop familiarity with the whole path in every meditation
  • Effortful experience and effortless experience
  • Training on the lower scope
  • Training on the medium scope
  • Training on the great scope
  • Training on the tantric path


Lecture Three: December 3, 1994

  • The purpose of life
  • The four harmonious brothers
  • Actualizing the path depends on all three scopes
  • The various vows
  • The importance of morality
  • With powerful objects, we experience the result in this life
  • The need to practice Dharma between sessions
  • Dedication

Lecture Four: December 3, 1994

  • The merit of living in vows
  • Karma: Without the cause the result cannot be experienced
  • Two solutions to problems: Purification and creating positive karma
  • A good intention is the most important thing
  • Liberation needs refuge in all three Jewels
  • Precepts ceremony motivation
  • Precepts ceremony
  • The hallucinating mind
  • The buddhas return as gurus in degenerate times
  • Integrating the lamrim in daily life
  • Guru devotion: The hallucinated mind sees the guru as ordinary
  • The guru is one with the buddhas
  • The absolute guru is the dharmakaya
  • Think on the kindness of the guru
  • Seeing the guru as Buddha is the core of guru devotion
  • Doing practices based on guru devotion
  • Refuge practice with the guru and offering bath practice
  • The oral transmission of the lamrim prayer: Motivation
  • Dedication

Lecture Five: December 4, 1994

  • Bodhicitta is the main trunk of the Dharma tree
  • Actions without a lamrim motivation become the cause of suffering
  • Saying the Tara prayer with four different motivations
  • Emptiness: Shopping with emptiness
  • The base and the label
  • Emptiness: We see things as truly existing due to past imprints

Lecture Six: December 4, 1994

  • Medicine Buddha: Why the practice is so powerful
  • The Medicine Buddha: The power of the mantra
  • The Medicine Buddha initiation
  • With the perfect human rebirth we can achieve the three great meanings
  • Doing everything with renunciation and bodhicitta
  • The Dharma saves us from the lower realms
  • Medicine Buddha initiation motivation: The kindness of the mother
  • Medicine Buddha initiation motivation: All beings have been kind to us in four ways
  • Medicine Buddha initiation
  • Dedication: There is no better healing than the lamrim