Brainstorms in our TTIP classes have been fun. Some topics that we have been discussing are that how to keep balance between “loyalty” to the original texts with the “accessibility” to the contemporary and future readers? How to play with the phenomena of language to convey something beyond language? How to use “finger” to point […]
Category: Dharma

I.
What is the deep listening?
Sema is a greeting from the secret ones
inside the heart, a letter.
[Divani Shamsi Tabriz, Rumi: The Big Red Book]

After finishing 5 kora at Boudha stupa, I went to one tea stall. The taste of the tea was so good and it was made by an old lady, around my grandma’s age. I asked her about the background story of Boudha during her childhood. She started telling me the story of Boudhanath. Once upon time, […]

I took this photo when I finished school one day, chancing upon the monks who had just finished their evening Puja. Their yellow robes were rather conspicuousagainst the white walls and marble ground. This reminds me of some words said by previous masters in those commentaries, that one should respect even tiny piecesof red or […]
Once, in the middle of a conversation, someone asked me: “Why are you here at RYI?” For a few seconds, many things came to my mind, but my answer was pretty straightforward: “I am here because I want to study the Dharma”. Later on, I thought that this was an interesting question; a question I […]
When I decided to study Buddhism at RYI, I had three main reasons to do so: first, I wanted to make the Dharma a bigger part of my life, and as the lazy person that I am, forcing myself to spend every day reading and learning about it for about 4 years seems like […]
For those are in search of dharma teachings, Nepal is the right place to be. Since this land is an ancient Buddhist country, various teachings from different Buddhist traditions are still preserved well. The most influential is Tibetan Buddhism and wherever one goes in Nepal, one will see monks and nuns from the Tibetan Buddhist […]
My Dream to be a Translator
I learned the Tibetan alphabet years ago but I had never learned the language itself until I came to RYI. What did actually inspire me to follow my dream to be a translator? Seeing many translators translating Rinpoche’s teaching directly from Tibetan to English and other languages. Won’t it be incredible to be able to […]
“It is only natural that various obstacles and hurdles occur in the spreading of the True Dharma’s rule. However, to overcome or ward off these Dharma-opposing elements while remaining true in mind, body and speech is another personal dharma and duty of each of the sanghas.” As various hurdles arise in my path, born from the fruition of […]
Nepal is truly a Shambala for me. In Nepal, you see dharma, you feel dharma, and you hear dharma all the time. Every day you are inspired to practice dharma by being around so many physical representations of the enlightened body, speech, and mind of the Buddha. One of my favorite experiences here has been […]