Question and Answer Session at Shanghai Fudan University National Study Society
March 11, 2011
Speech from Professor Wang Leiquan:
We are very honored and pleased to have invited Khenpo Sodargye from Larung Gar Serthar Buddhist Institute.
Larung Gar has been very famous during the revival and development of Buddhism in China in the past thirty years. Everything about Larung Gar that I know I actually know from our students. During the nineties, they were already going there to study; it was a revolutionary movement by these young people.
Within the pioneers of our Buddhist community, Khenpo Sodargye has a very high reputation in the eyes of intellectuals and those working in the field of natural science. Especially in recent years, Khenpo has been working tirelessly teaching the Dharma across the country. Khenpo has vowed to make his best efforts and dedicate his whole life to transmitting Buddhist philosophy and truth to society. In addition, Khenpo has also opened dialogues with intellectuals at various higher learning institutions. Since Buddhism is articulating the truth, Buddhism is not afraid of debate or any refutations.
Today, we are very pleased to have invited Khenpo here. This is a very precious moment for us because, even though Fudan University has established professional religious studies for fifty-one years, we have been weak in research and education in Tibetan Buddhism. Today, we have the opportunity to meet Khenpo here, and we will treasure every moment of receiving teachings from Khenpo. If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Khenpo. Now, let us welcome Khenpo.
Dear Honorable Professor Wang Leiquan, other professors, eminent masters, and students:
This afternoon, we have the opportunity and time here to share our views and discuss them together. Therefore, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to bring them up for discussion.
I am not very knowledgeable, let alone have any profound and subtle realizations. However, I truly like sharing my views with everyone. For me, by sharing with academic circles, religious bodies, or science enthusiasts, I also enhance my personal knowledge.
Personally, after years of study and investigation, I have come to appreciate that Buddhist doctrines and principles are wonderful and profound. Owing to this, I have gained an irreversible and firm faith in them. This kind of confidence cannot be destroyed by any external thing. I very much hope that you too are able to grasp this appreciation and experience that I have gained through study and practice, and that you can make efforts throughout your life to seek the truth of reality, study it, and put it into practice. Because only by doing so can your life have far-reaching meaning and value. Otherwise, in this materialistic era of mammonism, our mentality and behavior can be contaminated easily. On account of this, we can fall into the abyss of wrong views.
When you are seeking the truth of reality, if you explore Tibetan Buddhism, you will see it has a very complete, systematic way of studying and practicing, such as the Pramana and Madhyamaka debate traditions, which are more than enough to eliminate wrong views and doubts. If intellectuals from higher learning institutions are able to regularly communicate with Tibetan Buddhist institutes and monasteries, they will be able to reveal the mysteries of some profound areas and truly master the transcendent state, which is beyond the grasp of our mind and speech.
Instead of saying that I am answering your questions, let us say we are learning from each other. For some of your doubts or confusions, I will try to share my views, and then we can discuss them together with the experienced professors, teachers, and students.
(1) Question: Buddha…
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