..續本文上一頁 the Bodhisattva visualizes much purer. Guhyagarbha Tantra analyzes these ideas in a profound way, which takes time for us to really understand.

　　About ninety-nine years ago, a great scholar in Tibet, Mipham Rinpoche, had deeply explained the theory of “pure mind, pure land” with both exoteric and esoteric view in his Essence of Clear Light. I taught this to some intellectuals more than ten years ago. At that time I developed a deep understanding of “pure mind, pure land”. To get to this point, it requires a combination of the profound Mahayana theory and one”s own dharma practice. Of course, I”m not saying that I had some incredible experience. I just want to share with you that, in Tibetan Buddhism, there are so many essence of wisdom that deserve our hard study.

　　As Professor Xue Yu said yesterday, there are many Tibetan Buddhism institutes all over the world, like at Harvard University, in Japan and so on. A lot of professors and scholars devote themselves to Tibetan Buddhism research, and seek the profound meaning by both theoretical and practical means. Professor Nick Swann is one good example. He is from England, fascinated by Tibetan Buddhism, and has a very good understanding of Buddhism theory. Not only that, he”s also a dharma practitioner of Sakya lineage. Surprisingly, he communicates with me with fluent Tibetan. I don”t think it”s an easy thing for an Englishman to learn Tibetan so well. As you can see, nowadays in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, scholars are no longer satisfied with just reading a few books.

　　Why is Tibetan Buddhism so attractive

　　 Because it has compelling logics and clear practice stages, as well as the continued pure lineage transmission and supreme piths from lineage masters. Due to these unique characters in many aspects, Tibetan Buddhism is recognized as a treasure of world culture. In recent years, more and more professors and college students in China have been studying Tibetan Buddhism, such as Buddhism logic, the middle way, the great perfection and so on. We are very fortunate that the traditional culture of Buddhism has been well protected due to the poor natural condition of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. As a result, it brings incredible benefits to the whole world, which is also the good karma of sentient beings.

　　Perhaps some think Tibetan Buddhism is just as simple as a few religious rituals, such as empowerment, consecration, purification, blessing, life release and so on. This is a major misunderstanding. If one really wants to understand Tibetan Buddhism, he or she would better study at a Tibetan Buddhism institute, or a similar dharma center with systematic teaching programs. Only in this way can we taste the flavor of its rigorous doctrine.

　　Or you may still wonder: are empowerment and blessing not Tibetan Buddhism

　　 They are the special forms, but not the essence of Tibetan Buddhism. Then what is the true meaning of Buddhism

　　 As Bodhisattva Vasubandhu said in Abhidharma Kosa Shastra, the Buddha”s noble dharma only have two types, characterized by doctrine and realization. This is true for both Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism.

　　Nowadays, many Buddhists are only fascinated with the forms of Buddhism, but ignore the true meaning of dharma, even though they had taken refuge so many years ago. Many Buddhism intellectuals are also like this. For example, there are more than twenty college students in our seminar, some of them are limited to a few stories and very superficial theories of Buddhism, and can hardly touch their deep meaning. In fact, if one wants to grasp the true meaning of dharma, instead of only reading certain books, he or she has to continuously study, contemplate, debate and practice for a long time, by following the path of great virtues and monks in the past.

　　In order to gras…

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