Vajrapani Institute
P.O. Box 2130
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
(831) 338-6654 

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Commentary on the Heart Sutra
with Dagri Rinpoche
and Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi


NEW DATES: SEPT. 9-13

NEW Schedule: SEPT. 9-10 Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi will teach
SEPT. 11-13 Dagri Rinpoche will teach

Dagri Rinpoche

Category: Course
Level:
Intermediate-Advanced

Level of Silence:
No silence
Partial Attendance:
Allowed

 

Note on recent changes:
We have recently received word from Dagri Rinpoche that he will be unable to arrive to the US until the morning of Saturday Sept. 11th due to urgent matters he must attend to in Dharamsala. Therefore, we have extended the retreat until the evening of Monday Sept. 13th so that Rinpoche can teach longer. We have also added on teachings by our very skilled and amazing resident teacher Ven. Tenzin Chokgyi, who has not only taught before with Dagri Rinpoche in India, but has also taught extensively on the Heart Sutra herself and is very skilled on teaching the topic.

We have also had a last minute change of translators. We are very fortunate to have Ven. Tsen-la, a very accomplished translator and practitioner in her own right, accept to translate for Rinpoche. Here is a wonderful opportunity for us to make this very significant connection with such an obviously realized master, and one of the younger generation, who hopefully will be with us for a long time to come. The combination Rinpoche’s presence, Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi, and the skilled translations of Ven. Tsen-la make this event truly, truly one of the greats here at Vajrapani. Please don’t miss this
opportunity.

Course Overview
In the Heart Sutra “heart” means “the essence of.” The sutra explicitly teaches about wisdom, and implicitly it teaches about the spiritual path. The Heart Sutra is the source of the Mahayana wisdom, the non-inherent existence of everything neither ultimately nor conventionally.

The recitation of the Heart Sutra has two purposes. The supramundane purpose is to understand the truth of the spiritual path and get enlightenment. The mundane purpose is to eliminate obstacles and interferences in the path.

Teacher Biography
Dagri Rinpoche, is the reincarnation of Pari Dorje Chang, one of the very great geshes of Lhasa who was the teacher of many lamas, including Lama Yeshe. Dagri Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1958. He grew up during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. After his escape from Tibet in 1982 he completed his 17 years of study of Buddhist philosophy and received the Geshe Lharampa degree.

Dagri Rinpoche was fortunate in that, as a high tulku (incarnate lama), he was able to apply to take his geshe examinations two years earlier than the other monks. Rinpoche understands well the difference between the life of a tulku in Tibet and a tulku in India. His life story shows that a tulku who lives under difficult circumstances can still remain faithful to his ideal of serving others and being an example to them.

After his recognition as a tulku, he was unable to go to his monastery because, shortly after he was recognized, the monastery was destroyed by the Chinese. "I remained at home. From my father and the 'solpon' from my past incarnation I learned reading, writing, mathematics and the Tibetan language. Later I went to a regular elementary school and until I was 15 years old I also had to herd sheep and cows. Then the Chinese began a coal mine near the mountains. I was put in that camp and had to do forced labor. Many Tibetans died there. Most of the people were illiterate but knew that I was the reincarnated Dagri Tulku, because he was very well known in that area. They had a lot of faith in me. So I became their teacher.”

“In the evenings, after work, I taught them to read and write. Later I did administrative work in the camp, because in the meantime I had learned Chinese and how to do bookkeeping. All in all, they were very difficult years. Only after I had been in the camp for five years was I allowed to go to Lhasa, where many old monks lived. They were not permitted to stay in their monasteries. I met the former abbot of Sera Jhe in secret. He gave me the first vows. In the eighties, after the changes in the Chinese policy, monks from Sera came to me and requested me to go to India. My previous incarnation was renowned and I was encouraged to go to India for my education. Then many people collected money for me. It was very difficult to get a passport and I had to wait two years before I could leave. Only after my escape to India did I become a novice monk."

Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Dagri Rinpoche are quite close and discuss a lot together, especially about the preservation of Dharma lineages.

After Rinpoche's escape from Tibet, Lama Yeshe committed to support the incarnation through Sera Je, and, when Lama Yeshe passed away, Lama Zopa Rinpoche took the responsibility. Dagri Rinpoche is supporting Lama Zopa Rinpoche very much.


NEW SCHEDULE:

September 9th 3:00 to 5:00pm Registration 
6:00pm  Dinner
7:00pm  Orientation Session 
7:30-9:00pm  Introductory to the Heart Sutra Talk
WithVen. Tenzin Chogkyi
Sept. 10th  8:00 - 8:30am Breakfast 
9:30 - 12:30pm  Teachings with Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi w/ tea break
12:30 - 3:00pm Lunch 
3:00 -5:00pm Teachings with Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi
5:00 - 6:00pm Tea Break
6:00 - 7:00pm Dinner
7:00 - 8:30pm   Review session

Sept. 11th 
 
 8:00 - 8:30am               Breakfast
9:30 - 12:30pm              Teachings with Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi
12:30 - 3:00pm Lunch 
3:00 -5:00pm Teachings with Rinpoche
5:00 - 6:00pm Tea Break
6:00 - 7:00pm Dinner
7:00 - 8:30pm   Review session
Sept. 12th 8:00 - 8:30am Breakfast 
10:30 - 12:30pm  First session with Rinpoche 
12:30 - 3:00pm Lunch 
3:00 -5:00pm Second session with Rinpoche 
5:00 - 6:00pm Tea Break
6:00 - 7:00pm Dinner
7:00 - 8:30pm   Review session

    
Sept. 13th

8:00 - 8:30am  Breakfast 
10:30 - 12:30pm  Teachings with Rinpoche
12:30 - 2:00pm Lunch 
2:00 -4:00pm Teachings with Rinpoche plus final dedications

5:00pm-

Retreat Ends

For more information on Fee's and Registration:

Please contact our office at 1-800-531-4001 x1 or at
office@vajrapani.org.



"How precious and inspiring it is to be close to a teacher who is fully what he is teaching."
—Rinpoche’s student, 2008

"Form is void, but voidness is form. Voidness is not other than forms and forms are not other than voidness."

—Extract from the Heart Sutra  

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Click Here for Course and Registration General Info

Cancellation Policy 

A position for Course Manager Scholarship might still be available for this course. Click here for more information.