The Sword of Wisdom and the Blessings of Longevity

People gathered from near and far in Marylebone, central London on Saturday 19 November to receive teachings from the Sakya tradition from Lama Jampa.

In the morning, Lama Jampa gave the first in what will be a long series of teachings on Sakya Pandita’s (1182 - 1251) Discriminating the Three Vows (Tib: Dom Sum Rab Ye). This famous text stirred up much debate in Tibet at the time of writing, addressing as it does many of the errors, misunderstandings and inconsistencies in practice which had developed at the time. 

These confusions were a result of dispersed Buddhist communities practising for centuries in isolation, unsupported by monastic establishments during the period of the suppression of the dharma that had occurred sometime after its first transmission from India. Although Sapan was writing at a time of revitalisation and retransmission of the dharma, there remained a need to clear away many of the confusions and contradictory practises that had developed.  Hence, although the work was written from within the Sakya tradition, it was and remains of vital importance to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Karma Thinley Rinpoche,  grand master of the Sakya and Kagyu traditions, said of Sakya Pandita’s work:

‘With his sword of wisdom he discriminated completely and clearly between authentic dharma and mixed and confused dharma.’

In this, the first part of the teaching, Lama Jampa gave an introduction to the text and its author, as well as giving some historical context explaining its importance to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, both in twelfth century Tibet and today’s world. 

The work focusses on the vows which the Buddhist practitioner may take on the three paths of hinayana, mahayana and vajrayana.  Rather than giving a detailed presentation of the vows themselves, the text focusses on clearing away erroneous practices and confused beliefs by holding them up for examination against both scripture and reasoning. In this way we can develop a clear understanding of what is correct and what incorrect. The work is written and presented out of great compassion in order that our efforts in practice will not be wasted, and that they will propel us along the path towards enlightenment without error.

In the afternoon, for those who had made a formal commitment to the Buddhist path, Lama Jampa bestowed an initiation of White Tara from the lineage of Shakyashribhadra. Lama Jampa commented that this initiation was apt to the occasion as Shakyashri was one of the great Indian masters from whom Sakya Pandita received a wealth of transmissions, and also because we will need a long life to receive all the parts of the text. This initation is also the second in a pair, the other being the initiation of Green Tara which Lama Jampa bestowed in Bristol on his last visit there. 

Lama Jampa will give the next part of the teaching on 21 January 2023 in Bristol, followed by the third part on 25 February in London.