Understanding Buddha-Nature

Study Buddha-Nature through the Zhentong teachings

Why become a Buddhist? To realize Buddhahood. But what is Buddhahood? What is enlightenment? What is Buddha Nature? Do you have it? Do you need to grow it? Do you find it? Do you realize it? Do you reveal it?

The first step in any journey is gathering as much information about the destination as possible. If the destination isn’t clear, the journey itself might be confusing. Amazingly, there is good news in this beautiful paradox of the Dharma in the Dharma: the destination is the same as your starting point. While this seems hard to believe, it’s true. In an even more wonderful twist, we are not something created; we are the universal creator. To understand this, you need to grasp Karma on a deep level and understand Buddha Nature. In this course, Rinpoche will guide us in ascertaining the view—one of the most crucial steps on the path to enlightenment.

While all Buddhist traditions—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana—agree that there is Buddha Nature, when it comes to explaining it, everybody has problems. Even those that try to explain it don't do it satisfactorily. In the Sutras, Buddha Nature is referred to as Tathagatagarbha, and in the tantras, especially the highest yoga tantra, this nature is also addressed. The Zhentong View, as taught in the Jonang and utilized on the Kalachakra path, offers the clearest explanation of Buddha Nature. Why? Because it draws from texts by highly realized beings, such as the 10th-level Bodhisattva Asanga and Maitreya.

In this 12-week course, we will study Buddha Nature through the Zhentong teachings with Khentrul Rinpoche from the Jonang perspective. We will work with his book, The Great Middle Way, and Dolpopa’s pivotal work, The Mountain Doctrine. Additionally, we will work with the section of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth Book 2, focusing on Zhentong.

  • Who is this course for?

    This course is perfect for anyone curious about the path to enlightenment or those on the Kalachakra path who are still unclear or uncertain about the view.

  • What will you learn?

    The clearest explanation of Buddha Nature as offered in the Zhentong View, taught in the Jonang and utilized on the Kalachakra path.

  • How will this benefit you?

    The profound Vajra yoga path depends on this view, and all of tantra is built upon it. Even if you are practicing the 8-fold path in any tradition, you need to have the Right View. There is no one studying Dharma who cannot benefit from having the Right View.

Instructor

Khentrul Rinpoche

Jonang Kalachakra and Rimé Master

Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden. Rinpoche is the author of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Great Middle Way: Clarifying the Jonang View of Other-Emptiness, A Happier Life, and The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path. Rinpoche spent the first 20 years of his life herding yak and chanting mantras on the plateaus of Tibet. Inspired by the bodhisattvas, he left his family to study in a variety of monasteries under the guidance of over twenty-five masters in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Due to his non-sectarian approach, he earned himself the title of Rimé (unbiased) Master and was identified as the reincarnation of the famous Kalachakra Master Ngawang Chözin Gyatso. While at the core of his teachings is the recognition that there is great value in the diversity of all spiritual traditions found in this world; he focuses on the Jonang-Shambhala tradition. Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, ultimately bringing about the golden age of peace and harmony (dzokden).