The Venerable Geshe Thupten Dorjee began his discussion of Buddhism Wednesday with a traditional chant.
The intonation called for compassion and universal love, two concepts central to the ancient faith and present in many belief systems around the world.
The “most common ground of all religion is forgiveness,” said the Tibetan monk, who has studied Buddhist philosophy for more than 25 years. “Whoever we are, as long as we are influenced by hatred and jealously,” it “brings suffering. So therefore forgiveness is really important.”
The geshe, a title given to Buddhist teachers, is spending three days in the Cedar Valley this week in connection with the May 18 appearance by the Dalai Lama at the University of Northern Iowa. On Wednesday, the monk shared Buddhist teachings with 90 students and community members during a talk at the St. Stephen Catholic Student Center located near the UNI campus.
“We are realizing more and more of our need to understand and appreciate other religions,” said Dave Cushing, director of adult formation with the Catholic Parishes of Waterloo, which co-sponsored the event. “We look around and we see that the world we know is getting smaller and smaller all the time.”
During an hour-long discussion, Dorjee introduced attendees to some of the basic tenets of Buddhism, including karma, meditation and detachment from worldly goods and fleeting qualities, such as physical attractiveness.
In addition to philosophy, the geshe has studied Buddhist medicine, logic and art. He’s also examined the beliefs of other religions, including Hinduism. Dorjee has memorized and internalized thousands of pages of sacred teachings and, as part of his education, has discussed their messages with several other monks.
The best teachers never give students a final decision about what to should think, he said. “When you debate you become confident because you understand (something), not because you were told this is the way it is.”
Dorjee is an instructor at the University of Arkansas, where he founded the state’s Tibetan Cultural Institute. The teacher visited UNI last spring to construct a sand mandala. He has made periodic visits back to campus this winter and spring as a visiting instructor for a university course on the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism.
Serenity Wehrenberg has read about the religion and came to Dojee’s presentation to learn more. Although she doesn’t practice Buddhism, she finds wisdom in many of the faith’s teachings.
“The piece about compassion is probably the key part for me,” said the Cedar Falls woman. “Compassion for yourself and for other humans is basically the key to life.”
Source : http://wcfcourier.com
