The First Anniversary of Geshe Jampa Gyatso’s Passing
November 27, 2008
Geshe Jampa Gyatso and me 1998. In the photo, I am offering Geshe-la a mandala as a traditional thank you given at the end of a weekend lamrim teaching. As it turned out this was near to the last teaching I received from him, something that at the time never entered my mind!
Today is the first anniversary of Geshe-la passing. I still remember the sinking feeling moments after hearing the terrible news. Immediately, the thought arose in me: I am never going to see you again! and tears fell from my eyes like I didn’t think possible.
This photo, one of four from that day, is something I hold dearly.
Dalai Lama in Hobart Australia 2009
November 26, 2008
As some of you know His Holiness the Dalia Lama will return to Australia in 2009. As part of his tour he he will be receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Tasmania, my university! Am I excited by this news? You bet. No doubt, Sonam my supervisor had a lot to do with making this happen, and in my opinion will only serve to strengthen the relationship between western educational institutions and Buddhist educational institutions. via the http://www.dalailamainaustralia.org/home.aspx
His Holiness was with us in June of this year and delivered the inspiring teachings, Stages of Meditation! Reports back from many are that the Teachings have had a profound effect on people and changed their lives forever. We are of course very fortunate here in Australia as His Holiness has confirmed his return to Australia in early December 2009. Three years running – it is truly wonderful.
Hopefully I will see you there.
Note Taking and Critical Analysis Method
November 25, 2008
Over the next while as I read through various texts and books for my PhD, I am thinking about writing/blogging in a kind of paraphrase as both a means of deepening my understanding of the text, and also as a method of documenting/note taking for the PhD.
I’m not sure if this will slow me down to the point that it makes it impossible to continue, however, as it stands today, I think it is a good idea.
The plan is, for example, I have just finished reading the first 5 chapters of Candrakirti’s text of Madhyamaka called Supplement to the ‘Middle Way’ (Madhyamakavatara, dbu ma ma la ‘jug pa) hereafter “the supplement” and along with his auto-commentary. I now plan on reading Je Tsong khapa’s commentary to both the Supplement and the Auto-Commentary, and as I read through Tsong khapa’s text called Illumination of the Thought, An Extensive Explanation of Candrakirti’s ‘Supplement to the Middle way’ (dbu ma la ‘jug pa’i rgya cher bshad pa dgongs pa rab gsal), I will publish it here.
However, it will be philosophical in nature and so I add this to encourage you to continue the journey with me and as a possible method to engage the material.
“It will be difficult for you to make sense of some of the articles we’ll be reading. This is partly because they discuss abstract ideas that you’re not accustomed to thinking about. They may also use technical vocabulary which is new to you. Sometimes it won’t be obvious what the overall argument of the paper is supposed to be. The prose may be complicated, and you may need to pick the article apart sentence by sentence. Here are some tips to make the process easier and more effective” - http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/reading.html
This advice is well worth listening to however be clear that my essays here are not drafted nor carefully crafted. Please be patient with me and if you find an logic issues and/or typos please point them out.
Buddhists On Twitter
November 19, 2008
Hi Folks,
Below is a list of Buddhists using Twitter. The list has been created and published so Buddhists from all traditions can easily find and follow each other on twitter. Please do not SPAM these people.
Rules
To be added you must:
1: Send me a direct message on Twitter. The reason for this is not to increase the number of people following me on twitter, but to collect the requests and twitter profiles in one location. As you can imagine, I get a lot of people contacting me for various reasons. I am contacted for Buddhist related questions, philosophical questions, requests for prayers for recently passed loved ones. So, please be patient with me, I will get to your request.
2: Who can join? Individuals, dharma centers, temples and some businesses that are strictly dharma focused. However, I will screen every profile, and it is my sole discretion who will be added. The reason for allowing commercial profiles is to allow for those wishing to sell dharma books and so forth.
Note: If you are selling something that a fully ordained monk would not be happy with don’t bother requesting to be added to this list. Your request will be ignored.
3: Please act within the basic precepts of Buddhism, if you do not, you may be removed from the list.
4: Obviously this is a list for Buddhists on Twitter. In order to be included on this list you need to clearly display that you are a Buddhist, either via your twitter profile or via a blog post. Besides, if your not a Buddhist why would you want to be on it anyway.
Please blog and or Tweet the list in order that everyone is included, thank you, Loden Jinpa.
http://twitter.com/LodenJinpa
http://twitter.com/ryanoelke
http://twitter.com/WilliamHarryman
http://twitter.com/rmwb
http://twitter.com/LuminousHeart
http://twitter.com/kenleyneufeld
http://twitter.com/RJToronto
http://twitter.com/baesparza
http://twitter.com/rustyk
http://twitter.com/jennfields
http://twitter.com/RyanH42
http://twitter.com/Dangerangel
http://twitter.com/CathyVon
http://twitter.com/carlweaver
http://twitter.com/midpath
http://twitter.com/fountaingoats
http://twitter.com/ksclarke
http://twitter.com/phx_m
http://twitter.com/Enlighten_Up
http://twitter.com/pixelsrzen
http://twitter.com/spiver
http://twitter.com/dporter
http://twitter.com/BGrantPaul
http://twitter.com/Blackestsheep
http://twitter.com/moritherapy
http://twitter.com/beenswank
http://twitter.com/dlynch4
http://twitter.com/christiekoehler
http://twitter.com/rohan_london
http://twitter.com/dobesv
http://twitter.com/clarity99
http://twitter.com/danegr
http://twitter.com/kilbuda
http://twitter.com/AlexnWonderland
http://twitter.com/Bodhipaksa
http://twitter.com/pjhanley
http://twitter.com/returntorural
http://twitter.com/Klodt
http://twitter.com/jango_taurus
http://twitter.com/chfrank_cgn
http://twitter.com/goofyfoot1dc
http://twitter.com/mcamblin
http://twitter.com/dziemann
http://twitter.com/iron_cam
http://twitter.com/scottodonnell
http://twitter.com/mtciep
http://twitter.com/barbbar
http://twitter.com/sourcespirit
http://twitter.com/pgzwicker
http://twitter.com/i_Walt
http://twitter.com/DominicSmith
http://twitter.com/adsimo
http://twitter.com/bikerbar
http://twitter.com/groovyreligion
http://twitter.com/pickleloaf10
http://twitter.com/pemasattva
http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism
http://twitter.com/jakeberglund
http://twitter.com/BuddhistGirl
http://twitter.com/theworsthorse
http://twitter.com/chassuz
http://twitter.com/PaulCons
http://twitter.com/arcanology
http://twitter.com/mindonly
http://twitter.com/rgendron
http://twitter.com/BuddhistGeeks
http://twitter.com/LazyBuddhist
http://twitter.com/thubten
http://twitter.com/stealthflower
http://twitter.com/RevDannyFisher
http://twitter.com/rgendron
http://twitter.com/julesinrose
http://twitter.com/librarianlounge
http://twitter.com/c4chaos
http://twitter.com/IntegralChaotic
http://twitter.com/blinkwax
http://twitter.com/PDXyogini
http://twitter.com/ruby
http://twitter.com/_hokai_
http://twitter.com/antonioviva
http://twitter.com/KeithBurtis
http://twitter.com/medit8
http://twitter.com/VincentHorn
http://twitter.com/marioOlckers
http://twitter.com/SlowZen
http://twitter.com/fearscapes
http://twitter.com/SmartBuddhist
http://twitter.com/FullContactTMcG
http://twitter.com/pongsathorn
http://twitter.com/seacatz
http://twitter.com/meditatedestroy
http://twitter.com/InfiniteSmile
http://twitter.com/will_simpson
http://twitter.com/shambhalasun
http://twitter.com/karmadillo
http://twitter.com/thedublab
http://twitter.com/milesb
http://twitter.com/susanerl
http://twitter.com/Miejan
Playing with Twitter
October 25, 2008
For those of you that know what Twitter is, I have just started to give it a go after many people suggesting I give it a try. My account is here https://twitter.com/lodenjinpa
What is twitter?
via wikipedia: Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Twitterrific or Facebook. For SMS, four gateway numbers are currently available: short codes for the United States, Canada, and India, as well as a United Kingdom-based number for international use. Several third parties offer posting and receiving updates via email.
As of October 2008, Twitter claims to have over 3,200,000 accounts registered.
PhD Application Success
October 19, 2008
The topic of the PhD is the effectiveness of Tsong khapa’s Madhyamaka or Middle Way teachings. The working title for the dissertation is currently: The Soteriological Efficacy of Tsong Khapa’s Madhyamaka Dialectic: How does a non-affirming negation accrete Buddhist salvation? The project will research how a non-affirming negation can remove dysfunctional states of mind, thus producing the experience of an enlightened being. Given Je Tsong khapa’s unique reading of Candrakirti, Nagarjuna and the controversy surrounding his presentation of the two truths, there is still an unanswered question of whether the Gelugpa praxis does in fact lead a spiritual aspirant to enlightenment. While Gelugpa’s believe that his dialectical approach gives us a constructive exegesis of Nagarjuna’s thought, as set out in his seminal text Mulamadhyamakakarika. Because Tsong khapa strove to articulate the vision of emptiness and dependent arising as mutually dependent, and two natures of one and the same phenomena, this has led to a great deal of criticism of this view. Some of his opponents believe that Tsong khapa reifies conventional phenomena while others believe his view of emptiness is nihilistic. They believe, therefore, it falls out of scope of Nagarjuna’s “Middle Way”.
I believe, not only is Tsong khapa’s hermeneutical strategy coherent, his articulation of the two truths soteriologically efficacious, that is, it is effective in leading a spiritual aspirant to Buddhist salvation but, that his articulation of conventionalities, particularly his description of the person, sheds light on the age old Buddhist question of who is it that becomes enlightened, and also current issues in western philosophical thought on the nature of personal identity. This project will try to present this view, albeit in an objective way.
This project is important because I believe there is a need to articulate how emptiness can produce the experience of an enlightened being for a western audience and in a Western educational setting, that is, Western universities. In that regard, the University of Tasmania in Australia has accepted the project proposal I submitted and my PhD supervisor is Sonam Thakchoe. You may know of Sonam Thakchoe as he has recently published a book called The Two Truths Debate through Wisdom Publications and is a fine Buddhist scholar. Geshe Thubten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s translator, has agreed to help with different resources and also to give advice where possible. He has already made some suggestions on secondary literature that I will need to investigate for the project, as well as some advice on what is expected by western universities when doing research on spiritual topics.
My future plan is to complete the PhD while remaining in Melbourne with Geshe Loden. Then get a job in a university somewhere lecturing on Buddhist philosophy. I would also like to publish an adapted version of the dissertation for the general Buddhist reader in plain English [ unlike parts of this email
] and to help Buddhist philosophy become more accessible to university students, as well as lead retreats and lecture on traditional texts like lo-rik, drub-ta and of course the heart of Tsong khapa’s tradition Lam rim at Buddhist centers.The cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $25,000.00 Australian per year. This converts to about $17,000 USD. As I said above, I am in no way profiting from this project. Any financial assistance will go towards rent, food, project resources such as books and travel to and from the university.
Project Timeline
The project is likely to take 3 to 4 years.
Feedburner Email Service Reminder
September 10, 2008
Hi All,
Just a quick reminder to all those people who receive my blog posts via the FeedBurner email service. If you received this via email then this information pertains to you, so please listen.
I will be switching the FeedBurner blog post email service off tomorrow. If you would like to continue receiving content you will need to subscribe to the new newsletter service. If you no longer want to receive content then simply ignore this reminder. However, you will need to visit the website http://lodenjinpa.com to signup for the newsletter.
Thanks, Loden
Would You Like a PhD With That?
August 24, 2008
For those of you who have not yet signed up for the email newsletter. This post is an example of what I will be sending to the email list. So if you are interested in getting this type of content you will need to sign up for the newsletter. For those that are signed up to the newsletter and also received this via email, you will need to unsubscribe from the old list…if you are not sure send me an email and I will check for you.
The reason for the change is I’m looking into doing a PhD in philosophy, so I want a method to separate reader communication and blog content. Until recently I had to post content on the website in order for people to know about an event or something similar. This new method will allow me to keep in contact with readers and have the website content focused on philosophy, meditation, Buddhism and all that good stuff rather than my dribble about nothing…although some might say in my case these two and mutually inclusive.
My interest in research writing, or what I thought was philosophical style writing, started a while ago. I had become interested in understanding a little of western philosophy after reading an essay by Professor Jay Garfield and watching videos from a conference of Western and Buddhist philosophy scholars. Jay is the guy who translated Tsong Khapa’s Ocean of Reasoning. His university webpage http://www.smith.edu/philosophy/jgarfield.html (turns out that most professors have them) and I read one of his essays from this page. This led to me to read more essay style papers by professional philosophers, and eventually this style of communication inspired the philosophy as practice post. Somehow I found http://www.h-net.org/~buddhism/ a list for Buddhist scholars and graduate students (you cant get on this list unless you are a professional academic or graduate student but you can read what they are saying). On this list someone asked about remote PhD programs, which led to someone else replying with a link to a page with a pdf file of PhD rules for Australian universities. I still don’t know why but, for some reason I read this document and to my surprise it was possible in some circumstances to gain entry into a PhD program without an undergraduate degree.
So I began to investigate all the how-to stuff, emailed a number of people asking what was probably some pretty naive questions, and in the end I found a list of Australian universities that seemed relevant and sent them all an introduction letter and research proposal.
Below is part of what I originally sent a couple of university here in Australia.
The research will investigate the soteriological efficacy of Tsong Khapa’s Madhyamaka dialectic: How does a non-affirming negation give rise to Buddhist salvation?
Given Tsong Khapa’s unique reading of Candrakiriti, Nagarjuna and the controversy surrounding his presentation of the Two Truths. There is still an unanswered question of whether the Gelugpa’s praxis does in fact lead a spiritual aspirant to Enlightenment.
Tsong Khapa’s followers believe that his dialectical approach gives us a constructive exegesis of Nagarjuna’s thought as set out in his seminal text, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika). Tsong Khapa strove to articulate the vision of emptiness and dependent arising as mutually dependant. This has led to Tsong Khapa’s presentation of the Two Truths, as understood by his opponents, to be thoroughly problematic. Some of his opponents believe that Tsong Khapa reifies conventional phenomena, while others believe his view of emptiness is nihilistic, and therefore his presentation falls out of scope of Nagarjuna’s “Middle Way”.
I believe that not only is Tsong Khapa’s hermeneutical strategy coherent, that his articulation of the Two Truths is soteriologically efficacious, i.e. it does indeed lead a spiritual aspirant to Buddhist salvation but, that his articulation of conventionalities, particularly his description of the self or person sheds light on the age old Buddhist question who is it that becomes enlightened, and also current issues in western philosophical thought on the nature of personal identity.
This was received well by most of the universities but, given I had no research academic background and no undergraduate degree of any kind (I first met Geshe Loden part way through an arts degree, then left to concentrate on dharma) I kept being told I “no” “sorry” etc etc. I didn’t believe them, much to the annoyance of a friend who would say…but he (this professor) has 25 years of experience, if he says you can’t get in, then you can’t get in! I don’t know why but, I didn’t believe them (although I can’t see if I will get in, I felt I should at least keep trying…that was the feeling I was getting).
So I tried a couple more different universities and I finally found one university that seemed interested to at least talk. Ok your getting somewhere I thought. After maybe a dozen, or perhaps more emails, this is where I stand…
I have been asked to write an honors degree thesis (16,000 words) within 4 to 8 weeks, I think that honors degree students get 10 months or so but perhaps this is not correct. The university will then evaluate the thesis and I may be offered a place (without a scholarship to start with. PhD study is not courseware so there are no fees…although it is full time work) depending on the quality of the paper.
I would like to document my journey from here to (hopefully) completion of a PhD, so if you are interested to hear (it might be very boring) the story you please sign up to the newsletter. Future blog posts and website content will mainly consist of longer articles and essays on Buddhist related topics.
New email list provider and an apology
August 16, 2008
I received feedback from a number of concerned readers yesterday when it appears that some of you received strange looking emails. I changed my email list providers and apparently this new service has sent you guys something that asked you to “click here to confirm”. Some were concerned this was not from me and perhaps a spam email. Have no fear, it was me, although I do apologize for not informing you before hand. It was poor management of the process and I’m sorry for that.
Why did you do this?
I have some changes happening here and so I wanted a way to separate reader communication and website content. Until yesterday I had to post something on the website in order for people to know about it (like what I’m doing in this post). This new method will allow me to keep in contact with you guys and have the website content focused on Buddhism, philosophy, meditation and all that good stuff rather than my dribbling about nothing…although some might say in my case these two are mutually inclusive.
What will you send me if I join this new list?
- New website content notifications.
- General news and information such as when I go into retreat or I am away because of other commitments.
What does this mean for the readers currently getting content via email? Those signed up via the old provider got new website content via email. This service will be turned off in about two weeks. So if you are one of those readers please sign up to the new list.
If I sign up how often will I get these emails?
I will send out newsletters only when there is something useful to be informed of. So it is likely to be more often than the current system and I think on average it is likely to be one or two per week.
So, I apologize for any inconvenience this confusion has caused you and I thank you for your understanding.
Oh and by the way if you want to sign up for this new list you can do so at anytime but, you need to do this on the website and remember you can also unsubscribe at any time.
Hello My Friends Its Me Again
July 23, 2008
Hello everyone I’m back! I know it has been a while and although I do have a excuse I wont bore you with it.
I have been working on a couple of new projects, one which might be useful to the online buddhist community. So with that in mind I have a poll that I would like as many of you as possible to respond to PLEASE.
Only about 10% of the people who will read this will probably respond PLEASE be one of them 
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