The Three Principal Aspects of the Path
We are honored and excited to be able to once again host the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi for a teaching on the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, a seminal text by the renowned Je Tsong Kha Pa. Je Rinpoche asserted that it is on the basis of these Three Principle Aspects—the wish for true freedom, the generation of altruistic intention, and the wisdom that understands how things really exist—that one must embark on this profound spiritual path.
The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi Rinpoche is the Founding Director and President of the Prajnopaya Institute and Foundation. Prajnopaya Foundation is a worldwide humanitarian organization which provides care for all regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender, by developing innovative health, education and social welfare programs. His endeavors include developing projects that promote humanitarian aid and humane understanding in countries such as India, Nepal, Japan, USA, and Sri Lanka to benefit their disadvantaged populations. Prajnopaya Institute offers courses in Buddhist philosophy and meditation through its various branches.
Venerable Tenzin was born into a Hindu Brahmin family in Vaishali, India. At the age of ten, under his own volition, he entered a Buddhist monastery in Rajgir, near the ancient Nalanda University. He studied traditional Indo-Tibetan and Japanese Buddhism and was ordained by His Holiness The Dalai Lama who is his spiritual mentor. His unique background included simultaneously receiving traditional Buddhist training and a secular education. He studied under the guidance of several great teachers including: H.H. Sakya Trizin, H.H. Drikung Chhetsang, H.E. Kushok Bakula Rinpoche and H. E. Samdhong Rinpoche and received meditation training from H.E. Drubwang Rinpoche. Venerable Tenzin is known for his love of Sanskrit Buddhist literature.
During his early training he was introduced to Mother Teresa in Calcutta and learned about human nature and compassion by observing her work with the poor. He took a keen interest in inter-religious conversations and represented the Buddhist tradition in a meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1997 during the Christian persecution in India. Since then he has engaged in dialogues with Archibishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict, HH Gyalwang Karmapa, and other religious leaders.
He received his bachelor’s degree as an Integral Honors Scholar in Philosophy, Physics, and Religious Studies with minors in International Relations and Japanese. He completed his graduate studies in Comparative Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University in 2003.
Venerable Tenzin is also the Founder and Director of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a non-partisan collaborative think tank focused on interdisciplinary research and programs related to the development of human and global ethics. He also serves as the Buddhist Chaplain to the Institute.
Venerable Tenzin is a Founding Member of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World Peace Pagoda) in New Delhi and Sarnath (Varanasi) in India, and also serves on the Board of several academic, humanitarian, and religious organizations. He lectures internationally on subjects ranging from philosophy, science, ethics and religion to socio-political thought. He also teaches traditional Buddhist philosophy and practice through the Prajnopaya Institute.
You can learn more about Venerable Tenzin’s extraordinary life in his book, Running Toward Mystery.
This will be a live Zoom online event. We invite you to gather with us at the Third Street Center and participate as a group. However, you can join the live session from wherever you live.
Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
Location: Third Street Center, 520 S. Third Street, Carbondale, CO
Time: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Registration: Registration is facilitated through Venerable Priyadarshi’s organization, Bodhimarga. Here is the link to register.