Ven Thubten Wangdu - Impermanence, Dissatisfaction, No-Self

Monday 3 February 2025 - 6:30 pm IST
In-person and on Zoom. No registration required.
Ven Thubten Wangdu - Tackling our Mis-Knowing of the Nature of Reality
Teachings on How to Overcome Ignorance
Part 1: Impermanence, Dissatisfaction, No-Self
The Buddha taught that the main cause for why we experience dissatisfaction is our own mis-knowing of how things exist. This is really inspiring! Why? Because if suffering comes from our own misperceptions, that means if we correct our misperceptions: suffering will be removed from the mind. These teachings will help us understand how to tackle our misperceptions.
About the teacher
Venerable Thubten Wangdu is the Resident Teacher of Tushita Dharamsala since February 2023.
Ven. Thubten Wangdu is an Austrian monk who has been involved in the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism since 2012. He finished the 5-year residential FPMT Basic Program of Buddhist Philosophy at Nalanda Monastery in France in 2022 and completed his studies with a three month lamrim retreat.
Before this, for two years Ven. Wangdu was a resident at Tushita Dharamshala and led the meditations in the various ten-day courses. He also led meditations at Kopan Monastery in Nepal for the one-month November Courses in 2019 and 2022.
Ven. Wangdu is involved in giving regular Dharma talks and meditations for the Austrian FPMT Centre in Vienna. He was ordained as a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in 2022 at Kopan Monastery by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
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[@naturelove974]

How can one accept change? Is it easy?

[@ThubtenWangdu]

With respect to a question towards the end of the class-wether the consciousness that moves from life to life is the ‘I’-my answer did not really hit the spot and contained some technical mistakes. Let me clarify and rephrase:
The short answer is: the consciousness that moves from life to life is not the ‘I,’ because the ‘I’ is merely designated in dependence upon consciousness, along with the remaining aggregates.
Some schools of Buddhist philosophy posit the mental consciousness as the illustration of the person, but from the Prasangika Madhyamaka perspective, it is the ‘mere I’ that is the illustration of the person. The ‘I’ is merely designated in dependence upon the five aggregates and cannot be found either among them or separate from them.
For example, the person ‘Wangdu’ is designated in dependence upon Wangdu’s body and mind. Once death occurs and body and mind separate, the body becomes a corpse and consciousness moves on into the intermediate state. At that point, is this still Wangdu’s consciousness? Technically, no-Wangdu’s aggregates have changed and dispersed, so there is no longer a valid basis for designating ‘Wangdu’. What enters the intermediate state is the continuity of Wangdu’s consciousness. Is it an ‘I’? Technically, no-the ‘I’ is merely designated in dependence upon that consciousness and the subtle form of the intermediate state being.
Then, propelled by karma, when this consciousness enters into a fertilised egg in a mother’s womb-let’s say in Memphis, and the fetus develops as biologically female-a new life begins. In dependence upon that new body and consciousness, we designate ‘Susan.’ Is Susan her consciousness? No-Susan is designated in dependence upon her five aggregates, and she cannot be found either among them or separate from them.
Susan’s consciousness is the continuity of Wangdu’s consciousness. So, will Susan experience the karmic results of Wangdu’s actions? Yes. But are they the same person? No-Susan is not Wangdu, because at the time Susan exists, Wangdu no longer does.
The key point is this: consciousness is not the ‘I’; rather, the ‘I’ is merely designated in dependence upon consciousness and the other aggregates. There is no inherent ‘I’ that moves from life to life. Instead, in dependence upon the ever-changing aggregates, which are governed by the law of cause and effect, the ‘I’ is merely designated.

[@info2pragya]

Thanks for this explanation ❤

[@info2pragya]

I have met you at tushita dharamshala last year for introduction course, This year again coming for the advanced course. You have changed my perspective towards life Sir. Really feeling gratitude towards u. Feeling so good to see your presence at youtube.❤❤