Rigpa Shedra
Khenpo Namdrol teaches the Rigpa Shedra East and a number of Lamas, monks, nuns and western students, 2008 in Pharping.]] Rigpa Shedra — Rigpa's intensive study program that takes place in Pharping, Nepal under the guidance of Khenpo Namdrol.
About the Shedra
[[File:Stupa marking Shariputra's birth death place (Small).JPG|thumb|left|Nalanda University)] Inspired by the vision of Sogyal Rinpoche and the achievements of great centres of buddhist learning from the past, such as Nalanda in India, Shri Singha shedra at Dzogchen Monastery, Kham-jé at Dzongsar and more recently, Larung Gar, established by the great Khen Rinpoche Jikmé Phuntsok, the Rigpa Shedra seeks to provide a thorough and comprehensive Dharma education of the very highest standards. The approach is traditional, based on the proven methods of the unbroken lineage of learning and realization that dates back to ancient India, and encourages not just formal study, but also deeper integration of the teachings through contemplation and meditation.
The curriculum is designed with a view to supporting the needs of the wider Rigpa Sangha, complementing the teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche and also the courses offered in Rigpa centres throughout the world. It is entirely non-sectarian, and features the most important writings of the great Indian and Tibetan masters, including works on both sutra and tantra. The teachers providing commentary on these texts are highly qualified khenpos and acharyas. Additional teachings and guidance are also sought from many of the lamas connected with the Rigpa sangha. In addition to studying the most important classical writings, students have the option to study the Tibetan language, and all the major and minor sciences studied by the panditas of India and Tibet, including the history of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Tibetan medicine, astrology, grammar (according to the main Tibetan grammar treatises), poetry and arts and crafts.
Teachers
[[Image:RTRShedra.JPG|frame|Ringu Tulku Rinpoche teaching at the Rigpa Shedra)] The following lamas and scholars have taught at the Rigpa Shedra:
Senior Lamas
Other Khenpos
- Khenpo Dawa Paljor
- Khenpo Jampal Dorje
- Khenpo Pasang Tenzin
- Khenpo Sönam Tobden
Western Scholars
- B. Alan Wallace
- Klaus-Dieter Mathes
- Steven Goodman
Shedra History
Shedra East
2006
In 2006 the first Rigpa Shedra East took place at the Palyul Retreat Centre in Pharping, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Students spent four months studying Mipham Rinpoche’s Gateway to Knowledge with Khenpo Pasang Tenzin.
2007
In 2007, the shedra focused on Shantideva's classic text, the Bodhicharyavatara, with Khenpo Sönam Tobden. MP3 audio files of these teachings are available here.
2008
The Shedra 2007-2008 studied Mipham Rinpoche’s commentary The Adornment of the Middle Way, Shantarakshita’s Madhyamakalankara with Commentary By Jamgön Mipham, with Khenpo Sönam Tobden.
2009
Buddha nature was the main topic of the Shedra 2008-2009, following two commentaries by Mipham Rinpoche: The Lion's Roar: A Commentary on Sugatagarbha, taught by Khen Rinpoche Namdrol, and Mipham Rinpoche’s commentary on the Uttaratantra Shastra (Tib. Gyü Lama), Buddha Maitreya’s famous treatise, taught by Khenpo Dawa Paljor.
2010
The main text studied at Shedra East in 2010 was Madhyamakavatara (Tib. Umajukpa) and its auto-commentary by Chandrakirti, with Khenpo Sönam Tobden.
2011
Teachings on Mipham Rinpoche's commentary on the Abhisamayalankara with Khenpo Sönam Tobden.
Shedra West
2001
The Rigpa Shedra began in Lerab Ling in the summer of 2001. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and Ringu Tulku Rinpoche both taught on the ninth chapter of Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara.
2002
For the second year, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche gave a commentary on Maitreya’s Uttaratantra Shastra, Ringu Tulku taught Mipham Rinpoche’s Wheel of Investigative Meditation and Professor Steven Goodman introduced the basic themes of the Abhidharma.
2003
For the third year, which took place in Dzogchen Beara in Ireland, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche taught on Maitreya’s Abhisamayalankara and Alan Wallace presented the views of the four main philosophical schools of Buddhism. Students also reviewed Ringu Tulku Rinpoche’s teachings on the whole of the Bodhicharyavatara.
2004
For the fourth year, Dzogchen Rinpoche taught on the Abhisamayalankara and introduced us to buddhist debate, and Ringu Tulku Rinpoche began his teachings on Shantarakshita’s Madhyamakalankara using the commentary of Mipham Rinpoche.
2005
In the fifth year, the shedra was once again at home in Lerab Ling. We had the pleasure of welcoming back Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, the Rigpa Shedra’s most regular teacher, for the second and final year of his brilliant commentary upon Mipham Rinpoche’s celebrated exposition of the Ornament of the Middle Way by Khenpo Shantarakshita. Each day, Rinpoche delivered a brilliant and seemingly effortless summary of as many as thirty or forty pages of text, masterfully encapsulating the essential meaning of the treatise.
For the second part, we had the good fortune to study Haribhadra’s Sphutartha commentary on the Abhisamayalankara with the young and brilliant Khenpo Jampal Dorje from Dzongsar Monastery in India. During his lively and extremely detailed presentation, he drew upon the writings of the great Sakyapa master Kunkhyen Gorampa and especially upon the annotation commentary of the great Khenpo Shenga, to whose lineage he himself belongs. On the final day, as both a thank-you and an offering, three students were called upon to present their understanding of the text, and all acquitted themselves admirably, speaking from memory for more than five minutes each and even managing a few quotations.
Rigpa Shedra
The Rigpa Shedra program, founded in 2001, under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche, includes Rigpa Shedra East, which takes place every winter at the retreat centre of Khenpo Namdrol in Pharping, Nepal, and Rigpa Shedra West, which is based in Lerab Ling, Sogyal Rinpoche's main centre near Montpellier in southern France. The Rigpa Shedra program also includes so-called 'Shedra Events', which are teachings given at Rigpa centres around the world by eminent Tibetan teachers and western scholars.
Main Teachers
- Dzogchen Rinpoche
- Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
- Ringu Tulku
- Khenpo Namdrol
- Khenpo Pasang Tenzin
- Khenpo Jampel Dorje
- Alan Wallace
- Steven Goodman
