Geshe Tenley will be teaching Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen's The Eight Categories and Seventy Topics (don bdun cu), a concise presentation of the eight categories and seventy topics discussed in Maitreya's Ornament of Clear Realizations (Sanskrit - Abhisamayalamkara, Tibetan - mNgon rtogs rgyan). At Sera Je Monastery, The Seventy Topics is an essential prerequisite to the in-depth study of the Ornament of Clear Realizations. It is explained that the Prajnaparamita texts include both explicit teachings on the emptiness of inherent existence of phenomena, as well as hidden, or indirect, teachings on the path system that leads to the proper understanding and realization of emptiness.
The Ornament of Clear Realizations "brings to the surface those hidden teachings" and explains the path system in its entirety. In turn, The Seventy Topics provides the basis for studying and correctly understanding the Ornament of Clear Realizations.
Geshe Ngawang Tenley was born in 1969 and in 1989 began preparation to become a monk under the guidance of his uncle, Geshe Tsulga. He was ordained by the late Gyume Khensur Geshe Urgyen Tseten Rinpoche in 1990 and began the program of studies to become a geshe at Sera Je Monastery. During the course of his studies, he has received many teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as other highly qualified masters. In 1998, he received his full ordination (gelong) vows from His Holiness, and in November 2008, after eighteen years of rigorous studies, he completed his final exams to be conferred the geshe degree at Sera Je Monastery. He began teaching at Kurukulla Center in 2009, and was appointed the resident teacher by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2010 following the passing away of Geshe Tsulga. His cheerfulness and humility endear him to everyone he meets.
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