31 Jan 2012
7 min 16 sec
Video Overview
Creators:
Unknown
In an interview with Professor Jose Cabezon, Geshé Sopa describes the examinations at Sera Monastery that lead to the Geshé degree.
- Sera Monastery
- Jose Cabezon: When you entered Sera, did you start from dura chungwo ("collected topics"; Tib. bsdus grwa chung bo) again, or?
- Geshe Sopa: Yeah, dura chungwo...
- Dura chungwo...dura sum (Tib. bsdus grwa gsum), right? Dura chungwo, dring, chenpo, (Tib. bsdus grwa chung bo, 'bring, chen po)
- but I was already at Ganden Chokor (Tib. Dga' ldan chos 'khor), I have already done,
- so therefore I stayed there dura chungwo,
- and then a little bit, and then I jumped,
- not stay all three duras,
- and next did the pujin zindra (Tib. ? 'dzin grwa),
- zhung sarpa (Tib. gzhung gsar pa?), called, that is the from dura to up there
- and then from there slowly, step by step
- each zindra ("class"; Tib. 'dzin grwa) takes the...one year at least, yeah?
- so thirteen zindras, different subjects and some of them more than here.
- so anyway,
- so I was in zhung sarpa, I think first they did this,
- after dura, the prajnaparamita subject, [indecipherable]
- zhung sarpa began there
- they called rikchung (Tib. rig chung), do you know rikchung?
- Rikchung is a special rank in the summer, they have assembly hall debating, special kind of choice.
- so Gegu[??] chose sixteen young monks in this one class, from class,
- and then rank, number one, number two, etc. like that way,
- rikchung, that's a privilege type of thing,
- so I got also rikchung, tsoklang (Tib. tshogs langs)
- Jose Cabezon: Which topic did you debate?
- Geshe Sopa: I think second, or third, or something like that.
- We have our Tsangpa Khamtsen from my khamtsen
- I'm not the same zindra who had [indecipherable]
- because this rikchung is based on Gegu, debating and memorization
- he has a lot of memorization,
- so therefore he has debating addition, much much more memorization
- so therefore based on that, he got [indecipherable]
- so anyway, rikchung, tsoklang, so that started like that way.
- and then in this all the classes, went in there,
- and when I got the...go to the uma, madhyamika, classes,
- then I have quite advanced dura, paraprajnamita subjects, etc., beginning madhyamika
- so that time, then I had quite a students also coming to...want to listen
- because over there you don't have the system, it's interesting you see
- over there, how do you study these philosophical texts, all these teachings
- you yourself alone, there's no called schools like here,
- public schools, nobody have
- you have to first you memorize things, study,
- and then you go to your own choice, whomever you choose as teacher,
- that particular subject you can go there to get lesson from teaching from these teacher
- maybe if you need more than one a little later, one or two, three,
- if one is busy, another one you can find as much teaching from them
- that kind of thing
- and additionally you study, learning a lot, you read and memorize and all these things, your own, there's no...
- but the only thing is the...once you...these classes, these group of classes
- that is the open place, right? spyi zhung[?]
- and there you have [indecipherable], and all kinds of different monks, different khamtsens, different...
- comes, debating each other.
- and there that is definite, each tratsang has every year, semester,
- for losar, the spring semester, summer and fall and winter semester
- those things, chura (Tib. chos grwa) called,
- there's two things: one puja prayer, one is the debating session
- this debating session is very, very useful
- for studies, philosophical studies, you study, learn a little bit from your teacher
- you read and then go to class and maybe there are big classes
- beginning maybe thirty, forty monks, young monks, some of those like that
- and then we...each of them this particular semester whatever subject based on that...
- and everybody reads that area, memorizes it, whatever something,
- and then based on that you debate them, discussion
- so from that, you learn a lot
- your own reading, your own from your own teacher,
- and another person who has read many, many and his teacher
- add different style and different sharpening, etc. etc.
- then each other debating, very heated way almost debating
- but it was learning a lot
- even sometimes you hold your own position: this should be this, this this
- finally someone who contradicting you scripturally, logically, and sharpening
- and then you lose your own [indecipherable]
- that's a wrong something like that way
- so therefore that way you how say you
- subjects, understand much more clear
- much more rather than believing somebody talk then you hold that believing
- instead then that is the subject and why and how, and logically what what where,
- scripturally what what, all these things debating
- and many many people will debate you, yeah?
- debating form is from there and classes
- one is you from lower all the way up same thing
- each has its classes, classes, subjects different subjects and they do the same thing.
- and this time maybe say what kind of two types of in these classes,
- one is they all they do whatever group, monks, sit together in this class
- and back to this way, facing, middle little small space and everybody facing that way,
- and one person called the damca (Tib. dam bca') who is the defender
- who sits in the middle and he defends everything
- and everybody one by one rise and asking him, debate him
- and then that way, take turns like that
- so anybody who wants to sit on the tamca that's one
- and that is the together debating
- then, other times, every monk, two two two two, in these classes, two two, debate
- Jose Cabezon: In pairs.
- Geshe Sopa: In pairs, you and me,
- even prayer or something you have earlier, you know, you said,
- you say whomever you want to debate, you say such such, like this way
- and then call and maybe he says "okay"
- you go there with...and the subject you discuss,
- and then sometimes you get up to debate him,
- sometimes he gets up to debate you
- that kind of two, two, two, two, under monitor sat there,
- or some kind of special kind of sign, under that you debate
- so these debating, two debate form is kind of nice, yeah.
- sometimes together, sometimes one by one
- so that is only learning, there is no public classes
- but that way, then gegu, or monitor,
- who comes there to see these classes
- who is doing , what is doing, who is sharp
- then from there is some kind of examination sometimes happen.
Loading ... Collection:
Subcollection
- Religion in Tibet
- Monasteries
- Sera - Geshe Sopa Interview
- Sera Monastery
- Geshe Sopa Interview
Subject
- monasticism
Referenced Places
- Sera Monastery
Recording Location
- Wisconsin
Language
- English
Interviewer:
Jose Cabezon
Contributing Interviewee:
Geshé Lhundub Sopa
Contributing Translator:
Eveline Yang
Publisher:
Tibetan and Himalayan Library
Data Entry:
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Shanti AV Id:
1420
thlib.org
1269
Versions:
Date Created:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Encoding Scheme:
mpeg-4 visual
File Size:
29491 (KB)
Data Rate:
494 (kbps)
Frame Size:
360x272
Format Id:
Format Id:
1_ygy1pcnb
Format Id Source:
Kaltura.com
Annotation:
LANGUAGE INFO Dialect Family: dbus gtsang Speech Type: Interview Situation Method: interviews MASTER TAPE INFO Master Tape Label: NDRP Master 1 Recorded: 1969-01-01