31 Jan 2012
7 min 35 sec
Video Overview
Creators:
Unknown
In an interview with Professor Jose Cabezon, Geshé Sopa talks about his four main teachers at Sera Monastery and other aspects of life at Sera.
- Wisconsin
- Sera Monastery
- Geshe Sopa: Okay then, in Lhasa, we went to Lhasa,
- Geshe Sopa: and then of course, Sera Monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: my first teacher I have in Lhasa, Sera Monastery,
- Geshe Sopa: later four teachers,
- Geshe Sopa: first teacher is Khensur Tapke Rinpoche,
- Geshe Sopa: Tapke, ex-abbot, Tapke Rinpoche was the leader of all the monks' teachers, and also,
- Geshe Sopa: so he was in that time, a tutor, he living with an Amdo lama, Khenchen Rinpoche,
- Geshe Sopa: so he stays Samlo Khangtsen, they are Khenchen Labrang.
- Geshe Sopa: So he stays there, but anytime, who come, new monk from Ganden Shogu [sp?],
- Geshe Sopa: he will, whatever need to, whatever teacher,
- Geshe Sopa: you have to stay for some time, a year or several months,
- Geshe Sopa: or depends on your age, etc.
- Geshe Sopa: so he will, somebody choose, you can stay with him, or you can, etc.
- Geshe Sopa: for the teacher, one will come together, put together.
- Geshe Sopa: So I was that time, Gen Riksal la, who is a famous scholar,
- Geshe Sopa: so bad we don't have his picture, he's completely,
- Geshe Sopa: he's among the four teachers, youngest one,
- Geshe Sopa: but most scholarly, yogi type of, very very quiet and,
- Geshe Sopa: that time we don't have much pictures there, so I don't have his picture at all.
- Geshe Sopa: So anyway, I was staying with him, in his house, with him.
- Geshe Sopa: But not stay too long, about maybe six months? Something.
- Geshe Sopa: And then I all, myself, in a house, little room, and then stay at that time.
- Geshe Sopa: So that was the first teachers, the called,
- Geshe Sopa: Geshe Sopa: we had called private teachers, sponsored teachers, or what you call,
- Geshe Sopa: and then, teaching teacher is the, you go everytime to subject, to get lesson and then back.
- Jose Cabezon: In Tibetan this is like "zha kyi gegan" or?
- Geshe Sopa: "tsawa'i gegan" (Tib. rtsa ba'i dge rgan)
- Geshe Sopa: Root teacher we called.
- Geshe Sopa: So anyway, that is Gen Riksal was the, he's my root teacher,
- Geshe Sopa: and then, of course, already Khensur Tapke Rinpoche was his teacher,
- Geshe Sopa: even he is everybody's teacher.
- Geshe Sopa: And then his teacher, Khensur Tapke Rinpoche's teacher was Ganden Tri Rinpoche.
- Geshe Sopa: Ganden Tripa Throne Holder, Trisur Lhundrup Tsondu Rincpoche.
- Geshe Sopa: Also that time he was almost about become Ganden Tripa, he was Jantse.
- Geshe Sopa: So, but I had later with some teachings from him but,
- Geshe Sopa: later teach big, how say, audience of the Lamrim Chenpo, he taught.
- Geshe Sopa: And also Bodhicaryavatara, taught all the public in Lhasa,
- Geshe Sopa: I was that kind of thing, but not private, not much teaching,
- Geshe Sopa: but most private, philosophical teachings,
- Geshe Sopa: Khesur Tapke Rinpoche, Gen Riksal,
- Geshe Sopa: and then Geshe Ngawang Gedun, is right now here, Yangsi Rinpoche's predecessor,
- Geshe Sopa: he was great, great scholar known in Sera, Drepung, everywhere,
- Geshe Sopa: he's famous, great teacher.
- Geshe Sopa: So I was also study with him.
- Geshe Sopa: So therefore four of them mainly teacher, ya?
- Geshe Sopa: So that way, and...
- Jose Cabezon: At that time, Khensur Tapke la, he was already Khensur? He had already....
- Geshe Sopa: No, no, no, no. He was even not geshe.
- Geshe Sopa: But he was a very high level of class, Zur Garam [?], called, the Five Subjects, almost finished
- Geshe Sopa: and then, way up there, not even geshe,
- Geshe Sopa: but he was already tutor for one of the ?? lama, Khenche Rinpoche, Samlo Khenche Rinpoche.
- Geshe Sopa: So he was living with him in Samlo Khangtsen,
- Geshe Sopa: so when we have some kind of teachings, or anything,
- Geshe Sopa: always go there, and, to get lesson.
- Jose Cabezon: And where, where did you stay at Sera? Like, where did Gen Riksal...
- Geshe Sopa: Gen Riksal, Tsangpa Khangtsen.
- Jose Cabezon: Tsangpa Khangtsen.
- Geshe Sopa: Tsangpa Khangtsen, he was Tsangpa Khangtsen.
- Geshe Sopa: And then I, six months or something, then after that I have little tiny room, Tsanga Khangtsen,
- Geshe Sopa: and Tsangpa Khangtsen doesn't have much dormitory much, down there, right?
- Geshe Sopa: Basement, little dark, small rooms, dusty...
- Geshe Sopa: So then finally I got a Mongolian, this Mongolian had many many dormitories,
- Geshe Sopa: Mongolian Jikhang.
- Geshe Sopa: So then I was looking around, finally I found one of the Mongolian Jikhang (Tib. spyi khang),
- Geshe Sopa: Huujita, do you know Chezhung?
- Jose Cabezon: Chezhung, yup.
- Geshe Sopa: Chezhung, so on the top of the Chezhung, and down, looking down to Chezhung directly,
- Geshe Sopa: so that, on the hillside, there is one, now is completely empty.
- Jose Cabezon: Next to Hamdong Khangtsen (Tib. Har gdong khang tshan)?
- Geshe Sopa: Next to Hamdong Khangtsen, bottom of the Hamdong Khangtsen.
- Jose Cabezon: Now it's destroyed.
- Geshe Sopa: There's a big, big, the stolen Sera Je, cheshung door, and behind that, that is not destroyed, now destroyed.
- Geshe Sopa: So that they said, that the Mongolians, in the,
- Geshe Sopa: many, ancient times, many Mongolians, but then little, slowly, Communists taking Mongolians,
- Geshe Sopa: and Second War, World War, then Mongolians stopped, can't come.
- Geshe Sopa: So there were also old monks, and slowly some of them returned, some of them became old.
- Geshe Sopa: So in that Jikhang, only three Mongolians, or something.
- Geshe Sopa: But they, they will rent to monks, and whatever rent, they used their own thing.
- Geshe Sopa: So I got then a room there.
- Geshe Sopa: So then I was okay. I was the, nice room.
- Geshe Sopa: Two rooms, one is part of cooking place, one is living small room, primary study room, sleeping room.
- Geshe Sopa: So I was there.
Loading ... Collection:
Subcollection
- Religion in Tibet
- Monasteries
- Sera - Geshe Sopa Interview
- Sera Monastery
- Geshe Sopa Interview
Subject
- Sera Monastery
Referenced Places
- Wisconsin
- 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:
1414
thlib.org
1274
Versions:
Date Created:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Media Type:
Moving Image
Encoding Scheme:
mpeg-4 visual
File Size:
29900 (KB)
Data Rate:
479 (kbps)
Frame Size:
360x272
Colors:
Color
Format Id:
Format Id:
1_3yk9285d
Format Id Source:
Kaltura.com
Annotation:
LANGUAGE INFO Speech Type: Interview Situation Method: interviews MASTER TAPE INFO Master Tape Label: NDRP Master 1 Recorded: 1969-01-01
