Madyamakavatara

Exploring Emptiness according Nagarjunas clarification in the Fundamental Wisdom. A series of study on the basis of the commentaries of Chandrakirti (Supplement to the Midle Way), Je Tzong Khapa (Illumination of the thought) and mindmaps drawn during the oral teachings of Madyamaka by Geshe Jamphel in Nalanda.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_GoDO-KC3d0vJ3Lx8seNJQ

YouTube Kanal: clartify_claudiafrey

 

Motivation

By doing this series I am instructing myself. I am not a scholar at all, and my mother tongue is not even English. But I love practicing and studying, discussing, and reflecting the ancient wisdom, Buddhist texts. To further deepen the incredibly valuable meaning and making it accessible to others in a simple way. I’ve learned so much. I try to implement the insights into my everyday life and in my psychology work with people. This is my motivation for starting this project.

 

My Background   
All my life I have been interested in the profound questions about why is there so much suffering in our personal life experience and between people in general? Very early in life, I started to investigate these questions with my first teacher. He then introduced me later as a teenager to the technique of meditation. In my early twenties, I encountered Buddhism, my most honored Tibetan teachers and started to practice daily. At the same time and during the following years I finished a bachelor in education and psychology, a master in psychotherapy, and postgraduate studies in coaching, and counseling in management.

Between 2010 – 2021 I studied and finished the Basic and Master’s Programs with the FPMT Geshe studies at Nalanda monastery in France. Since then, if I’m not following, or attending teachings or do retreats myself, I'm currently working as a teacher and psychologist in Bern and living in the alps, of Switzerland.

 

How this series came about  

Following a request from Tibet House, in Germany, I prepared the Abhisamayalamkara (Ornament of clear realization by Maitreya) for their study program. Later I taught the entire text to a friend weekly, based on the mind maps I had drawn in detail during my studies which deepened the understanding further.

Subsequently, I was asked to work through the text Madyamakavatara by Chandrakirti in the same way, but this time to record the sessions, so other people could also benefit from it.

 

Structure of the sessions

In this series (each 30-40min long, on a weekly basis) we will mainly explore emptiness, according to the clarification by the Indian sage Nagarjuna in his famous text ‘Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way’. The lessons will be available on YouTube and so anyone can watch or listen to them in their own rhythm and time.

As before I will use my mind maps, drawn during the Nalanda oral teachings, of Madyamaka, given by Gen Jamphel. To visualize a content helps us to incorporate a learning subject much better than just by listening to it. I suggest drawing mind maps, as a tool for yourself and for further discussion with other students. Mind map tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY4sUQzXJ1g

The prerequisites are a basic understanding of the four major Buddhist schools (Vaibashika, Sautantrika, Chittamatra and Madyamaka), as well as basic knowledge of the LamRim (the graduated path to enlightenment). If you don't immediately understand the content of one session, don't worry. My experience is, that by just going on with the text the difficult points get more and more clear. Sometimes it is like a seed planted, that only later will sprout.

 

Meaning of study

The study of Buddhist philosophy is not meant to be exclusively an intellectual exercise, but rather, to help myself and all those interested into the understanding of what is reality. Hopefully it will be an effective support to understand and reduce the suffering in our lives and eventually to develop our qualities to their full potential.

I will certainly make mistakes and learn from them, and I ask you as an interested person to always use your own intelligence. In the spirit of Buddha's basic request

 

Just as a goldsmith tests gold

By burning, cutting and rubbing it.

So, you must examine my words

And accept them,

But not merely out of reverence.

                                        (Sutra of the Dense Array)

 

If you have any questions or suggestions about the teaching series, please contact claudia.frey(at)bildungcoaching.com